Jan. 3rd vs. Oceanside Generals - Hockey Ops.

Good Evening Hockey Fans on the Peninsula,

Thank you for coming out tonight.  I hope that each and every one of you enjoyed your Christmas Break and I am glad that you chose to join us tonight for our game against the Oceanside Generals.  The game for our Club this evening is yet another in a string of important contests and we dearly would like to put up two points in the standings to distance ourselves a little further from the Clubs below us in the standings.  Right now the Westshore Wolves trail us by 8 points and with a W on the board against the Generals we would move ten points ahead of them with thirteen games left in the regular season.  Our kids are playing pretty good hockey right now and have put up a few wins in the month of December and we are looking to get the same kind of results in January.

Out of the lineup tonight for our Club is Goaltender Stephen Heslop who will be backing up for the Victoria Grizzlies in their games against the Port Alberni Bulldogs and so Joey Karrer will once again be between the pipes this evening.  Karrer has been hotter than a pistol and so I look for him to continue on the roll he is on.  Also out of the lineup tonight is 16-year-old sniper Tate Coughlin who continues on his journey with the Kelowna Rockets however, he will be back in the lineup next Wednesday when we travel to the Bear Mountain Arena to take on the Westshore Wolves.  Spencer Loverock is scratched tonight due to an injury a way back in time but he is now practicing full out and could be back as soon as Wednesday or next weekend.

The Generals come limping into town in last place in the VIJHL however we have split the two games played so far this season.  We will be up in Oceanside later in the season to complete the four-game series between the two Clubs.  The Generals are a far better team than their lowly record indicates and are looking to put up some wins right now to get back into the chase for the final playoff spot in the VIJHL.  The Saanich Braves currently hold down the last spot but with a couple wins, the Generals would launch themselves right back into the picture.  They also made a significant move this week adding veteran BCHL Coach Bill Bestwick to the fold.  Bestwick had been coaching the BCHL Victoria Grizzlies until early in December however it did not take long for the experienced veteran to jump right back into the saddle, this time with the Generals. I expect that this change will ignite some real passion in the visitors this evening and the change certainly makes for an interesting storyline tonight.

On New Year’s Day we hosted the Saanich Braves and ended up on the right side of a 9-1 blowout win.  Zack Smith lead all scoring notching two goals and three helpers while Matt Sheeran had a four-point night with two goals and two assists.  Connor Logan also had a great night and just continues to rack up the points as the season moves along.  I thought every one of the kids looked good in the game and moved the puck as good as we have all season long.  When the game became a bit tough, our kids responded and we certainly did not get pushed around.  Once again Iver Oedegaard was banging and crashing as were many others however, this has not been his nature and to see him start to figure it out just a bit has been pretty exciting for the Organization.  We have a ton of depth on the back end and with Loverock set to slot back in soon, it is a great problem for the coaching staff to deal with.  Grayson Vickers and Adam Page will be up front unless anything changes and on New Year’s Brett Sjerven was also moved up front.  These three guys add a ton of grit to an already set of gritty forwards and we should be that much tougher to play against with everyone healthy.

It is January 3rd and so we are rapidly approaching the carding deadline of January 10th at midnight.  That date occurs next Friday night when we are at home for our usual Friday affair.  Often things are hard to get done at this time of year as everyone feels that they have a shot to make the playoffs however, we are still trying to add a piece or two.  We are set in goal, we are set on defence but if we have the opportunity to add a forward we will do just that.  We currently have 22 players carded and are allowed 23 so we could add a forward without anyone from our current roster moving along.  We'll keep you posted next Friday if we have any changes.

And speaking of next Friday, it is a game that I am really looking forward to as we host the Victoria Cougars for their last visit to the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre.  I could talk forever about this game and what it means, but suffice to say it will be a barn-burner.

OK, I thought I would touch base a bit on what the playoffs this season will look like in the VIJHL.  I have spoken about this earlier this year however now as we get down to the final six weeks of the regular season, each game always take on much more significance.  For starters, the last place team in total points in the VIJHL is eliminated from the post season.  If the season were to end tonight, the Oceanside Generals would be pulling out their golf clubs and would be putting their hockey gear into mothballs.  If the Generals are eliminated, the last place team in the South Division which is currently the Saanich Braves would then move to the North Division for the first round of the playoffs and they would be taking the 4th place seed.  The North Division 1st round as of today would see the Saanich Braves and the Campbell River Storm go at it in a best-of-7 series while the other series in the North would be the Nanaimo Buccaneers and the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.  And as of today the 1st place Victoria Cougars would tangle with the Kerry Park Islanders while our Club would face off against the Westshore Wolves in the 1st round.  After the 1st round has run its course, the four remaining teams would be re-seeded from 1-4 in points, Divisions do not matter after the 1st round is over.  The 1st place team would play the remaining team with the least points while the other two Clubs would meet in the semi-final round 2.  The two winning teams will play in the VIJHL final for the right to represent our league at the Cyclone Taylor Cup which will be held in Nelson, B.C. in early April.  And that folks is the VIJHL playoff format in a nutshell.

Many people ask me who we would like to play in the playoffs and to be honest, it really matters not.  If I had my choice I would prefer not to travel and would rather play South teams but that is for logistics only and nothing to do with the possible opponents.  It's always tough to make the bottom line work in Junior Hockey and so it is great when your playoff opponent is from right across the town.  It helps in three ways.  There is no travel costs, no bus, no food on the road.  There is no travel time and perhaps the most important, the fans of both teams get to enjoy the entire series as both of the venues of the two teams are right in everyone's back yard.  I wanted the format to remain the same as last season when the only time the North and South would meet was in the VIJHL finals however, the majority of owners voted on the format we will be using this time around and so there is no choice to be fine with it.  With parity in the VIJHL this season, I believe that the playoffs will be better than they have been for years and years.  There are so many teams that could come out on top in the post-season that it will make for a lot of entertainment in our League and who would not be happy with that situation.  Enjoy the game tonight!

Pete Zubersky