Put them down for having had a holly, jolly holiday.
Now, the Grandview Steelers are aiming to continue where they left off when they hit the ice tomorrow (Friday, 10 a.m.) at Richmond's Minoru Arena, for the opening game of the Pacific Junior B Hockey League's 5th annual Winter Classic tournament.
Fresh off of a pair of impressive wins, the Steelers face the league-leading North Vancouver Wolf Pack, part of a 12-team, 12-game, three-day series put on the Richmond ice.
If they can bring some of that magic they had prior to Christmas, they just may have a chance against the 29-1-0-1 Wolf Pack.
Grandview wrapped up the pre-holiday break by clipping Ridge Meadows 4-1 on Dec. 22, thanks to a pair of goals by Anthony Benevoli. The Burnaby native opened the scoring 3:59 into the contest, burying a powerplay opportunity to make it 1-0, and was followed by rookie defenceman Quinn Myles' eighth of the season nearly nine minutes later. Although Ridge Meadows narrowed the gap to 2-1, when Tetsuya Prior put one past Steelers' netminder Emmet Larson in the second period, the hosts put it away with tallies from Benevoli, again, off the powerplay, and Tomislav Zlomislic.
Larson finished with 27 saves, as Grandview improved to 21-10-2-2, taking a one-point hold on second place over Richmond in the Tom Shaw Conference.
For Benevoli, the two goals bumped his season total to 10, and came after he notchd a goal and an assist in the team's wild 13-1 win over White Rock a day earlier.
Dryden Valade and Myles collected two goals apiece and 11 Grandview players registered goals in the one-sided affair, which saw the team count the game's first 11 goals.
Also netting a goal and an assist on the day were Jameson Crawford, Max Fookes, Jack Hamilton, MIchael Martino, Jordan Myers, affiliate Isaac Phillips and Zlomislic.
Larson, in starter Cale Dolan's absence, turned aside 12 shots.
Grandview will also play Delta on Saturday, 4 p.m. at Minoru. The event in Richmond incorporates all teams, with games starting 10 a.m., 1, 4 and 7 p.m. All games will count in the standings.
The Steelers don't return to the Burnaby Winter Club until Jan. 19.
