Surrey, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies visit the Surrey Eagles tonight from the South Surrey Arena looking to make it three in a row.
This evening kicks off the first mainland road trip of the year for the Grizzlies who got all too familiar with such things last year, seeing as they faced off against Surrey in the second round of the playoffs. Victoria lost that series four games to two after leading two games to one.
Victoria is playing their best hockey of the season right now with a 5-1-1 record in the last seven games and last weekend was a testament to that. The Grizzlies shutout the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 3-0 on Friday night and then stomped the Nanaimo Clippers 5-2 the following evening. That perfect weekend has them now at 4th in the Coastal Conference with a 10-5-2 record. The top of the conference however is jam packed with the Grizzlies trailing the top ranked Chiefs by six points. The Grizzlies have played one less game however.
Surrey on the other hand is trying to find their groove as they are experiencing what can only be described as a championship hangover that is often seen in junior hockey. After winning the BCHL championship last year, with what can only be described as a weapon of a team, they have gone 9-8-1 to start this season off. Much of that to do with multiple changes in the off season like a roster overhaul due to a multitude of graduations and age outs. They are however 3-1-1 in their last five and playing some solid hockey with a fairly young and inexperienced group.
Something that will be important tonight, will be the special teams battle. Surrey hasn’t been shorthanded a lot this season, however when they are their penalty kill is 16th in the league at 76.3%. That doesn’t bode well against the Grizzlies top ranked powerplay in the Coastal Conference which struck three times this past weekend.
Victoria doesn’t see this as a revenge game due to having already beat the Eagles this year handily at 4-1 in late October, however that game saw Alex Hebblethwaite go down in injury after a heavy check from Surrey captain Jackson Anderson. Friday will tell whether or not there are any hard feelings or carry over from that play that did not result in a penalty or supplemental discipline.
Victoria is also carrying a new member of the team this weekend. Kyle Kelsey joins the Grizzlies goaltending tandem with Oliver Auyeung-Ashton from the Estevan Bruins. Kelsey was with the Grizzlies for his rookie season in 2021-22 as a 17 year old, however he departed for the 2022-24 season to be a starter in the WHL for first Red Deer and then Tri-City the following year. Victoria boasts arguably the best duo now in the BCHL.
Puck drop goes at 7:00 PM from the South Surrey Arena and you can listen live on the Grizzlies Radio Network with Tom Wilke here.
https://victoriagrizzlies.mixlr.com
