Grizzlies, Clippers among teams battling for playoff seeding
GAME DAY: VICTORIA AT COQUITLAM, 7 P.M.
The Victoria Grizzlies and Nanaimo Clippers had every right in looking on with a certain amount of pride as the 2024 NCAA tournament began this week with a combined 10 alumni, six from the Clippers and four from the Grizzlies, among the 81 B.C. Hockey League alumni skating for a spot in the Frozen Four next month at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“This shows again that the BCHL is a very good league in moving players on to college,” said Grizzlies GM and head coach Rylan Ferster.
Wherever their paths may lead — 15 on the current Grizzlies and 14 of the current Clippers have NCAA commitments — they know next week they will face each other in the opening round of the BCHL conference playoffs. The only question is which team will earn home-ice advantage as the fourth seed and which will be relegated to the fifth-seed position.
“We are not focused on that,” maintained Ferster.
“It would be nice to get it. But if we don’t, does that mean the season was a failure? Of course not. The series is going to be played, no matter who has home-ice advantage. I am much more concerned over these last two regular-season games with getting our game in order. Especially cleaning up our own end and getting our defensive zone tightened up, although last weekend we were better at it.”
A large reason for that was the recent return of starting goaltender and NCAA Colgate University-bound Oliver Auyeung-Ashton after a long period away with injury.
“It really allows us to do a lot of things,” said Ferster.
“Goaltending is the most important position in hockey.”
Heading into Friday night, the Grizzlies and Clippers each had two regular-season games remaining with the Grizzlies one point ahead in the standings and holding the tiebreaker. Victoria (27-22-3) is in Coquitlam to play the current sixth-seed Express (21-27-4) tonight and Sunday to close out the regular season. Nanaimo (26-22-4) hosted the seventh-seed Langley Rivermen (19-28-5) Friday night at Frank Crane Arena and closes out tonight at the Crane against the second-seed Chilliwack Chiefs (30-17-5).
A sweep in Coquitlam — even getting three of the possible three points — will assure the Grizzlies home-ice advantage against the Clippers, but Ferster is wary: “It’s going to be a tough go in Coquitlam. It is a small building and it’s our first time there this season and several of our guys have never seen it before, so that will be a challenge.”
Ferster said it’s first things first this weekend in Coquitlam and that he hasn’t given the upcoming Clippers series even a thought yet. But it will be a good one pitting two organizations that pride themselves on development.
The Grizzlies graduates in the 2024 NCAA tournament are Jack Gorton (currently injured) with top-ranked Boston University, Hoyt Stanley with Cornell and Carter Berger and Trevor Bishop with Western Michigan. The ex-Clippers are Lucas Vanroboys with UMass, Kyler Kovich and Jack O’Brien with Cornell, Aiden Hansen-Bukata with RIT, David Silye with Wisconsin and Tim Washe with Western Michigan.
Other Island teams with alumni players in this year’s NCAA tournament include the Alberni Valley Bulldogs with four and Cowichan Valley Capitals with five.
Heading into Friday night, Alberni Valley (31-20-1) could finish no worse than third in the Coastal Conference and had a chance of surpassing secondplace Chilliwack, depending on results this weekend to close out the regular season.
Heading into Friday night, Cowichan Valley (16-32-4) held the eighth and final playoff position in the Coastal Conference, but had not yet clinched.