Vaguely ask Victoria Grizzlies' general manager and head coach Bill Bestwick about his road record, and a smile as wide as the players' box at Bear Mountain Arena stretches across the face of the wily veteran who is quick with a quip.
"Shot down by two blonds, one brunette said maybe, and a redhead is probably my best option," he said, in jest, of the wide-open question.
He's laughing now, but the veteran coach was absolutely sour about the team's most recent performance, which came on home ice, not the road, in a disappointing 3-1 defeat to the Cowichan Valley Capitals.
The Grizzlies head back out on the road this weekend with B.C. Hockey League games in West Kelowna on Friday and Prince George on Saturday. To date, the Island club - 12-6-0-1 overall - is a stellar 7-4-0-0 away from Victoria, including three victories in the last four outings.
"We've been really good after defeats, period," Best-wick said. "We've had good bounce-back games. We're on the road, and I hope we can find our game and just get back to winning ways.
"I do think we have had better starts on the road," Bestwick acknowledged. "Our starts at home haven't been too desirable. Maybe we've been squeezing [the sticks] at home. But we've been able to recover after losses, and hopefully that's a trait to this hockey team."
They'll need to be a resilient bunch after last Friday's disappointing loss, one of the team's worst efforts of the season.
"It was one of our poorest performances at home or on the road," Bestwick agreed. "I think we're better than that."
And he's not getting any arguments from his captain.
"I think it's probably fair to say it was our worst game," offered Zach Urban, who celebrated his 19th birthday this week. "With where we were at in the standings and comparing records, it was. You can't really compare them.
"We had a bad game in Powell River as well," he said of a 6-2 result. "But this one was at home, the only game of the weekend. There were no excuses."
And the team, as a whole, isn't using any.
"The guys in the room were disappointed, but it's something we need to move forward on because it's in the past," said Urban, who suggested the road might be a perfect place to straighten out whatever ails the Grizzlies.
"I think it's almost like we're a little tighter [on the road]. We have this mentality of going on a business trip when we're on the road," Urban said. "Lately at home, there have been a few too many distractions, which is related to our slow starts. I think at the end of the day, we just need to mature as a group and get back into winning."
Taking all four points would go a long way, but Prince George has yet to lose at home in regulation with a 6-0-1-1 log.
"I know everyone in this room has that mentality. They have it in their heads that we're going to get the sweep, and I can guarantee you that Bill has that same mentality," Urban said.
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