Grappling with a handful of key injuries, the West 91大黄鸭 Warriors will open 2018 with five consecutive games on the road.

Rylan Ferster鈥檚 club will play three games in three nights this weekend on Vancouver Island鈥擣riday in Victoria, Saturday in Nanaimo and Sunday at Alberni Valley.

鈥淚t鈥檒l be a challenge, with the injuries we鈥檙e battling, but we can鈥檛 use that as an excuse,鈥� said Warriors鈥� captain Jared Marino. 鈥淭hree in three on the island, it鈥檚 a big weekend for us. We need to come together as a team and bring some wins back from there.鈥�

The Warriors, missing five forwards from the lineup, closed out 2017 with a pair of losses to the division rival Smoke Eaters, and

Matt Kowalski and Chase Stevenson will remain sidelined for this weekend鈥檚 trip, while three other players are on day-to-day recovery.

鈥淲hoever we鈥檙e missing, we have to find a way to play through it,鈥� said Marino of the Warriors who are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 been playing terrible, just not up to the standard we鈥檇 like. We have enough good players in the room that we can still compete. Guys have to step up.鈥�

The following weekend, Jan. 12 and 13, the Warriors (18-17-1-1) will be in Wenatchee for back-to-back games against the division rival Wild.

The Warriors next home action is Wednesday, Jan. 16 against the Vernon Vipers.

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