Victoria, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies kick off a two-home-game weekend against the Powell River Kings tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the Q Centre in Colwood for their sixth meeting of the season already.
Familiarity brings spite? That will almost undoubtedly be the case tonight with the Victoria Grizzlies (12-9-0) hosting the labouring Powell River Kings (3-17-1) for the sixth time this season. With tonight being Victoria’s 22nd game of the campaign, quick math tells us that at the end of today, 27% of the Grizzlies’ games will have been against the Kings of the Sunshine Coast. There should be neither secrets nor love lost when the puck drops in the province’s capital region.
Victoria is coming off a strong, heartfelt showing the previous weekend, grabbing come-from-behind wins over both Chilliwack (6-5 in OT) and Langley (5-4). It was certainly a welcome sight after the previous weekend, scoring one goal in two games on the mainland. It was also fitting, as their division rivals, Alberni, Cowichan and Nanaimo, went two for two in their weekend bouts. The Grizzlies are tied for third in the Coastal West (24 points) with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (11-8-2), while they trail the Nanaimo Clippers (12-7-2) by two points. Cowichan (16-5-1) is well ahead with 33.
Down at the bottom of the division is Powell River, which has won just once in November (1-8-0) while being outscored 65-19. The issue seems to lie on the defensive end, as giving up 5.86 goals per game sees them at the bottom of the league in that category. No offence, cannot keep up with that kind of damage on the other side of the puck.
The Grizzlies have been largely successful against the Kings so far this year with a 4-1-0 record, outscoring them 28-11 and shutting them out three times to this date (1-0, 6-0, 9-0). They hope that those favourable numbers will continue for them in a big weekend that could see them swing well above .500 if they can take care of business. They face off with the Langley Rivermen tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. for their annual Teddy Toss Game to close out the weekend.
Who To Watch:
Victoria: Someone stop Max Silver when he plays against the Powell River Kings. The San Diego product has replaced alumni Chase Pirtle (Cornell University – NCAA) as the King killer for good reason. Silver has tallied eight goals and nine points against them this year, including a four-goal night the last time Powell River was in town. The boys in Green and Gold will need to find a way to neutralize the Grizzlies’ leading goal scorer.
Powell River: Brendan Giles broke into the BCHL with the Kings after his Brunswick Prep school season had ended in 2024 and failed to record a point in 17 games. The University of Connecticut committed forward returned in 2024-25 with a sophomore splash and put up 15 goals and 36 points for very impressive numbers. This year, however, he has proven to be all that they hoped he would be. Giles scored a hat-trick two weekends ago against Surrey in a four-point night, then scored last Friday at home against Alberni Valley, while adding two assists the following evening. He now has seven points in his last four contests while sitting on nine goals and 17 points to this point.
2025-26 Team Ranks
| Victoria Grizzlies | Powell River Kings | |
| Record | 12-9-0 (T-9th) | 3-17-1 (19th) |
| Goals Per Game | 3.90 (7th) | 2.62 (18th) |
| Goal Against Per Game | 3.33 (9th) | 5.86 (20th) |
| Power Play Percentage | 24.3% (6th) | 16.9% (16th) |
| Penalty Kill Percentage | 80.7% (7th) | 70.0% (19th) |
| Penalty Minutes Per Game | 15.10 (8th) | 17.62 (4th) |
| Home Record | 4-5-0 (14th) | 0-11-1 (20th) |
| Away Record | 8-4-0 (6th) | 3-6-0 (16th) |
| Head To Head (Last Year) | 4-1-0 | 1-3-1 |
