Now comes the best part.
The Nanaimo Clippers have skated their way through the ups and downs of a 60-game B.C. Hockey League season. Add up all those wins and losses, goals and assists, bodychecks and battle scars and they amount to one thing, really. One playoff berth. One chance.
“What doesn’t kill you is only going to make you stronger,” said Colton Cyr, team captain. “So I think if everybody takes what they’ve learned this year and brings it into the first round, we should do very well as far as being prepared and knowing what it might take.”
The Clippers take to the ice on Friday (Feb. 25) on the road against the Victoria Grizzlies for Game 1 of a best-of-seven series. The No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the Coastal Conference were only separated by three points in the standings this year. The Grizzlies are led offensively by David Morley, who tallied 25 goals and 51 assists, and also get lots of offence from blueliners including Justin Filion, who had 19 goals and 37 helpers this year.
“They play similar to us; they’re small and fast and smart,” said Myles Fitzgerald, Clippers forward. “If we attack their defence and work hard down low against them and play safe defensively, we’ll do well.”
Brayden Jaw, another Clippers forward, said Nanaimo needs to play the body against the Grizzlies.
“They’re a really small team but they’re extremely fast and very shifty,” said Jaw. “As long as we can be physical we’ll shut down their [key] players.”
Those are some of the lessons the Clippers learned in the regular season. Some of it is still applicable now, at playoff time. Some isn’t.
“We’ve got to have a different mindset,” said Andrew Gladiuk, an alternate captain on the Clippers. “Obviously it’s going to be a lot tougher hockey from now on.”
The Clips know that come playoffs, it takes more to put pucks in the net and it takes more to keep them out.
“We’re a playoff hockey team,” Gladiuk said. “We’re built to play a playoff style and guys are going to be sacrificing their body blocking shots, making plays and getting pucks out and really elevating their game.”
Whichever team better understands that will give itself the best chance to win. The Clippers saw that this time last year, when they were underdogs against the Grizzlies but won the series in six games. Just like this year, Cyr said, there wasn’t a wide gap in skill level on the benches.
“The only thing we had over their team last year was the grit, the will, the heart and the need to win,” he said.
They have that this year, too, said the captain.
“This is the time of year when you don’t sleep as much as you normally would because you’re so excited to get out there,” Cyr said. “Once the season ends it’s amazing how fast everything changes.”
GAME ON … The Nanaimo Clippers take on the Victoria Grizzlies in Round 1 of the B.C. Hockey League playoffs. Game 1 is Friday (Feb. 25) at 7:15 p.m. at Bear Mountain Arena. Game 2 is Saturday, also at 7:15 p.m. at Bear Mountain. The Clippers host Game 3 on Monday (Feb. 28) and Game 4 on Tuesday. Both those games go at 7:10 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena. Playoff tickets will be available at the door or in advance by calling 250-751-0593.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
