If familiarity breeds contempt, as the saying goes, then the Victoria Grizzlies and Cowichan Valley Capitals will have a real hate on for each other by the time this week is over.
The Grizzlies meet the Capitals in three consecutive sa国际传媒 Hockey League games, the middle one of which is tonight at the Island Savings Centre in Duncan. It was there on Saturday night that the Grizzlies exploded for five goals unanswered in the opening period en route to a 7-4 win over the Capitals.
Victoria forward Alex Newhook, vying for the league scoring crown in his rookie season and touted for the first-round of the 2019 NHL draft, had three assists for the Grizzlies.
Victoria leads the Island Division at 26-17-7 while Cowichan Valley is last at 9-33-7. While the Grizzlies are after a division title, the Capitals, however, also still have much to play for despite their record because only one team misses the BCHL playoffs this season. The Capitals are seven points adrift of the Coquitlam Express with 11 games remaining in that quest for the final league playoff berth.
鈥淲e鈥檙e taking nothing for granted because Cowichan Valley keeps getting harder and harder to play,鈥� said Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon.
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 go away Saturday and played hard to the buzzer.鈥�
The odd three-off is as close to a playoff-type situation as you are going to get in regular-season hockey.
鈥淲e鈥檙e treating this like a playoff series, where you can see tendencies evolving that you like, and others you want to improve on,鈥� said Didmon.
The Grizzlies conclude the three-header by hosting the Capitals Saturday at The Q Centre.
Meanwhile, Newhook continues to track the BCHL scoring title. He is second in the BCHL with 65 points, two behind leader Jasper Weatherby, despite having played six fewer games than the 20-year-old Wenatchee forward. And Grizzlies veteran Jamie Rome has climbed into 11th spot in league scoring with 53 points.
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