(4) Victoria Grizzlies vs. (1) Cowichan Valley Capitals
Best-of-seven series
Grizzlies: 26-25-3, (55 points)
Capitals: 38-13-3, (79 points)
Season series: VIC: 3-4-0, CVC 4-2-1
The Victoria Grizzlies begin their 2026 Rogers BCHL Playoffs against the Coastal Conference Regular Season Champion, Cowichan Valley Capitals. Victoria was one of just three teams to beat them more than once this season (Alberni Valley & Nanaimo), while taking their last meeting 5-3 on March 27th in Victoria.
Victoria and Cowichan are all too familiar with each other after seven meetings this season and locking horns in the second round of last years post season. After Victoria went up 3-0 in the series, the Caps battled back to a game six in Victoria, which went right down to the wire. Chase Pirtle’s series winner with seven seconds remaining on the game clock sealed a six-game victory for Victoria against their rivals and earned their first Conference Final berth since 2019.
Those days are long gone, with just one Grizzly remaining from that series (Denny Monahan) and five from Cowichan Valley (Jack McAra, Trace Frieden, Carter Dekay, Adam Lang & Ryan Harvey). Cowichan won the season series 4-3 while outscoring the Grizzlies 35-30. Do the math, and yes, there has been a lack of defense in these two teams’ meetings this season.
It will also be a battle of discipline. Victoria was the most penalized team in the Coastal Conference by a wide margin, with 957 PIM, while also being the tallest and heaviest team in the league on average. Their 27 majors were the second most in the BCHL. Cowichan, on the other hand, as one of the smallest teams in the league, takes next to no penalties. Their 497 PIM was lowest in the league, and 155 times shorthanded was lowest as well.
Schedule:
Game 1: Friday, April 3rd, 7:00 p.m. at Cowichan Valley (Cowichan Community Arena)
Game 2: Saturday, April 4th, 6:00 p.m. at Cowichan Valley (Cowichan Community Arena)
Game 3: Tuesday, April 7th, 7:00 p.m. vs Cowichan Valley (The Q Centre)
Game 4: Wednesday, April 8th, 7:00 p.m. vs Cowichan Valley (The Q Centre)
Game 5: Friday, April 10th, 7:00 p.m. at Cowichan Valley (Cowichan Community Arena)*
Game 6: Saturday, April 11th, 6:00 p.m. vs Cowichan Valley (The Q Centre)*
Game 7: Monday, April 13th, 7:00 p.m. at Cowichan Valley (Cowichan Community Arena)*
* (if necessary)
Previous Meetings
October 10, 2025: Grizzlies 4 vs Capitals 1
November 1, 2025: Grizzlies 2 vs Capitals 4
January 3, 2026: Grizzlies 8 at Capitals 7 (OT)
January 24, 2026: Grizzlies 5 at Capitals 7
February 28, 2026: Grizzlies 2 vs Capitals 6
March 14, 2026: Grizzlies 4 at Capitals 7
March 27, 2026: Grizzlies 5 vs Capitals 3
Game breakers
Grizzlies: Maddux Martin with the Grizzlies needing a change in the dressing room, they went out and traded their local captain, Landon Mackie, to Salmon Arm in return for the Silverbacks’ own local boy, Maddux Martin. Martin, who has been one of the league’s best players for two years, was in the midst of a down year for whatever reason and in need of a scenery change. What a difference a different perspective can give, as Martin has been everything the Grizzlies bargained for and more. He had three goals in 22 games for SA, but since the trade netted 17 in 22 games with the Grizzlies. One could make an argument for him being the MVP of the Grizzlies’ season, as his leadership and play have changed the trajectory of the season in a significant way.
Capitals: Tristan Gravenor started his BCHL career with some trouble, having just three points through 10 games. He has adjusted. 53 points in the 43 games since then is quite the feat, including 26 goals. What is most noteworthy of all of that is seven goals and 13 points against Victoria this year. They must find a way to stop him from personally bleeding them on a game-to-game basis. His eight power-play goals are also something very much so to be aware of when the Caps inevitably get power-play opportunities.
Goaltending
Grizzlies: If the final three months of the season are any indication, Mikus Vecvanags can almost certainly be slated in for every minute of the playoffs for the Grizzlies, barring catastrophe. The Montreal Canadiens 2024 5th-round pick has been a game-changer for the Grizzlies since acquiring his rights from the Brooks Bandits at the beginning of January. After a couple of tough outings in a row (really nothing to do with his performance), he bounced back in a big way in his final three appearances of the regular season, going 3-0-0 with a 1.99 GAA and .932 SV%. Overall, the Riga, Latvia-born netminder went 10-6-2 with Victoria while holding a 3.31 GAA and .905 SV%. Cowichan has been a bur under his saddle, however, handing him an ugly 6.71 GAA and .827 SV% in four appearances. Mitch Kathler will be the secondary option for the Grizzlies, holding a 1-3-0 record, 6.70 GAA, and .830 SV% in his eight games with the Grizz.
Capitals: Rhett Stoesser has been the go-to guy for the Capitals all season long, and you can expect to see as much against the Grizzlies in this first-round matchup. The 2026 BCHL All-Star had a splendid first half, but has significantly dropped off since creating one of the few areas of concern for this Capitals squad. Stoesser was 26-7-2 this year with a 2.50 GAA and .900 SV%, but in March, he was torched for a 4.32 GAA and .845 SV%. He has also had trouble with Victoria this season. He went 2-2-1 with an elevated 4.32 GAA and .852 SV%. It has not been a goaltender’s dream on either side of this matchup. Jaiden Sharma will back up Stoesser, and he has playoff experience against the Grizzlies with the Surrey Eagles on their 2023-24 Championship-winning team. He was 6-0-2 in those playoffs, but struggled this year in the BCHL split between Surrey and Cowichan.
Numbers to know
Grizzlies: 88. The Grizzlies gave up the second-most goals in third periods in the BCHL this year, and that is an unacceptable number if they want to find any success in the 2026 playoffs. They outscored opponents 65-62 in the first and 76-69 in the second, but their third periods have been atrocious, being outscored 88-57. They must have full sixty-minute efforts to beat a very strong Cowichan Valley team. Two hands on the wheel at all times!
Capitals: 25-1-1. The Capitals had the best record in the BCHL when leading a game after twenty minutes of play. Not surprisingly, they were also 30-0-0 when leading after forty. The message is simple: when they get the lead, they do not give it up. The Grizzlies will have to focus on their starts and not start to fade as periods go on because the Capitals will not stop coming.
Will win if…
Grizzlies: They backcheck effectively. The Capitals manufacture most of their offensive output through odd-man rushes, which involve four or five skaters committing to the rush. If the Grizzlies can also have a high man and back check as their life depends on it, then not only will they be able to thwart chances for the Caps, but they will also turn defense into offense off the rush. The Capitals are susceptible to breakaways and odd-man rushes if they turn it over in transition due to their overcommitment North.
Capitals: They have clean D-zone exits. Victoria thrives on a hard forecheck that causes life to be miserable for the opposition defense. We have seen the Capitals deal with it effectively in the past, and if they can do so in the series, then Victoria will have an uphill battle to fight. Cowichan has very talented puck-moving defensemen, but they are on the very much so the smaller side, so physicality and hard checking can be their undoing. If Victoria doesn’t have that high octane pressure going, then the Caps D-core will weave right through them to create offense up ice.
The series begins Friday at the Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan, and the whole schedule can be viewed below.
Where to Watch or Listen
Watch: You can watch live on FloHockey, the official broadcast partner of the BCHL, with a paid subscription and hit the “away feed” in Cowichan to listen to the Victoria broadcast with Tom Wilke.
Listen: You can listen for free live on the Grizzlies Audio Streaming App on Mixlr with Tom as well. Grizzlies hockey live is proudly presented by “Canada Action”.
