Above Photo: Sophiesphotographys
Coquitlam, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies prepare to hop on the ferry and storm the mainland, looking to finish off the Coquitlam Express as Victoria leads this best of seven Coastal Conference Quarter Final three games to two.
Victoria lead this series after two games 2-0 however Coquitlam battled back and take game three, before stealing one in overtime in game four to knot the series at two a piece. Friday night, however, was Victoria’s night as they came away with a 7-5 victory on home ice to regain the lead and push Coquitlam to a cliff’s edge. Friday night also continued the trend of home ice advantage coming into play during the post season as in the series every home team has won. Victoria is 3-0 and Coquitlam is 2-0. The Express will certainly hope that bodes well for them this evening playing for their season at home.
Game Five was one that saw several standout performances for the Grizzlies and the most noticeable of them all was the hat trick performance from Tobias Pitka. Pitka, who had never scored a BCHL Playoff goal, found the back of the net twice in 17 seconds in the first period before tipping a point shot home in the third to stand up as the game winning goal. Landon Mackie was also splendid for the Grizz, scoring twice and bring his team lead in goals during the post season to four. The Victoria product has six points in the playoffs and finished the second half of the season with 22 points in 26 games.
Tonight will also be a night to see which netminder bounces back in the most effective way. Friday was certainly not a goaltender battle like we had seen in several previous games, making for an interesting storyline for this evening. Oliver Auyeung-Ashton got the nod for Victoria after missing games two through four with illness. He made 21 saves on 26 shots for some crooked numbers. On the other end of the ice Andrew Ness, who had seemed unbeatable during game four, was battling traffic and redirections all night and gave up six on 39 shots. Both of them will look to fix those numbers.
Possible opponents have been narrowed down for the winner of this series as the number three seed Cowichan Valley Capitals knocked off the Nanaimo Clippers in five games. Alberni Valley, the seven seed, did much of the same in surprising fashion to the Surrey Eagles (two seed). Game six of the Chilliwack (1) vs Prince George (8) series goes this evening in Prince George with the Spruce Kings trying to stay alive down 3-2 in that series to the conference champion Chiefs
Puck drop goes at 7:00 PM tonight with Victoria looking to punch their ticket to the second round. The game is available to listen for free on the Grizzlies Radio Network on mixLR.
2024-25 Team Ranks (Post Season)
| Victoria | Coquitlam | |
| Goals For Per Game | 3.40 (T-6th) | 3.20 (T-8th) |
| Goals Against Per Game | 3.20 (T-8th) | 3.40 (T-10th) |
| Power Play Percentage | 23.1% (7th) | 17.6% (T-10th) |
| Penalty Kill Percentage | 82.4% (6th) | 76.9% (10th) |
| Penalty Minutes Per Game | 8.80 (7th) | 7.60 (5th) |
| Home Record | 3-0 (T-1st) | 2-0 (T-1st) |
| Away Record | 0-2 (T-9th) | 0-2 (T-9th) |
| Playoff Record Last Five Post Seasons | 18-26 (.409) | 14-19 (.424) |
