The way Cody Van Lierop sees it, the second round of the sa国际传媒 Hockey League playoffs may just be a stepping stone toward greater achievements for the eventual Island Division champion.
Van Lierop and his Victoria Grizzlies will entertain the Powell River Kings in Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven series tonight and Saturday at 7 p.m. at The Q Centre and the captain likes his team鈥檚 chances.
鈥淚t should be a fun series,鈥� offered up Van Lierop. 鈥淚 think the series will go deep. It will be a good test and, in my opinion, whoever can get out of this series should have a good shot of going all the way.鈥�
Seven points separated the two teams during the regular campaign and the Kings won the seasonal series 5-3, with one of the victories coming in double overtime. Powell River scored 26 goals in the eight games, while surrendering 23.
鈥淚t was pretty even; a tough battle and it should be another one in the playoffs,鈥� added Van Lierop, who had three assists in the Grizzlies鈥� series-clinching 4-2 win over Nanaimo in the fifth game of Round 1 of the post-season.
The Kings, meanwhile, swept the Cowichan Valley Capitals in four.
鈥淚 think the Nanaimo series for us was a real good test. It challenged our emotions and our ability to adapt during a game and from game-to-game. It prepared us for what鈥檚 to come and I think we have this one,鈥� Van Lierop said.
What the Grizzlies don鈥檛 have is defenceman Brett Stirling, whose suspension will carry over through the first two games of the series. His physical abilities will be missed along the blue line as the Kings feature two lines which are capable of scoring every time out.
Jonny Evans, Tristan Mullin and BCHL rookie of the year Cam Donaldson amassed 217 points among them.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a good team from top to bottom,鈥� Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon said of the Kings. 鈥淥n paper, at the start of the year, they were the team to beat. They have a lot of veteran players with a lot of experience, so it鈥檚 a tall order, for sure.
鈥淎 guy like Donaldson walks in as a rookie and gets as many goals as he got [32]. They have two lines which are very potent and we have to be careful.鈥�
Which Van Lierop is also quick to point out.
鈥淭hey have five or six of them who are pretty lethal. They have some scoring weapons who can definitely put the puck in the back of the net,鈥� said the Grizzlies鈥� captain. 鈥淭heir power play is lethal and it hurt us during the season. They have some small guys who hide out in the back door, who we need to watch for.鈥�
Offensively, the Grizzlies will need the same balanced scoring they survived on during the regular season and stellar goaltending from Matthew Galajda.
鈥淭his is not going to be easy. It鈥檚 going to be a tough battle. A lot of those games could have gone different ways during the regular season and it shows that they鈥檙e a good hockey club,鈥� said Didmon, whose team has lost three straight to coach Kent Lewis鈥檚 team and four of the last five.
鈥淲e have to be smart with our puck management in important times of the game and important areas on the ice. We have to be perfect at all times, wait for the opportunities to happen, but by no means change the way we play.
鈥淚 think both teams are very good. It鈥檚 going to be a tough challenge, but I鈥檓 optimistic that we have the character, the skill and battle within us to have success.鈥�
Originally formatted as a 2-3-2 series, it will instead take the traditional 2-2-1-1-1 route with Games 3 and 4 in Powell River on Monday and Tuesday, before returning to Victoria on Thursday for Game 5, if required. Game 6 would go March 25 in Powell River and a Game 7 would be played March 27.
