All of us at the University of Victoria Vikes hockey club would like to wish a very Happy Holiday, and a safe, enjoyable New Year! We’ll be back on the ice at home, Friday January 4th – 7pm, at the Ian Stewart Complex as we take on the VIU Mariners!

The University of Victoria is pleased to announce the signings of two experienced British Columbia Hockey League defencemen as former Alberni Valley Bulldogs blueliner Ben Raffler and former Chilliwack Chiefs rearguard Callum Volpe have joined the Vikes for the remainder of the 2018/19 B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League season.

Raffler, a Whistler native, played 85 games in the BCHL between the Powell River Kings and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and also suited up in 67 games in the VIJHL between the Campbell River Storm and the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.

The 6-foot-2 194-pound defenseman played his minor hockey in Whistler until his second year of midget, when he joined the Burnaby Winter Club. His strong defensive game will be a welcome addition to the Vikes blueline.

“I really like the city of Victoria,” says Raffler, when asked why he chose UVic. “I’ve played against many teams in the area throughout my junior career and I’ve always enjoyed the feel of the city. I have many friends attending school here and my sister is in her final year of studies at UVic.”

Volpe, a product of Coquitlam B.C., played his minor hockey in Port Coquitlam and has played 138 games in the BCHL spending time with the Langley Rivermen, Vernon Vipers, Powell River Kings and Chilliwack Chiefs. The 5-foot-10 defender is looking forward to starting school and playing hockey with his older brother Brandon.

“Having the ability to play with my brother in a beautiful city like Victoria is something I’m really looking forward to,” he says. “I chose UVic because it’s a reputable school with good academics and a good hockey program.”

Volpe’s leadership and offensive puck-moving abilities were key ingredients the Vikes identified to take the team to the next level.

UVic’s two newest additions will make their Vikes debut on Friday January 4th when the VIU Mariners visit the Ian Stewart Complex. Puck drop is at 7:30 PM.

After a semester spent battling for loose pucks and finishing checks against one another, some of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League’s top players will have an opportunity work together on Monday night when a team comprised of BCIHL Young Stars take on Kazakhstan’s Under-20 National Team at the Langley Events Centre.

The match-up marks the third and final game of the 2018 College Hockey Showcase that has already seen Kazakhstan go head-to-head with the University of Victoria and Trinity Western University.

The results thus far have favoured the Kazakhs, who are warming up for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. They will kick off the event in Victoria on December 27th against Finland, playing in a group that also includes Sweden, the United States and Slovakia.

Kazakhstan opened the showcase with a 6-2 victory over the Vikes before netting a 4-3 overtime win against TWU.

The Kazakhs are led by a pair of offensively gifted forwards in Sayan Daniyar and Artur Gatiyatov, who sit third and seventh in scoring in the top Eurasian junior league covering Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia and China.

Meanwhile, the BCIHL will be represented by players from all five of the league’s teams. 17 of the 20 Young Stars are BCIHL rookies, with TWU netminder Lucas Mills and defenceman Elijah Vilio, and UVic blueliner Tyler Severson the only veteran players on the roster.

But there is no shortage of firepower to be found on the squad, which is headlined by VIU sniper Brett Witala. The first-year winger currently sits tops in goals and second in points amongst BCIHL skaters with 8 and 17 respectively, trailing only teammate Dallas Calvin for the league scoring lead.

He is joined by Selkirk’s Edward Lindsey and Dylan Heppler, VIU’s Gavin Rauser and SFU’s Cole Plotnikoff as forwards who currently sit amongst the BCIHL’s top 20 scorers at the close of 2018.

SEE THE COMPLETE BCIHL YOUNG STARS ROSTER

The BCIHL will turn to Mills and SFU’s Michael Lenko between the pipes. Mills has been dominant through the first half of the 2018/19 season, leading all league netminders with a 1.65 goals-against average and .938 save-percentage, which would both obliterate the current league records should he duplicate those totals over the remainder of the season.

TWU’s Barret Kropf and UVic’s Harry Schamhart will take the reins of the BCIHL squad behind the bench, putting the group in the capable hands of the league’s last two championship-winning bench bosses.

Tickets for the game are available to be purchased online (click here) or at the door. The game will also be broadcast live on Hockey TV for out-of-town viewers.

“Wednesday with…” is a weekly feature on BCIHL.ca that gets fans up close and personal with a different player from around the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League.

Wednesday, December 5th with… University of Victoria defenceman Henry Hart

Vikes captain Henry Hart didn’t follow the traditional route to the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League. Rather than play out his 20-year old season of junior hockey, he made the move following his rookie campaign with the KIJHL’s 100 Mile House Wranglers in 2013/14.

He jumped right into the Victoria lineup as an 18-year old and played all 24 regular season games, immediately providing a steady presence on the team’s blueline. Four years later he’s basically that same guy, albeit now in a leadership role. He’s only missed a handful of games over his five seasons in the league, dressing for 102 regular season contests and 11 playoff appearances.

Hart captured a BCIHL championship at the end of his third season with the Vikes when they upset Trinity Western on their home ice in dramatic fashion on a last-minute game winner in the third and deciding game. But he waited until his fifth and final season to score his first collegiate goal as part of a three-point night on hom ice against Selkirk College.

The 22-year old currently sits ninth in all-time BCIHL regular season games played and will be able to inch his way into the Top-5 with a healthy second half of the season.

Q: Why did you choose to attend the University of Victoria and play in the BCIHL?

Hart: I chose to come to the University of Victoria in order to continue playing competitive hockey while also pursuing an education. Although this is possible through different routes, I chose the BCIHL to stay in B.C. and also because of the great things I had heard about the league and teams, especially UVic.

Q: Who have been the important influences in your junior and collegiate hockey career? Who has helped you get to where you are today?

Hart: My biggest influences in junior were my parents supporting me and my fellow teammates pushing themselves to get to the next level. During the collegiate years, it has been the older guys on the team, especially the leadership core. Seeing those guys perform well on the ice and off the ice, and in school, influenced me to stick it out through the hard times and support the new guys in the same way.

Q: What are your personal on-ice goals this season?

Hart: To contribute in every way I can and play the role expected of me in order to help our team make playoffs.

Q: What are your team goals this season? What are the positive signs so far this season that make you feel you can reach them?

Hart: To make the BCIHL playoffs. The positive signs so far this season has been improved practice times allowing for more effective practices, a large new group of skilled, motivated freshman, and a solid veteran leadership core motivated to lead this team to playoffs.

Q: How would you describe your game to someone who hasn’t seen you play? What are you strengths as a player?

Hart: I’d say that I’m strong defensively, good at winning puck battles and supporting teammates on the ice.

Q: What are your education goals and future career path?

Hart: I’m planning to graduate with a degree in Geomatics and staying involved in the BCIHL as a volunteer while getting a job related to GIS in Victoria.

University of Victoria forward Blake Holowaty is the ANYTHING BRANDED Player of the Week for the week ending December 2nd.

The 21-year-old from Penticton, BC had two goals and two assists in two games as the Vikes closed out the fall semester with a win and a loss against Trinity Western University.

On Friday, the former Iroquois Falls Eskimos captain assisted on both the tying and winning goals as the fifth-place Vikes handed the Spartans just their second loss of the season. Holowaty also scored a first period goal to cut TWU’s 2-0 lead in half.

Saturday afternoon, in the second half of back-to-back games against the Spartans at the Langley Events Centre, Holowaty notched a first period power play goal to give UVic a 2-1 lead.

Holowaty has been deadly on special teams for the Vikes as a rookie so far in 2018-19, tied for the team lead with two power play goals and one shorthanded goal.

Runners up for this week’s ANYTHING BRANDED POW award include University of Victoria forward Carter Huber, Trinity Western University forward Brayden Brown, Selkirk College forward Andrew Thompson and Vancouver Island University forward Dallas Calvin.

November 19, 2018- On Friday November 23rd, the UVic Vikes Hockey team will host the Trinity Western University Spartans at the Ian Stewart Complex. However, this will not be a regular game for the Vikes. When the Vikes score their first goal of the game, teddy bears will rain from the stands onto the ice.

You read that right. Fans are actually encouraged to throw items onto the ice (items of the fluffy variety that is). This is because November 23rd is the annual Vikes Hockey Teddy Bear Toss.

The team will be donating teddy bears brought to the game to the children at the pediatric unit at the Victoria General Hospital. Teddy bears and stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes are accepted, both new and gently used.

The Teddy Bear Toss is an annual event for
Vikes and is a marquee event on their schedule every single year. It is a special moment when the Vikes first goal is scored and the teddy bears pour over the glass onto the playing surface. It truly is a sight to behold once all the bears are collected and you see how many bears the community has generously donated.

Get into the holiday spirit and come and donate a bear, there truly is no better way to make a donation, than tossing it onto the ice.

One of the greatest joys for children around the holidays is opening presents. The gift of a
fuzzy teddy bear is something that all kids cherish.

Puck drop is at 7:30pm at the Ian Stewart Complex. We hope to see you all there with your
Teddy Bears.

November 16, 2018- University of Victoria rookie forward Hayden Guilderson has been named a winner of the 2018 Premier’s Awards for Indigenous Youth Excellence in Sport for the Vancouver Island region.

The awards, which are a collaboration between the Provincial Government and the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council, were handed out to 47 honourees in 2018, with Guilderson being the only B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League student-athlete recognized.

Guilderson joined the Vikes in September following a distinguished junior hockey career with the Pacific Junior Hockey League’s Abbotsford Pilots and the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Estevan Bruins. His 61 points last season in Estevan were a career high, and he totaled 160 points in 191 junior games over four seasons.

The 21-year old has also represented British Columbia at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships on multiple occasions, including a gold medal win in 2013.

He has enjoyed a successful start to his BCIHL career with three goals and two assists in six games with the Vikes.

“I’m very proud to support these awards, which provide much-deserved recognition for our top young Indigenous athletes,” said British Columbia Premier John Horgan. “It’s great to see these young champions achieving top results in such a wide variety of sports.”

Captain Henry Hart is in his final year of study for his BSc in Geomatics, and is competing in his fifth season as a defenseman with the UVic Vikes hockey club. The Terrace, BC native played his junior hockey with the 100 Mile House Wranglers of the Junior A KIJHL, before coming to UVic for the 2014-15 season. Though he came to UVic for “the weather,” his defensive skills were a key factor in UVic’s 2017 BCIHL Championship win. “Hartsy,” a lifelong Toronto Maple Leafs fan, models his defense style on former NHL’er Ryan Whitney, a fellow “big fan of dinner with the boys!”

British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League

Season	Team	GP	G	A	P	PIM
2014-15	UVic Vikes	24	0	5	5	67
2015-16	UVic Vikes	23	0	8	8	50
2016-17	UVic Vikes	22	0	5	5	72
2017-18	UVic Vikes	21	0	6	6	87
2018-19	UVic Vikes	14	1	3	4	8
Total	–	104	1	27	28	284