After the BCHL Showcase 鈥� in which all teams will compete in two regular-season games in Chilliwack on Sept. 6-8 鈥� the Grizzlies will play 19 of their first 28 games on the road to start the new campaign.
Victoria will travel to Powell River for a pair of games Sept. 13 and 14, and then make stops in Nanaimo (Sept. 20) and Cowichan (Sept. 21) before finally entertaining the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in their home opener on Sept. 28, at Bear Mountain Arena.
鈥淚 like that late start in September because it gives fans the chance to get off the beach and come in from under the sun,鈥� said Grizzlies assistant general manager and coach Craig Didmon.
鈥淭here鈥檚 lots to do in this city in September. We鈥檝e had wonderful Indian Summers for a while and hopefully by the end of September they鈥檒l be looking forward to seeing hockey games.鈥�
But it will be a tough stretch over the first few months.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to have the tough schedule at the beginning because it gives the boys more time to be together. The more you鈥檙e on the road in the early going, the better,鈥� said Didmon.
The Grizzlies will have to survive a stubborn November schedule in which they play 10 of 13 on the road before fans will get a steady dose of the team in December and January.
Of the eight games in the final month of the year, the Grizzlies will venture out just once, a short trip to Port Alberni. In January they are slotted in for just two away games, both to Nanaimo.
鈥淗opefully, we can battle the adversity in the first half, the tougher part of the schedule, and as the year goes on we get more comfortable,鈥� said Didmon. 鈥淭hat will give us time to rest our bodies and get ready for the toughest part of the year.
鈥淚 like the way we did the schedule. The struggle time is early and then we have a lot of time at home to get comfortable in our own barn and hopefully that leads to something really good in the end.鈥�
The BCHL schedule 鈥� which was altered, moving to 58 games from 56 鈥� was made official on Monday. The league had released the BCHL Showcase earlier and is yet to determine a playoff format.
