Banged-up Grizzlies welcome Christmas break
Calgary Flames forward Michael Frolik may have said it best over the weekend.
“You always want to go into the holidays, into the short Christmas break, feeling good about yourself and your game. It’s nice if you can spend those days feeling a bit more relaxed and enjoy the time away. And you do that by winning,” he said.
The Victoria Grizzlies are taking that message to heart as they began an 11-day gap from play on Monday following a 6-2 win over Prince George on Sunday afternoon.
“Rest and relaxation and we have talked about it all year — we just have to keep getting better,” general manager and head coach Craig Didmon said of his message to his team for the break. “Teams are doing their homework and we’ve had to make adjustments throughout games.
“For us, let’s look after our bodies and our health and obviously have a good time with families and friends. When we get back, let’s get back to work. We feel good about this team and we want to do something special with this group, for sure.”
So far, so good on that front as the Grizzlies sit third overall in the league behind only Wenatchee and the Penticton Vees, who they will see twice in February.
“Family and friends — I haven’t seen them for a while so it’ll be nice getting back there,” said Calgary native Jamie Rome. “I’m going to relax for a few days, then the family is going down to Phoenix for a little holiday for four days.”
It should be the perfect tonic and a great way to prepare for the stretch run. The Grizzlies are coming off a month of December in which they recorded five wins, one loss, one tie and one overtime setback with the past few games without key players.
“It was nice to get three [wins] out of four games before we go,” said defenceman Jake Stevens, who is second in team scoring with 38 points in 36 games and is second among top rearguards in the league to Langley’s Cameron Ginnetti, who has 40 points.
Stevens will travel the furthest during the break, stopping in Chicago before heading to Florida to visit family.
“I’ll see my sister for the first time in a long while, so I’m excited and glad to get away for a bit,” he said. “I don’t think many guys will be bringing stuff home, we’ve had a hard first half so I think we all want to rest up.”
Not only physically, but mentally. “It’s good to get away from the game for a bit and see family and friends,” said Stevens. “This has been a great year so far — a lot different from last year. Like Craig said, it’s one of the best starts the team has ever had, so let’s keep it up when we get back.”