Weekend Preview: UVic, VIU set for opening round of island rivalry

It's been a six-week wait, but the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League's newest geographic rivalry is finally ready for primetime as the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University face off for their first regular season games with a home-and-home series this weekend.

Perhaps more importantly, it's an opportunity for both teams to get back on a winning track following lacklustre starts to the season.

The Vikes, coming off an underdog championship run in March, have started the 2017/18 campaign with a 1-5-0-1 record and sit one point back of the Mariners, who are 2-5-0-0 in their expansion season.

Both teams sit ahead of Eastern Washington (0-8-0-0) but behind Selkirk College (20 points), Trinity Western (14) and Simon Fraser (10) in the BCIHL standings and are locked in a battle, albeit very early in the year, for the fourth and final playoff berth.

It's tough to pinpoint just one early season problem for the Vikes, who have endured struggles at both ends of the rink. Their 13 goals rank last amongst BCIHL teams while their 5.29 goals-against average also brings up the rear.

How do you explain the championship hangover? From a distance, it's tough to put a finger on. The Vikes lost some key contributers over the summer, but they've retained a handful of stars including forwards Patrick Holland, Jack Palmer, Liam Shaw and Brandon Volpe, plus 2017 BCIHL Defenceman of the Year Kyle Bird.

They haven't been able to dress a full, healthy line-up on most nights however, and Palmer and Shaw are currently the ony two players averaging a point per game.

On the bright side, there are plenty of reasons for optimism for the Vikes beyond championship experience and a handful of established stars: UVic often start slow before hitting their stride, and they have a pair of goaltenders with impressive resumes who can steal a game on any given night.

For the Islanders, the first seven games of their BCIHL existence have been an up and down experience. They've picked up a pair of road wins in four tries but they've yet to pick up a victory in front of their home fans at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.

They also feature a roster loaded with 17 rookies and only a handful of players with post-secondary hockey experience. That small group includes ex-Selkirk skaters Alex Milligan and Tyler Kerner, who have championship experience, and excellent blueliners in Garrett Halls and Jordan Rauser.

First-year forwards Garrett Dunlop, Curtis McCarrick and Josh Cook have gotten the hang of things with 15 points between them through seven games, but they could use more production from throughout the lineup; only eight Mariners in total have hit the back of the net so far this season.

The weekend series begins Friday in Victoria (7:30 PM) and concludes in Nanaimo on Saturday (8:00 PM). Both games can be viewed live on Hockey TV.