Above Photo: Kyle Robinson Photography
Victoria, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies have punched their ticket to the second round of the Fred Page Cup playoffs however they are still waiting to find out their eventual opponent.
Sunday evening’s 5-1 convincing victory over the Coquitlam Express not only sealed the six game series win for Victoria, but it also meant that Victoria joins Alberni Valley and Cowichan Valley as the three teams now ready for second round action in the Coastal Conference. The only question that now remains is the one surrounding game seven of the Chilliwack Chiefs and Prince George Spruce Kings tonight (Tuesday) with the outcome determining Victoria’s next clash.
If the number one seeded Chiefs win tonight then Victoria will begin the Coastal Conference Semi Final on the road on Friday in Cowichan Valley (the 3rd seed). If the eighth seeded Spruce Kings come out on top then Victoria will host the 7th seed Alberni Valley Bulldogs at the Q Centre on Friday night. Cowichan defeated Nanaimo in five games while Alberni did much of the same to the Surrey Eagles.
No matter the outcome Victoria will have an all Island playoff series for the second year in a row (they beat Nanaimo in the first round last season in five games). Victoria went 6-1-0
against the Bulldogs this year convincingly while losing the season set with the Capitals four to three (3-2-2). This will also be the first time in BCHL history that three Island based teams are in the second round of the playoffs.
The last time Victoria saw Alberni in the post season was in 2023 when the Bulldogs swept the Grizzlies away in four games of the first round. The Bulldogs would go on to fall in the league final that season to Penticton. Wildly, the last time Victoria and Cowichan clashed in the playoffs was in 2009 when Victoria knocked off the Caps in seven games.
The fact that Prince George and Chilliwack are playing in a game seven may seem wild and vastly unpredictable to casual fans, however everyone around the BCHL knows the hot play
that Prince George had going, to make it into the postseason on the last day of the season. Their addition of Charles Gravel between the pipes also certainly didn’t hurt as he has a save
percentage of .940 and GAA just over two in the playoffs so far. What’s more impressive is that Prince George has held the highest scoring team in the BCHL to a measly 12 tallies. Moral of the story is that Tuesday very easily could be not the ending score line that people may believe.
The entirety of the BCHL and Victoria players, staff and fans will all have their eyes glued to their televisions this evening, patiently waiting to find out who will be their next opponent to lock horns with.
Stay tuned for more information on second round tickets.
