Royals, Rockets battle in Kelowna
Wenatchee Wild first stop for Victoria tonight
Craig Didmon’s team has had a longer Christmas break than usual, and if the Victoria Grizzlies general manager and head coach has his way, the players will pick up right where they left off at the tail end of 2019.
Before starting their 12-day holiday break, the Grizzlies (15-24-0) had rolled off four wins in their past five games, including knocking off the Island Division-leading Nanaimo Clippers on Dec. 21.
Didmon expects more of the same in the new year as the club begins to hunt down the Powell River Kings (19-19-2) in the battle for the division’s final playoff spot.
“The guys are refreshed, recharged and, after a strong finish to the first half, they’re eager to get going and start winning some games again,” said Didmon, whose club returns to B.C. Hockey League action tonight in Wenatchee against the Wild to begin a three-game road trip that will also take them to Penticton on Saturday and Surrey on Sunday.
The hiatus also allowed the Grizzlies’ injured players to heal and this weekend a couple of veterans could be added to the lineup. Defenceman Brady MacDonald, who has missed the past few months with an upper-body injury, is expected back tonight, and 20-year-old forward Trevor Bishop could return either Saturday or Sunday after a long layoff.
“Brady looks ready to go again,” said Didmon, whose team returned to practice on Wednesday night. “And Trevor is looking real close, so he will be coming on the road with us and, hopefully, we’ll see him on the weekend.”
While two veterans return, another two remain out, but not for long. Twenty-year-old netminder Liam Souliere, who is NCAA-committed to Penn State but has yet to play a game for the Grizzlies this season due to an early-season knee injury, is awaiting doctor’s clearance to return to game action and that is expected on Monday. And veteran winger Eddie Yan is back practising and will likely be back in the lineup when the Grizzlies return home for a Jan. 10 matchup with the Cowichan Valley Capitals at The Q Centre.
“The time off has been good for the injured guys and their veteran presence will be a big boost for our younger players,” Didmon said.
The Grizzlies will play a Wild team tonight that beat Victoria at The Q Centre on Oct. 20.
“Wenatchee has a lot of speed up front and mobile defencemen, so you have to be ready to outwork them,” Didmon said.
Following the tilt in Wenatchee, the Grizzlies head to the South Okanagan where they’ll see a couple of familiar faces in Darwin Lakoduk and Nico Somerville, who were traded from the Victoria to Penticton in November.
“I’m sure the boys are eager to touch base with Darwin and Nico, and both Wenatchee and Penticton get big crowds and are fun places for the players to play so we’re looking forward to this trip and hopefully we can make it a successful one,” Didmon said.
LOOSE PUCKS: There were coaching changes in the BCHL over the holiday break. West Kelowna and Salmon Arm both fired their head coaches. The Warriors replaced Brandon West with Simon Ferguson on an interim basis and the Silverbacks relieved Scott Atkinson of his duties and named Tyler Shattock as interim head coach.