VICTORIA 6
SALMON ARM 2
It has been quite the week for Henri Schreifels.
The Victoria Grizzlies veteran winger officially accepted a scholarship offer to play NCAA Div. 1 hockey at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute next fall, and this weekend he scored four goals in two games, including a hat-trick on Saturday night as the Grizzlies cruised to a 6-2 victory over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in front of about 1,100 fans on Military Appreciation Night at The Q Centre.
Schreifels, who now has goals in three straight games, raised his goal total on the season to 20 as the Agoura Hills, California, native helped the Grizzlies improve to 18-29-1 on the season. Victoria now has two wins and an overtime loss in its last three games.
“He’s got the skills, speed and talent and he’s putting together now and he’s playing with a ton of confidence and you’re seeing the results,” said Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon.
After Vincent Nardone opened the scoring 4:27 into the first, Schreifels scored his first midway through the opening period after taking a nice pass from Michael Hoekstra and slipping one past Lake Superior State-bound Ethan Langenegger in the Salmon Arm net.
The Grizzlies’ offence shifted gears in a penalty-filled second period. Alex DiPaolo buried a nice feed from Marty Westhaver eight minutes in for his first of two on the night, and then Schreifels one-timed a pass from Westhaver to put the home team up 4-0. Schreifels completed the hat-trick late in the period with another power-play goal.
“Salmon Arm is a good hockey club but the guys were ready for them tonight and played a strong team game. We had all four lines rolling,” Didmon said.
Lucas Breault, late in the second, and Drew Bennett late in the third were the Salmon Arm (23-20-4) goalscorers as Liam Souliere made 34 saves to pick up his third win in seven starts since returning from a lengthy layoff due to injury.
The Grizzlies have little time to recover as Victoria hosts the West Kelowna Warriors on Tuesday night at The Q Centre.
“Every game is huge for us now because we want that top wildcard seed to get the third seed in the Interior come playoffs so we’ll look to keep it rolling on Tuesday,” added Didmon.
LOOSE PUCKS: The BCHL announced this week its re-alignment for next season due to the addition of the expansion Cranbrook Bucks. The Bucks, and the Prince George Spruce Kings will join the Interior Conference, giving it nine teams. The Coastal Conference will also house nine teams, including the Grizzlies. Each team will play a 54-game schedule, down from the 58 that teams played this season.
