CLEVE DHEENSAW
Times Colonist
The last time Surrey Eagles GM and head coach Cam Keith met a Victoria team in the playoffs, it was as a player and in the second round in 2009, as his Alaska Aces dispatched the Salmon Kings in the pro ECHL enroute to the Kelly Cup final.
Keith is on the verge of doing it again in the second round against a Victoria team, this time behind the bench, in the B.C. Hockey League. His Eagles, the regular-season Coastal Conference and BCHL champions, lead the Victoria Grizzlies 3-2 in the best-of-seven conference semifinal series heading into Game 6 tonight at The Q Centre.
The Grizzlies will need to win out tonight, and in a potential Game 7 Monday night in South Surrey, in order to reach the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2019 when led by NHL first-round draft pick, Colorado Stanley Cup-champion and current Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Newhook.
“We just have to win,” was Grizzlies GM and head coach Rylan Ferster’s blunt assessment of Game 6.
He’s done it before in coaching the 2015-16 West Kelowna Warriors to the BCHL and RBC Cup national Junior A titles and taking a Salmon Arm Silverbacks team, with NHL first-round draft picks Travis Zajac and Chris Chucko, to the 2003-04 BCHL final before losing to the Nanaimo Clippers.
In many ways, this has come down to a cagey match of wits behind the benches. Keith played in the BCHL for the Grizzlies (then Salsa), with future NHLers Matt Pettinger and Greg Zanon, but would like nothing better than to thwart his old team. He is on the brink of doing that as his Eagles have rallied from a 2-1 series deficit against the underdog Grizzlies with late third-period goals to break open tight Games 4 and 5.
Ferster said there were no late-game breakdowns that he could particularly point to as being causes.
“Those last two games could have gone either way,” said Ferster, to indicate how close this series has been.
But it was Surrey that got the late goals when needed in the last two games. The Grizzlies will have to find their own response tonight in those telling moments.
One thing seems certain, the shooters on both teams will have to earn their goals. The goaltending in the series has been excellent between Oliver Auyeung-Ashton of the Grizzlies and the Surrey tandem of Ajeet Gundarah and Jaiden Sharma.
“The goaltenders have given both their teams chances to win,” said Ferster.
Nothing more really needs to be said to the players on either team, with both sets well drilled and deep into it.
“We have a really great group,” said Ferster.
“The veteran leadership will make sure we are ready to go [tonight]. It’s all hands on deck.”
The Grizzlies are a more heavier hitting team than the quicker and more agile Eagles and a bit of controversy has arisen over the penalty totals. Victoria has been assessed eight penalties over the last two games to only one for the Eagles. Although Surrey didn’t score on any of those eight power plays, killing off so many penalties wears a team down. When asked about the penalty discrepancy, Ferster said he had no comment.
The winner of the series will advance to meet the defending conference-champion Alberni Valley Bulldogs in the Coastal Conference final series.
