Victoria (1-1) @ Vernon (2-0)Here's a look at tonight's Royal Bank Cup Matchup:
The BCHL's top two teams meet in tonights Royal Bank Cup matchup, as the the BCHL regular season Coastal Division Champion Victoria Grizzlies (43-13-1-3) good for 90 pts faceoff against the Interior Division Champion Vernon Vipers (42-14-1-3) good for 88 pts. So far it looks like Vernon-Victoria are the top two teams in the RBC making for one heck of a game tonight. The Vipers defeated Victoria at home 3-1 on October 25th in the only meeting of the season between these two teams. Here's a look at the box scores,
On paper, the Victoria Grizzlies appear to have a terrific chance to become the first host team since the Weyburn Red Wings in 2005 to win the National Junior A Championship. They set franchise records for wins and points in a season, had the best record in the BCHL, scored the second most goals and allowed the second fewest goals, and did something no host team since Grande Prairie in 2004 was able to acomplish-win a playoff series the same year they hosted the RBC Cup. Trevor Hertz (former Quesnel Millionaire) led the Grizzlies balanced offensive attack, finishing fifth in the BCHL scoring race with 72 pts. Overall, six players scored at least 50 pts, with with five notching at least 20 goals. On the back end, netminder Anthony Grieco ranked among the BCHL's best, fashioning a 3.52 goals against average, good for third, and .905 save percentage, one of just five goaltenders with at least 30 appearances to crack the .900 mark. The leagues best regular season record earned the Grizzlies a first round bye and a second round match-up with the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Victoria would almost let a 3-1 series lead get away, but managed to win game 7 winning the series 4-3. The Grizzlies would move on to the Coastal Conference Championship where down 3-1 to the Powell River Kings, the Grizzlies would be the team to battle back to force a game 7 but would come up short, lossing the final game ending the teams season. Victoria has no been waiting for another shot at the RBC, after not playing hockey for the last month, the Grizzlies seem roaring and ready to go. Victoria lost its opening game of the RBC in a heart breaking loss to the Humboldt Broncos, falling 2-1 giving up the game winning goal shorthanded with just 1.1 seconds remaining on the clock. The Grizzlies would bounce back with a strong performance in the second game of the RBC, defeating Kingston 5-0.
The BCHL & Doyle Cup Champion Vernon Vipers are heading into tonights contest with the best record so far in the RBC, sitting at 2-0 with wins over Summerside (4-2) and last night defeating Humboldt (7-1) Tonight will be the Vipers third game in three days with a day off tomorrow. Vernon comes into the RBC with one if not the strongest defence in the league giving up a leagues best 145 goals. Vernon is led up front by Connor Jones who lead the team with 60 pts.
You can listen to tonights game live with Todd Miller on 107.5 Kiss FM starting at 6:45pm
Vernons Top Playoff Scoring Leaders:
Connor Jones 28 pts
Sahir Gill 23 pts
Kellen Jones 22 pts
Braden Pimm 14 pts
Chris Crowell 13 pts
Cory Kane 13 pts
Mike Collins 12 pts
Rob Short 10 pts
Andrew Hammond 16-5 Record 1.50 GAA 4 Shutouts
Victorias Top Playoff Scoring Leaders:
Jonathan Milhouse 14 pts
Derek Lee 12 pts
Trever Hertz 12 pts
Cody Bremner 9 pts
Evan Pighin 9 pts
Jeff Forsythe 9 pts
Tyler Gubb 8 pts
Anthony Grieco 6-7 Record 2.73 GAA 1 Shutout
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