It took rookie Jay Mackie about 20 games to catch his balance with the Victoria Grizzlies. Since he did, the 18-year-old centreman from Kingston, Ont., has come into his own. Mackie was riding a 10-game point-scoring streak, when the Grizzlies opened the 2014 portion of the B.C. Hockey League season with a bang, scoring a 4-1 victory over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Friday night at Bear Mountain Arena.
“I think we came out really good,” Grizzlies coach Craig Didmon said about the team’s 3-1 lead at the end of 20 minutes. “We have that veteran group — that was the room deciding we were going to play the first period that way.”
With a record of 25-9-3-2, the Grizzlies went into the game one point up on the Powell River Kings for first place in both the Island Division and the league, while the Bulldogs, 10-22-2-4, were desperate to climb out of the Island Division basement. The Kings come to town tonight, starting at 7:15 p.m.
“We’ll have the same approach for both games,” Mackie said, before the game. “We don’t underestimate any team. Alberni took us to overtime the last time we played.”
Mackie and the Grizzlies didn’t waste any timeagainst the Bulldogs. Brandon Egli, Gerry Fitzgerald — with his 23rd of the season — and Dante Hahn who flipped in a nifty backhand, all scored to give the Grizzlies the upper hand by the break, while Grizzlies goaltender Alec Dillon was able to hold off any attack from the Bulldogs.
In the second, the ’Dogs had more life, although they were only able to get one goal back. Alberni Valley captain Tryg Strand was close to the blue-line, when he sifted a shot through traffic to beat Dillon, on the first power play of the game at 13:31. At the other end, Bulldogs goalie Connor LaCouvee came up with some terrific saves — thwarting a breakaway and odd-man rushes — to keep his team in the game.
“We forgot the Alberni team never gives up,” Didmon said. “We let them back into the game, but we got our composure again in the third, and got back to our game.”
The Grizzlies put it on ice when Gerry Fitzgerald got his second of the night, with the man advantage, at 16:10 of the third period.
The victory puts the Grizzlies in prime position to face Powell River tonight, exactly where they want to be, on top of the league.
“It was great going into the break in first place, and we expect nothing less than staying in first place,” Mackie said. “We think we’ve got a championship group here.”
Mackie was a graduate of the well-respected St. Andrew’s College prep school in Aurora, Ont., but moving up to Junior A was a big step.
“He learned the boys were big and fast, and he was just trying to survive,” Didmon said. “Certainly, he was a very good hockey player, and you knew it was just a matter of time.”
“He’s hit his stride these last months.”
Once Mackie, who’s a good size at six-feet tall and 180 pounds, settled down, he was able to make better use of his skills. Mixed with a little confidence and plenty of hard work — “you have to work hard for the skills to work” — the results followed. On Friday, he was playing on a line with Storm Wahlrab and captain Mark McLellan.
“Craig has shown a lot of confidence in me,” Mackie said. “I’m not worried about making mistakes. I know I’ll always get another shift.”
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