The Mariners have exited the first two weeks of the season with a 2-0 record, currently sitting atop the BCIHL standings after defeating Logan Lake and UVIC.
On October 7th, the Mariners hosted a dominant display over Logan Lake in their home opener. Rookie defenseman Tyson Lautard was VIU's PRIME' Player of the Game, posting 2 Points (1G, 1A) in his BCIHL Debut. VIU Veteran Brock Palmer also had a notable performance finding the net 4 times in his 2023 debut. Palmer currently sits atop the league standings in points with an impressive 5 Goals & 2 Assists in just 2 games played. Goaltender Wyatt Fournier also had a strong start to his season, finishing the Logan Lake game with a .929 save percentage and 2.0 GAA. Fournier currently ranks #1 in the BCIHL for goaltender stats.
On October 13th, the Mariners drove south for a matchup with island rivals, the UVIC Vikes. Despite having a tough time staying out of the box, the Mariners managed to overcome adversity with a narrow 5-4 victory. Ethan Jones was the PRIME' Player of the Game with 2 Goals. The assistant captain now sits at 4 goals in only 2 games played. Derek Krall had a strong performance in goal, stopping 45 of 49 shots, many of which came from UVIC's powerplay. VIU Mariners Hockey president Gord Nowicki stated: "I was really proud of our student athlete's efforts and their chemistry in such a short amount of time. They have been quick to read and react to all situations which has obviously helped in our first two games!"
Looking ahead, the Mariners finish off the month of October at home. On October 21st, the Mariners have their first matchup against UBCO of the season. UBCO currently sits at second place in the standings with 2 wins and 1 loss. On October 28th, the Mariners host their first matchup of the year against former league champions, the SFU Red Leafs. Both games are at 7:15PM at the NIC, and available for streaming via YouTube on the BCIHL TV Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@bcihl).