After playing six good periods of hockey last weekend, the Victoria Grizzlies are looking at stringing together 15 more to wind up the B.C. Hockey League regular season.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 all (Island) division hockey from here on in and we want to make an impression,B次元官网网址� said head coach and general manager Craig Didmon, whose team plays the Bulldogs in Port Alberni tomorrow night (Feb. 18) and returns home to play Powell River this Saturday.
With only the one game left against the second-place Kings (26-18-1-9), who lead the Grizzlies (24-18-1-10) by three points, securing home ice advantage for the playoffs is largely out of their hands, he said.
B次元官网网址淗ome ice advantage is always an advantage, for sure, and weB次元官网网址檇 love to have that. But we canB次元官网网址檛 control that entirely. We do want to win every game. If we can play our game for the rest of the way, weB次元官网网址檙e going to be in good shape.B次元官网网址�
A 6-2 home win over Prince George on Saturday and an 8-4 win over Alberni the night before at The Q Centre saw the Grizzlies leapfrog back over the Bulldogs (26-21-2-3) into third place.
VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 top line of Dane Gibson, Brett Gruber and new linemate Jay Mackie led the attack as expected, piling up 19 points in total. Mackie replaced Matthew Kennedy, who is out until late March with a broken collarbone.
While Didmon expects those players and veterans like Thomas Gobeil to step up when it counts, he also liked what he saw from the checking line of team captain Shawn McBride, Kevin Massy and Ayden MacDonald.
B次元官网网址�(McBride) has been solid all season,B次元官网网址� the coach said, noting that the trio are scoring some timely goals as well as preventing others.
TonightB次元官网网址檚 game at Weyerhaeuser Arena is the proverbial four-pointer for Alberni, who take a tough road trip through the Interior Division this weekend then finish off with back-to-back games in Powell River.
Didmon wants to see the same intensity the Grizzlies played with in their past three games against the scrappy Dogs: Victoria is 3-0, winning by a combined score of 20-7.
So, the GrizzliesB次元官网网址� playoff position is in their hands in some ways and not in others. Making an impression against each of their divisional rivals, as Didmon said, may be the best thing they can do heading into the playoffs, which start March 3.
B次元官网网址淚t was hard coming in mid-season like I did,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淏ut I really feel after this weekend that guys are starting to understand the system and the defensive consciousness that needs to be in place (to succeed in) playoff hockey.B次元官网网址�
SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 game at The Q Centre starts at 7 p.m.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
Weekend recap
The Victoria Grizzlies moved back into third in the BCHLB次元官网网址檚 Island Division with a pair of wins last weekend. HereB次元官网网址檚 a snapshot of how they looked:
B次元官网网址� Feb. 13, Grizzlies 8 Alberni Valley 4 B次元官网网址� VG: Brett Gruber 3 goals, 1 assist; Dane Gibson 5A; Jay Mackie, Zach Dixon, Ayden MacDonald 1G 1A each; Cole Pickup 1G; Thomas Gobeil 1G; Michael Stiliadis 35 saves. AV: Mitch Makin 2G 1A; Tyler Poveloskie 1G 1A
B次元官网网址� Feb. 14, Grizzlies 6 Prince George 2 B次元官网网址� VG: D. Gibson 2G 1A; B. Gruber 1G 2A; Z. Dixon 1G 1A; C. Pickup 1G; A. MacDonald 1G; Sean Cleary 20 saves. PG: Brogan OB次元官网网址橞rien 1G; Cole McCaskill 1G.
