After a 3-2-1 start to the BCHL season the Clippers will hit the road for back to back games in Powell River. (Gary Dorland)

By Dan Marshall

Hitting the Road

VIDEO: Clippers look to come together on first extended road trip

Oct 11, 2023 | 12:06 PM

NANAIMO — Through six regular season games and six exhibition games the Clippers haven’t traveled more than an hour and a half on the bus.

The cushy, Island-based schedule will change with upcoming games in Powell River on Friday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 14.

The Clippers are in an ideal location for a lot of short road trips and very few overnight stays. Interim coach Curtis Toneff said some extra bonding time will be good for his group as they will be together for parts of three straight days.

“It’s a real tough challenge but it’s a good test for our guys. Finally we get to go on the bus for a real road trip and it’s something we haven’t done yet. It’s going to be really good for our group and I’m looking forward to it.”

Nanaimo lost their last outing 4-2 in Alberni Valley but put together a solid game with a 5-3 win over the Kings on Friday, Oct. 6.

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Defenceman Isa Parekh said the Powell River win is something the team can build off of.

“We had really good goaltending. We were always down in that game. (Connor) Haynes scored that shorthanded goal that turned us around and got us fired up and we potted two after that.”

Parekh is excited to get on the road for his first ever BCHL road trip to Powell River.

“I think we’ll bond more and it’s good we’ll all be in the same place and have a lot of fun. The longest bus ride I had last year was three hours.”

October is one of only two months the Clippers have two separate road trips.

The BCHL Showcase will the team travel to Seattle for games against Trail and Prince George Oct. 25 and 26.

In November, Nanaimo will head off to Trail and Cranbrook while in December they’ll meet up with Coquitlam, Langley and Merritt in a single trip.

January sees a return to Powell River for two games and the Clippers will play in Chilliwack the last day of February.

March will be travel heavy with five games in the Lower Mainland and one in Vernon.

CLIP NOTES:

The Clippers traded forward Tyler Wishart to Merritt in a future considerations deal on Oct. 6.

Nanaimo forward Michael Murtagh has five goals in his first six games of the season and leads the BCHL with four power play goals.

In a weird scheduling quirk, the Clippers first ten games of the season will see them play only four different teams. Nanaimo will play the Bulldogs, Kings and Capitals three times each with one game against Penticton already in the books.

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