Home is supposed to be where the heart is, but the Victoria Grizzlies will have just a brief stay in the friendly confines of Bear Mountain Arena.
The B.C. Hockey League team settles in for its home-opener tonight at 7:15 against the Powell River Kings before setting right back out for four straight on the road. That means just one true home date in the first seven outings for the Grizzlies, currently 1-0-0-1 in the standings after their two games at the inaugural season-opening Showcase event last weekend in Chilliwack.
But that’s not breaking general manager and head coach Bill Bestwick’s heart.
“It’s fine. It’s actually nice to get out on the road early, to get away. It’s nice to know that there are no distractions — you’re on the road, just the guys together for 72 hours and it’s just hockey,” he said.
“Hockey, eat and sleep for three days, and it’s fun. It makes the kids concentrate on what their focus is all about.”
Not to mention building a strong team bond early in the season.
Following tonight’s effort — which will feature fan favourites the Green Men from Vancouver entertaining the crowd against the Kings, who also wear green — the Grizzlies will be in Duncan on Saturday night to face the Cowichan Valley Capitals.
The following weekend it’s three games in three days on the Mainland.
But no one wants to look past the all important home-opener for a team looking to rebuild its bond with the West Shore community.
“It should be fun and hopefully we get some fans out,” said No. 1 goaltender Brady Rouleau, who wasn’t sure if he was drawing in for this game or Saturday’s in Cowichan against his former teammates.
“I’m hoping I get the start. Maybe I can even steal both,” he said with a chuckle.
What he does know is that Powell River will be a handful, as is usually the case with Kent Lewis’s team.
“They should be good — always a solid club, but they lost a couple of defencemen so hopefully we can surprise them,” said Rouleau.
Then it’s on to Cowichan Valley against the Capitals.
“We saw Cowichan in Chilliwack at the Showcase,” said Bestwick. “They have a hard working group of kids, lots of speed up front, gritty and their goaltending is as good as anyone’s in the league with Derek Dun.
“It’s their home-opener, as well. We’ll have ours Friday and they’ll have theirs Saturday and there’ll be a lot of emotion in the building because there always is, and no one wants to let their home fans down.”
The Grizzlies also recently added former BCHLer Stefan Nicholishen to their roster, having picked him up from the Nipawin Hawks of the Saskatchewan junior league.
The six-foot-two, 215-pound forward — who has played in Salmon Arm, Penticton and Westside — was in the Kootenay Ice WHL camp when he was let go. He did not want to report to Nipawin and the Grizzlies jumped in.
To make room, Victoria sent defenceman Jesse Ursic home and have asked him to await a trade.
