Grizzlies are ready for Austrian invasion

GAME DAY: RED BULL SALZBURG AT VICTORIA 7 p.m. at The Q Centre

Tonight, Victoria Grizzlies fans will get their first taste of international hockey flavour since Dec. 30, 2007, when the local B.C. Hockey League club played host to the Under-17 Swedish national team.

Victoria welcomes Red Bull Salzburg’s U-20 Austrian team at 7 p.m. at The Q Centre, formerly Bear Mountain Arena, where the Grizzlies lost 5-2 to Sweden just over eight years ago.

Red Bull Salzburg — led by Global sports director and general manager Pierre Page, formerly of the NHL’s Minnesota, Calgary, Quebec and Anaheim franchises — is playing its fourth and final game against BCHL clubs, having defeated the Vipers 6-4 in Vernon on Monday night.

Last week, the Austrian club was trumped 6-1 by the Penticton Vees and defeated West Kelowna 8-6, after building up 4-0 and 8-1 leads. The touring team also lost 4-2 to Trinity Western University on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a really fun game. Obviously, in Europe, it’s a much different game,” said Grizzlies forward Dante Hahn. “I’m looking forward to seeing how they play and how we can adjust to it. Hopefully, we can get a good crowd and show them some good hockey.”

It will be a rare opportunity for the BCHL club.

“My first time,” said Grizzlies captain P.J. Conlon of playing an international opponent, not including a North American team. “It’s a fantastic opportunity, not only for us, but for everyone in the city.

“It’s a pretty special experience to have a team come over from Austria and play us at The Q Centre. I think the guys are really looking forward to it and so is the entire community here. I think they’re going to come out hard, especially considering it’s their last game on their tour. They’re at .500 right now and I’m sure they’d love to go home with a winning record, just like we’d love to get a win in front of our fans.”

Red Bull Salzburg features forward Valentin Busch, rated 132nd by NHL Central Scouting on the European draft list, and six-footsix, 228-pound Canadian winger Alex Kealey, of Ottawa. The majority of players hail from Austria, but the roster also includes athletes of Swedish, Slovakian, German, Belgian and Slovenian heritage.

Busch is from Germany and teammate Florian Baltram, of Austria, did play in Lethbridge and Seattle of the Western Hockey League the last two seasons.

“This is a highly skilled team that will entertain our fans and sponsors, and our coaches and players are excited for this opportunity,” said Grizzlies governor Lance Black. “This is an experience none of us will ever forget, because it is so rare to have a program like Red Bull Salzburg be able to make a tour like this. This is a bonus for everyone.”

Salzburg competes in the Erste Bank Young Stars League, one of 14 teams from Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic, and prior to departing for Canada the team sat third in Group A with a 16-11-0-1 record.

Tickets to the game are $20 and are available at the office or at the gate. Doors open at 6 p.m. It follows a luncheon today at noon at the Westin Bear Mountain where a $50 ticket gets one person lunch and two tickets to the game.

International hockey, such as this, has a tradition in the area.

The Grizzlies, known as the Salsa at the time, also played an exhibition game against a Russian minor pro team on Dec. 14, 1999, at Memorial Arena.