Weekend Preview: UVic, VIU to renew Island rivalry with home-and-home

The University of Victoria was the lone B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League team that didn't get a whiff of regular season action last Friday or Saturday night, but they had a good excuse -- the Vikes made the trip south to take on one of the NCAA's heavyweights in the University of Wisconsin, which has produced NHLers like Jonathan Toews, Chris Chelios and Dany Heatley.

The Vikes dropped an 8-2 decision to Tony Granato and the Badgers, but they'll hope to take some positives from a game against a high-end opponent into their BCIHL opener on Friday against Vancouver Island University. The teams open a home-and-home weekend set at the Ian Stewart Complex before heading to Nanaimo on Saturday,

UVic will look to a handful of veterans to lead the way this season, including forwards Liam Shaw and Brandon Volpe plus blueliner Kyle Bird. But that returning core will be buoyed by an impressive recruiting class led by 60-point Alberta Junior A signing Carter Huber.

Meanwhile, VIU will be looking for their first victory of the season after picking up one point from a pair of road games at Trinity Western.

Michael Olson-Eyre's third period marker on Friday night sent the game to overtime, but BCIHL Player of the Week won the contest for the Spartans with just 10 seconds remaining in the extra frame. And on Saturday, the Mariners saw a 5-3 third period lead evaporate due to three straight TWU power-play markers in a 6-5 regulat loss.

Newcomers Dallas Calvin and Brett Witala both showed why they should play key roles in the VIU offence on Saturday night, both scoring their first goals of the season after joining on from Selkirk Collehe and the KIJHL's Kelowna Chiefs respectively. Former Powell River Kings captain Gavin Rauser also picked up his first BCIHL point on a second period goal by fellow rookie Dylan McCann.

Brett Clark and Matt Huber split goaltending duties on opening weekend, with Clark sparkling in the OT loss on Friday before Huber fell victim to TWU's special team explosion a night later.

Friday's home opener in Victoria is set for a 7:30 PM faceoff while Saturday's return leg at VIU will see the puck drop at 7:15 PM. Both games can be seen live on Hockey TV.