It鈥檚 time to separate the wheat from the chaff; the men from the boys; the playoff contenders from the pretenders, as it were.
With just two games remaining each, the Victoria Grizzlies and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs will determine the fourth-and-final playoff spot in the Island Division this last weekend of regular-season play in the sa国际传媒 Hockey League.
Tied in points at 50, the 23-29-4-0 Grizzlies do have the first tiebreaker with more overall wins than the 21-27-4-4 Bulldogs.
One Grizzlies鈥� victory tonight against the visiting Powell River Kings 鈥� at 7 at The Q Centre on fan appreciation night 鈥� would go a long way toward putting the pressure on the Bulldogs, who face the same Kings on Saturday and Sunday in Port Alberni.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a critical time of the season, obviously, with two games and fighting for that same playoff spot. This is definitely the biggest weekend of my junior career so far and it鈥檚 been a long career,鈥� said veteran Dante Hahn, who could be ending his junior eligibility should the Grizzlies not make it.
鈥淥bviously, we鈥檙e trying to stay as positive as we can. We know if we play our game this weekend, we鈥檒l get what we want and what we deserve. Still, scary thoughts creep through your mind about it. We just have to fight through, battle and make sure we get some wins.
鈥淚f we can bring our A-game and beat Powell River on home ice, that would ease a lot of the stress, but then again we know we have to take it one game at a time and worry about what we can control.鈥�
The Grizzlies have won just two of their last 11 games and the Bulldogs have one victory to their credit in the last seven, although they did get single points in a pair of games last weekend. It鈥檚 those two points they gave away, in an overtime loss in Merritt and a tie in Prince George, that could come back to haunt Alberni Valley.
鈥淲e look at the year and there are no bigger games for us,鈥� said Grizzlies general manager and head coach Craig Didmon. 鈥淭his is an opportunity for us to make up for those times where we hit tough times through the course of the year.
鈥淚f we can have success in both games, then it鈥檚 a new season for us and a fresh start. It鈥檚 in our own hands, if we battle through for six periods we can have a brand new season.鈥�
Victoria ventures to Chilliwack on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Nanaimo Clippers clinched first place overall in the division last weekend with a split against Powell River and await their fourth-place playoff opponent.
It will be interesting to see how the Grizzlies handle their goaltending scenario. Usual backup Mitchel Benson shut out Langley last Sunday and allowed two goals in 31 shots in relief over two periods in Penticton. Starter Matthew Galajda lost 2-1 in Wenatchee seven days ago and played the first period against the Vees, surrendering three goals on 10 shots.
How Powell River handles its last three games is also a question mark.
Former Salsa coach Kent Lewis is surely looking to knock the Grizzlies out and, with a win tonight, could play a factor in who they dress in Alberni for a pair on Saturday and Sunday.
鈥淚 know, usually, higher seeds who have clinched spots do rest players, but we can鈥檛 be looking for that against a team like this. They鈥檙e a good team, with four good lines, six good defencemen and a couple of pretty good defencemen,鈥� Hahn said of the Kings. 鈥淜ent runs a tough team, which plays its systems very hard. It鈥檚 going to be a grind.鈥�
BCHL NOTES: Clippers鈥� head man Mike Vandekamp is a finalist for coach of the year honours. Forward Sheldon Rempal is up for MVP and Yanni Kaldis is a candidate for top defenceman. Alberni鈥檚 Chris Schutz (Sportsmanlike) and Powell River鈥檚 Kyle Betts (rookie) are also among award finalists.
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