Victoria, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies begin a two-game weekend at the Hap Parker Arena in Powell River this evening with puck drop at 7:00 PM PST.
The Grizzlies had several hiccups in their opening weekend on the mainland, but for the most part, there was plenty to build on. The team led 3-1 in Coquitlam halfway through the third period on Saturday night but ended up falling 4-3 (hence the hiccups). They responded with a five-goal first period on Sunday afternoon in Surrey before coming out on top 8-5. Now that their first win is under their belt, they will look for a couple of cleaner and less scrambled performances this weekend from a building that they have recently had plenty of success in.
Some rust was expected as the first weekend kicked off; however, there appeared to be no rust for Sam Rousseau and Landon Mackie. Rousseau, new to the Grizzlies this season from the QMJHL, leads the way for the squad with three goals in two games. Landon Mackie, the Grizzlies’ hometown captain, had five points (1 G, 4 A) to lead all Grizzlies and stand tied for first in the BCHL through two games.
Powell River is fresh off a homeopener weekend against the Langley Rivermen that saw them drop both games to the visitors from the mainland (5-1 & 4-2). They scored the fewest number of goals during the BCHL’s opening weekend, so you can be sure that they have a little bit of extra motivation tonight from their home barn. Chris Battaini scored twice for them this weekend, while ever dangerous Brendan Giles added a goal and assist. Giles suffered an injury on Friday night in their opener and was not available on Saturday. His status is unknown.
Powell River is hoping to improve on a franchise-worst 9-39-6 record last year, which saw them miss the playoffs for a second straight season. They have missed the playoffs in three of the last four years and haven’t recorded a winning season since 2019-20 (29-23-6). Victoria was 5-2-0 against the Kings last season while going 3-0-0 at the Hap Parker Arena. They are 5-1-0 on the road in Powell River the last two years. Victoria is 21-7-0 against the Kings over the last five years, while they also convincingly won their last preseason game in Powell River 8-4 on September 13th.
As always, the game is available to stream with a paid subscription to floHockey while also being available free of charge on the Grizzlies Audio Streaming App on mixLR with Tom Wilke.
2025-26 Team Ranks
| Victoria Grizzlies | Powell River Kings | |
| Record | 1-1-0 (T-9th) | 0-2-0 (T-16th) |
| Goals Per Game | 5.50 (T-2nd) | 1.50 (20th) |
| Goal Against Per Game | 4.50 (T-14th) | 4.50 (T-14th) |
| Power Play Percentage | 50.0% (1st) | 0% (T-13th) |
| Penalty Kill Percentage | 90.9% (9th) | 100% (T-1st) |
| Penalty Minutes Per Game | 23.00 (2nd) | 13.00 (12th) |
| Home Record | 0-0-0 (T-8th) | 0-2-0 (T-8th) |
| Away Record | 1-1-0 (T-9th) | 0-0-0 (T-11th) |
| Head To Head (Last Year) | 5-2-0 | 2-3-2 |
