鈥淵ou always want to go into the holidays, into the short Christmas break, feeling good about yourself and your game. It鈥檚 nice if you can spend those days feeling a bit more relaxed and enjoy the time away. And you do that by winning,鈥� he said.
The Victoria Grizzlies are taking that message to heart as they began an 11-day gap from play on Monday following a 6-2 win over Prince George on Sunday afternoon.
鈥淩est and relaxation and we have talked about it all year 鈥� we just have to keep getting better,鈥� general manager and head coach Craig Didmon said of his message to his team for the break. 鈥淭eams are doing their homework and we鈥檝e had to make adjustments throughout games.
鈥淔or us, let鈥檚 look after our bodies and our health and obviously have a good time with families and friends. When we get back, let鈥檚 get back to work. We feel good about this team and we want to do something special with this group, for sure.鈥�
So far, so good on that front as the Grizzlies sit third overall in the league behind only Wenatchee and the Penticton Vees, who they will see twice in February.
鈥淔amily and friends 鈥� I haven鈥檛 seen them for a while so it鈥檒l be nice getting back there,鈥� said Calgary native Jamie Rome. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to relax for a few days, then the family is going down to Phoenix for a little holiday for four days.鈥�
It should be the perfect tonic and a great way to prepare for the stretch run. The Grizzlies are coming off a month of December in which they recorded five wins, one loss, one tie and one overtime setback with the past few games without key players.
鈥淚t was nice to get three [wins] out of four games before we go,鈥� said defenceman Jake Stevens, who is second in team scoring with 38 points in 36 games and is second among top rearguards in the league to Langley鈥檚 Cameron Ginnetti, who has 40 points.
Stevens will travel the furthest during the break, stopping in Chicago before heading to Florida to visit family.
鈥淚鈥檒l see my sister for the first time in a long while, so I鈥檓 excited and glad to get away for a bit,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think many guys will be bringing stuff home, we鈥檝e had a hard first half so I think we all want to rest up.鈥�
Not only physically, but mentally. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to get away from the game for a bit and see family and friends,鈥� said Stevens. 鈥淭his has been a great year so far 鈥� a lot different from last year. Like Craig said, it鈥檚 one of the best starts the team has ever had, so let鈥檚 keep it up when we get back.鈥�
