The smiles were flowing and laughter was contagious as the Victoria Grizzlies returned to the ice this week.
Coming off a 19-day break from game play, the Grizzlies were a jovial bunch, despite hard-skating practices.
鈥淚t was a nice break, pretty long, but it鈥檚 good to get rid of some nagging injuries and get the mind a little refreshed,鈥� said captain P.J. Conlon. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been skating hard here, which is tough, but it鈥檚 what is needed after a long break like that.
鈥淭he guys were prepared for that and, for the most part, I think guys worked hard over the break and stayed in shape, which is good to see.鈥�
They鈥檒l get back to work tonight at 7 at The Q Centre against the surging Powell River Kings, who have won all four of their games since returning, while the Grizzlies were off. Victoria then welcomes Langley on trade deadline day on Sunday at 2 p.m.
General manager and head coach Craig Didmon and his staff put the Grizzlies to work right away.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a long break between games, for sure,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he fact that we can get back, have four good practices in before-hand, certainly helps. They had a tough first day on and off the ice and then it was more of hitting them physically on the ice and mentally at the end of practice.
鈥淭hey seem to have their timing and are hitting their stride again. The big thing is to just be prepared for the game Friday, have a good game-plan and just execute it. There鈥檚 going to be adversity in the sense of fatigue, being off for that long, but we鈥檒l battle through. In fact, I think the long break will pay off for us in the long run.鈥�
While away, the Grizzlies remain in fourth place at 14-20-4-0 for 32 points, two up on the Alberni Valley Bulldogs who have lost all four of their games upon return and sit 13-22-2-2.
Powell River is making a charge at 22-14-2-0 for 46 points, seven back of Island Division-leading Nanaimo, having recently swept the Clippers in a weekend series. Cowichan Valley is third in the division at 19-14-3-2 for 43 points.
Victoria was 3-5 in December, with one of those an overtime loss to Nanaimo. The Grizzlies also split two games in Powell River last month, losing 5-1, but following it up with a 4-1 victory.
鈥淲e have 20 games left and we鈥檙e going to break them down into four series of five and try to win three out of five series. If we do that, we should have a good chance of making the playoffs and making a good run after that,鈥� said Conlon, who likes the team鈥檚 makeup.
鈥淚鈥檓 extremely confident in this group. We have a strong group, which works hard and if we stick to our systems, we鈥檒l have a good run here.
鈥淥bviously, the standings are important this time of the year, but with 20 games we have tough opponents coming in with a couple of road trips, so we just have to focus and take it one game at a time.鈥�
IN THE DEN: The Grizzlies will pay tribute tonight to Reid Kyfiuk, the 15-year-old who passed away over the holidays during a snowboarding outing at Mount Washington. He was a member of the Saanich Braves midget C-5 team.
Twitter.com/tc_vicsports
