All Craig Didmon wants for Christmas is two more wins before the holiday season break.
OK, the Victoria Grizzlies general manager and head coach could also use some breaks from injuries and recoveries from health concerns. But the pair of victories before his team heads off for an 11-day gap between games in the sa国际传媒 Hockey League schedule would suit him just fine for now.
鈥淚t would be nice to be good and healthy for the new year,鈥� said Didmon, whose troops head to Alberni Valley tonight to face the Bulldogs, who now include former Grizzly Spencer Hunter, a recent addition.
鈥淐ody Van Lierop will be out this weekend and we have a number of guys who are game-time decisions. With all these things, it will be nice to just get our health back over the holidays.鈥�
Victoria returns home to entertain the Prince George Spruce Kings on Sunday at 2 p.m. at The Q Centre before the team heads off in different directions until they face the Cowichan Valley Capitals in Duncan on Dec. 30.
They will gather Dec. 28 to skate in preparation for that final game of 2016.
The team remains without No. 1 goaltender Matthew Galajda, who is away with Team sa国际传媒 West at the World Junior A Hockey Challenge in Bonnyville, Alta.
Galajda opened the tournament by facing just 17 shots in a 6-2 win Sunday over Switzerland before losing Game 2 by a 5-3 score in making 28 saves against Russia on Monday. In the quarter-finals on Wednesday, Galajda was peppered with 47 shots, including five in overtime, in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Czech Republic.
Tomas Havranek tied the game with 1.5 seconds left for the Czech Republic and Kristian Reichel had the lone goal, among nine shooters in total. sa国际传媒 West now faces Switzerland in the fifth-place game today at 3:30 p.m.
As for the Grizzlies, they are coming off a 5-2 home victory over Nanaimo and have four wins and two losses in the month, including two victories over the Clippers and one in Prince George.
The team remains without captain Van Lierop, who is out with mononucleosis. Tyler Welsh and Justin Michelanian have also missed games to injury as the Grizzlies try to limp their way through to the break.
Cole Pickup continues to lead Victoria in points with 42, tied for eighth in the league, and is on a seven-game point streak in which he has managed 11 points, including nine assists.
Victoria sits at 22-6-3-3 in the standings, leading the Island Division and third overall in the league.
Alberni Valley has improved to 11-18-5-1 and is four points back of Nanaimo for the fourth and final playoff spot in the division.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 2-0 loss to Cowichan in which Alberni Valley outshot the hosts 38-21 on Wednesday.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a team that seems to get better as the season goes on. They鈥檝e beaten some good teams lately,鈥� Didmon said of the Bulldogs.
鈥淭hey lost the other night, but outshot Cowichan badly. They鈥檙e a team you can鈥檛 take for granted and they鈥檙e a team that, I鈥檓 sure, would love to take the top team in the division down, so we have to be on guard.
鈥淎s for Sunday, it鈥檚 the last one before Christmas so I think both teams will have sugar plums dancing in their heads, but we鈥檒l play hard to try and get those two points.鈥�
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