The Victoria Grizzlies made a lengthy playoff run a year ago. Eighteen post-season games en route to the sa国际传媒 Hockey League final four. That was third most, behind league finalists Penticton and Chilliwack.
That鈥檚 a great run for any team, but Jamie Rome has been around hockey long enough to know you鈥檙e only really satisfied if you win your last playoff game. And for Rome and the 10 other current Grizzlies who were part of last season鈥檚 run, that鈥檚 the only goal this season 鈥� BCHL title or bust.
鈥淲e have a similar team as last year and we鈥檝e really come together in the second half and are playing good hockey right now, strung some wins together of late, so I think we鈥檙e poised to do some good things in the playoffs,鈥� said Rome, the Grizzlies鈥� leading scorer this regular season with 69 points, good for third overall in the league.
The Grizzlies begin their quest for cup tonight at The Q Centre against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round series. Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon said the experience his players got in last year鈥檚 playoffs will go a long way to helping them achieve their goal this season.
鈥淭he playoffs are whole new ball game and these guys get that now,鈥� said Didmon, whose club finished atop the Island Division standings at 32-18-4-4.
鈥淭hey know there will be some bumps along the road but it鈥檚 a long process now and I鈥檓 excited to see what we can achieve.鈥�
The first order of business for the Grizzlies is a feisty Bulldogs team that also finished the regular season strong with a pair of home-ice wins over the Powell River Kings.
On paper 鈥� Victoria won the season series 7-1 鈥� the Grizzlies are the favourites over the fourth-place Bulldogs. But all but one of those games was close.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 take anyone for granted and we know Alberni is a good team that will play us physical so we鈥檒l be ready and if we stick to our game plan and play to our potential, we鈥檒l be OK,鈥� said Rome, who is committed to Western Michigan of the NCAA.
Fortunately for the Grizzlies, that game plan now includes star rookie Alex Newhook. After missing the last three weeks with a hand injury, the 17-year-old who Wednesday was named the BCHL鈥檚 rookie of the year after collecting 66 points in 45 games, has the green light to return to game action.
鈥淐an鈥檛 wait. Really looking forward to getting back out there and helping the guys win,鈥� said Newhook, who is committed to Boston College for the fall of 2019 and projected to be a first round pick in the 2019 NHL draft in Vancouver.
鈥淥bviously, I wasn鈥檛 on the team last year but I know for any playoffs the excitement and energy is always really high so it鈥檚 always a fun time to be playing.鈥�
Newhook will take his usual spot centring the Grizzlies鈥� top line between Rome and 20-year-old winger Ethan Nother, who was third in team scoring with 59 points.
鈥淗aving Alex back will be a huge boost, not only for myself because he鈥檚 on my line, but for our entire team,鈥� added Rome. 鈥淗e brings a ton of offence and is an unbelievable player so I know we鈥檙e all excited to see him playing again.鈥�
The Grizzlies鈥� offence looks to be in good hands and they can also say the same thing about their goaltending. Victoria has gone with both veteran Kurtis Chapman and rookie Zack Rose during the second half of the season and both have looked solid. Chapman, who finished the season at 12-3-3 with a 2.75 goals-against average since coming over from the Alberta Junior Hockey League in December, will get the start in Game 1. Last season, Chapman led the Portage Terriers to a berth in the RBCCup national championship tournament and he also has WHL experience with Regina and Kootenay. The 18-year-old Rose (16-13-1, 3.16 GAA) is coming off a season in which he led Team sa国际传媒 West to the gold medal at the World Junior A Challenge just before Christmas and he recently accepted a scholarship to play for Bowling Green in the fall of 2019.
鈥淲e have the luxury of having two very good goaltenders so we鈥檙e confident with whoever we play,鈥� said Didmon. 鈥淏ut Chapman has been the healthier of the two near the end of the season and has played really well lately so we鈥檙e going with him in Game 1.鈥�
The Bulldogs (17-32-5-4) come in having been locked in fourth place for months. Powell River native Keaton Mastrodonato, who is committed to Canisius College of the NCAA for the fall of 2019, led the Bulldogs in scoring with 20 goals and 22 assists in 58 games.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e hard-working, well coached and we know from last season that anything can happen in the playoffs so we need to be playing good, urgent hockey right from the start,鈥� said Didmon.
鈥� The other Island Division series pits the second-place Nanaimo Clippers against third-place Powell River and there鈥檚 not much to choose from between the two teams. The Clippers finished two points ahead of the Kings in the standings and the season series was split 4-4. But the Clippers are riding a 10-game unbeaten streak and the Kings lost their last three regular season games. Games 1 and 2 go tonight and Saturday at Frank Crane Arena.
