The last-place Powell River Kings (8-30-6) are not officially eliminated from the playoffs in the B.C. Hockey League, but they are zeroing in on that status pretty quickly.
Yet with the standings so taut in the rest of Coastal Conference, the Victoria Grizzlies can ill afford to treat this weekend’s two-game set against the Kings lightly. Especially since the Kings have played Victoria tough. The Grizzlies are 4-1 against Powell River this season but three of those wins against the Kings were recorded after regulation time.
The Grizzlies are in Powell River tonight before returning to play the Kings at The Q Centre on Saturday evening.
“We are taking nothing for granted. They are a good team. If you have a bad weekend, you can drop three or four places,” said Grizzlies GM and head coach Rylan Ferster.
“I want to see us tighten up in the defensive zone this weekend. We have been giving up too many chances.”
The back-to-back away-and-home travel against the same team will be an issue this weekend between Powell River and Victoria, but that’s fine by Ferster: “It gets you ready for the sort of grind you will face in the playoffs.”
The Grizzlies (24-11-7) are tied for second place in the Coastal Conference with the Surrey Eagles but have a game in hand.
The Cowichan Valley Capitals (25-25-3) are lurking two points behind as they prepare to play the Rivermen (17-20-8) tonight in Langley.
The Chilliwack Chiefs, the first team to clinch a Coastal playoff berth, are eight points ahead of Victoria and look to have the Coastal Conference regular-season championship well in hand at 29-9-5 atop the table.
“You’re never really comfortable until you see that X beside your team’s name in the standings,” said Ferster.
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs (23-18-3) are sixth in the Coastal Conference heading into the Interior today to face the Vernon Vipers. The Coastal seventh-place Nanaimo Clippers (22-18-4) are also in the Interior and play the Smoke Eaters tonight in Trail.
ICE CHIPS: The Grizzlies believe they have signed their goaltender of the future for when veteran Oliver Auyeung-Ashton graduates from junior after this season and moves on to Colgate University of NCAA Division 1. Paolo Frasca, 18, is from St. Andrew’s College in Toronto, which also produced former Grizzlies star forward, Canada world junior medallist, NHL first round draft pick and current Montreal Canadiens player Alex Newhook.
“Everything indicates [Frasca] is going to be an NCAA Division 1 goaltender,” predicted Ferster.
