The University of Victoria Men’s Hockey Club will kick off its sixth season in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League this coming Friday and Saturday when they travel to Castlegar to play a pair of games against the Selkirk College Saints.
If your first thought upon reading the above paragraph was, “UVIC has a hockey team?” you would not be alone. Playing under the media shadow of the Salmon Kings (ECHL), the Grizzlies (BCHL), the region’s Jr. B teams and now the Royals (WHL), the team has lived in relative obscurity on the UVIC Gordon Head campus for the past six years.
That obscurity is slowly changing. Under the guidance of Head Coach Harry Schamhart, who has been in the position since day one, the Vikes have put together a solid hockey program and have quietly won the BCIHL Championship twice (2007 and 2009).
Last season, the Vikes secured a playoff position and finished third in the BCIHL Championship tournament. That team also produced the BCIHL’s leading scorer and league MVP in Matt Bell (19 goals and 42 points in 22 games).
Bell, and a core group of young players from that team are returning, and give the Vikes a solid shot at winning their third title this season.
“It’s all about communication, execution and working hard” notes Head Coach Schamhart. “We had the youngest team in the league last season and I am sure we will have the youngest team again this year, but if we are all on the same page, and the players work hard and execute, that’s what will make us a competitive team.”
“We have also worked hard this off season at recruiting players to come to UVIC and have been successful in getting some very good players to come here. We also have two new assistant coaches, Sean McNeil and Cole Byers, both of whom are knowledgeable and talented in their own right and will bring a lot to this club.”
The Vikes will compete this season against six other teams in the BCIHL including Selkirk College, Simon Fraser University (winners of the past two BCIHL Championships), Trinity Western University, Eastern Washington University, Thompson Rivers University and Okanagan College.
Each team will play a 24 game league schedule that is comprised of two, two-game home and away series with each of the other teams. The top four teams then face off in the round robin Championship tournament in March of 2012.
Established in the 2006-2007 season, the BCIHL was created with the purpose of offering a venue for competitive, high-calibre ice hockey for players beyond their junior and minor hockey careers. Players in the league generally have Midget AAA or Junior B experience, with elite players coming out of Junior A and WHL programs.
A great example of the type of player the BCIHL wants to attract is that of UVIC’s Bell, as noted above, the league’s leading scorer and MVP last season. A native of West Vancouver and a product of Hollyburn Minor Hockey, Bell played at the Major Midget, Junior B and Junior A level before foregoing his 20-year old season to attend UVIC to pursue a degree in Engineering.
“It was fortunate when I came here that UVIC just happened to have a hockey team” noted Bell. “I didn’t really know what to expect because not a lot of people knew about the team, but it has worked out well.”
Now in the third year of his studies, Bell is managing his time wisely to not only do well in his studies, but also to perform well on the ice.
“It was very rewarding to be the leading scorer and the league MVP last season. We have a close knit group of guys that certainly helped, and more importantly, the coaching staff put their trust in me and put me on the ice enough that I managed to put a few pucks in the net.”
Bell will be called upon this season to pick up where he left off offensively and to provide team leadership, but he will be aided by a core group of returnees that include second-year winger Denis Pavlina, who was one of only two rookies to crack the top ten in league scoring last season (11 goals, 19 assists) and second-year forward Mark Prest who had 19 points in 22 games last season and finished in a tie for the playoff scoring lead with seven points.
On the defensive end, the Vikes will be anchored by third-year Commerce student Phil Barter, one of only three returning players on defence.
“I'm looking forward to the season and will be expecting a big workload, as well as the challenge of teaching some of the new guys a few things” notes Barter.
“We also have two new goaltenders, so the coaching staff will be looking to me for leadership on the back end to make sure our communication is strong and that the goalies and the defensemen are all on the same page.”
Building a quality hockey program at UVIC has not been without its growing pains. Former player and now the team’s Director of Media Relations, Cory St. Laurent, notes that, “the team has an annual budget shortfall of roughly $20,000 that needs to be raised by team members and student leaders through direct contribution or through sponsors and other fundraising efforts. While we have been generally successful at this and have secured various sponsorships, it means extra burden and time commitment on the players, in addition to their schooling and on-ice activities, to assist in the fundraising efforts.”
“We have also had a tough time getting exposure because ice times in Victoria and at UVIC are hard to come by and many of our games in past seasons have started at 9:00 or 9:30 at night, making it tough to get fans out. This season however, we have been successful in securing an 8:00 pm Saturday night slot and 4:00 pm Sunday slot for most of our home games, so hopefully that will translate to a few more fans in the building.”
The UVIC Hockey team motto is “Pursuit of Education, Pursuit of Passion” and reminds players that education always comes first. The student-athletes that comprise the UVIC Hockey Club are dedicated students that simply love the game of hockey, and by all accounts, play the game very well.
After their games with Selkirk College this weekend, the Vikes will play on the road against Trinity Western University on November 4th, and then play defending Champions Simon Fraser University on November 5th.
The Vikes home opening series will be on Saturday and Sunday November 12th and 13th against Okanagan College. Saturday game time is 8:00 pm while Sunday’s game time is 4:00 pm.
All UVIC home games are played at the Ian Stewart Complex on the corner of McKenzie and Gordon Head avenues just northwest of the main UVIC campus.
VICTORIA
SIMON FRASER
OKANAGAN
LOGAN LAKE
VANCOUVER ISLAN.
