(4) Victoria Grizzlies vs. (3) Cowichan Valley Capitals
Best-of-seven series
Grizzlies: 28-17-9, (65 points)
Capitals: 31-19-4, (66 points)
Season series: VIC: 3-2-2, COW 4-3-0
Game 1: Friday, 7:00 p.m. at Cowichan Valley
Victoria Guaranteed Home Games: Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. at the Q Centre & Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. at the Q Centre (Playoff Tickets)
The Victoria Grizzlies are looking to continue their hot play into the second round against their closest geographical rival, the Cowichan Valley Capitals. The Grizzlies disposed of the Coquitlam Express in six games of the first round while Cowichan ended Nanaimo’s season in just five games.
Victoria and Cowichan have not met in the post season since 2009 when Victoria won that series in seven games, and they have only met nice in the last 25 years after the regular season. This also marks the first time in BCHL history that three Island based teams are in the second round of the playoffs.
Expect to see a hate filled series between two squads who combined for just under 500 penalty minutes in their seven meetings this season. The hate is certainly clear and Victoria will believe that that will serve their brand of hockey
Victoria and Cowichan played each other hard this season with Cowichan winning four of seven meetings. Two of those however were in overtime.
September 28, 2024: Grizzlies 4 vs Capitals 0
November 30, 2024: Grizzlies 0 at Capitals 4
December 13, 2024: Grizzlies 3 vs Capitals 4 (OT)
January 10, 2025: Grizzlies 6 at Capitals 2
February 8, 2025: Grizzlies 3 at Capitals 7
February 21, 2025: Grizzlies 1 at Capitals 2 (OT)
March 7, 2025: Grizzlies 5 at Capitals 0
It was certainly not like the years of old with Victoria being 16-4-0 against their over-the-Malahat rivals in the three years prior to this season. The Caps certainly deserve a tip of the cap after their resurgence this year under the command of new ownership and new bench boss Cam Keith who lead the Surrey Eagles to a championship last season.
Game breakers
Grizzlies: Charles Cote was labeled as a defenseman that would be a terror to play against in the post season for Victoria and he hasn’t disappointed. So far he has used his imposing six foot seven stature to breakup plays like a wizard while also being as physical as they come to create chaos and fear. The Sherbrooke, Quebec native has also pitched in offensively with five points in six games to begin the playoffs
Capitals: It is hard to look at Cowichan’s roster and overlook Camden Bajzer. The Bowling Green commit leads the Coastal Conference with nine points through five games of the post season. He also has a five game goal streak going, scoring in every playoff game to this date.
Goaltending
Grizzlies: Victoria saw Oliver Auyeung-Ashton and Kyle Kelsey split duty in the Grizzlies crease in the first round. That did partial have to do with Oliver missing games 2-4 with illness however they both did a splendid job. Auyeung-Ashton went 3-0-0 with a 2.77 GAA and .920 SV% while Kelsey recorded a 1-1-1 record and 2.32 GAA plus .922 SV%. At this point it is pick your poison between the two star netminders.
Capitals: The Capitals will more than likely be looking to Dylan Krick throughout the series as we played all five games for them in the first round. He went 4-1-0 with a 2.40 GAA and .912 SV%. The Air Force commit did have his share of struggles with a .892 SV% in the regular season and they will need him to be sharp. Their secondary option will be Erick Roest who has played in just three games since February after posting a 3.95 GAA and .857 SV% in seven games with the Caps. Victoria should have the edge in goaltending.
Numbers to know
Grizzlies: 1-2-3-4. Victoria’s depth is a key factor for them in the regular season and in the playoffs with all but four players being issued a point in the first round. Their first line scored seven, their second line had eight, their third line snagged five and their fourth line had one of their own. That is about as well distributed as could be expected.
Capitals: 7.89 Cowichan played in games that averaged the most goals between themselves and their opponents in the Coastal Conference. You can be sure to see some scoring in this series with both teams being more than capable of putting up tallies. Cowichan was second in the conference with 220 goals during the regular season however they were eighth in goals against with 206. Run and gun it will be.
Will win if…
Grizzlies: They get to the net. Victoria struggled to score through the first four games of the first round, however when the team’s mentality changed to that of “crash the net” they looked unstoppable. With such a big team, Coquitlam had no answer for the bodies piling into the crease to create screens and redirections meaning that they should look to do the same starting Friday. The Grizzlies scored 10 goals in the first four games then scored 12 in the final two.
Capitals: They get under the Grizzlies skin. Cowichan is a team who plays hard and loves to talk after the whistles and create scrums. If they can goad Victoria into after whistle or retaliatory penalties on a regular basis then the Grizzlies will be in trouble. Look for the Caps to try and irk a Victoria team that they have gotten under the skin off on a couple of occasions this season.
The series begins Friday at the Cowichan Community Arena at 7:00 PM
For playoff tickets, head to grizzlies.goigniter.com. Fans can also livestream all Grizzlies playoff games for purchase on floHockey. You can also listen live for free on the Grizzlies Radio Network on mixLR.
