The Penticton Vees have now won 8 games in a row after beating the Langley Chiefs 7-2 at home on Friday night. The Vees remain undefeated in regulation at the SOEC and will look to improve their road record on Saturday as they close out their home-and-home and two games season series with the Chiefs in Langley.
The Vees took advantage of an undisciplined Langley squad in the first period going 3 for 4 on the man advantage, outshooting the Chiefs 26-6 as they went to the locker room up 4-0. While the game wasn’t over after 20 minutes, it certainly appeared out of reach for an overmatched Langley team that struggled to create scoring chances against a quicker and more skilled Vees club.
Garrett Milan potted a pair of goals and was named the first star of the game. While Denver Manderson chipped in with 3 points and Jake Johnson added a pair of goals as both Vees stretched their league leading point streaks to 8 games.
Other Vees with multi-point nights included Bo Dolan and Alex Szczechura. Joey Holka potted his 11th of the year and Byron Sorensen and Eric Filiou had lone assists in the Vees 18th victory of the season.
The Langley Chiefs got goals from defenders Matt Cronin and Ryan Bakken, while Vees net-minder Joel Rumpel set aside the other 22 of 24 directed his way. Andrew Walsh was lit up for seven goals on 45 shots before getting the hook in the third period to make way for Wyatt Waselenchuk who stopped all five shots he saw.
The Vees killed both Langley power plays, while going 5 of 11 on the night with the man-advantage. The Vees have killed 49 of 51 penalties since the end of September.
Tomorrow the Vees will make their first visit to the Langley Events Centre with the opening faceoff set for 7PM. You can catch the pre-game show at 6:45 on EZ Rock, BCHL Pay-Per-View, MyEZRock.com, and at the BCHL.ca Audio Scoreboard.
Friday was also a victorious day for the Vees participating at the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Beau Bennett scored his third goal of the tournament in a 6-3 Team USA win over Russia, while Joey LaLeggia and Sean Bonar were part of a 9-1 Canada West beat down of Team Canada East in front of their own fans.
The World Junior A Challenge gold medal game is Sunday at 1PM (PST) and can be seen on TSN2.
Just three teams remain in the hunt for gold at the world Jr A Challenge in Summerside, PEI.
Beau Bennett scored this morning against Russia
The defending champions from the USA are through to the gold medal game after hopping out to a commanding 4-0 lead on the way to a 6-3 victory over the Russians earlier today.
Beau Bennett had a goal in the third period for the American side.
Sean Bonar stretches to make a stop for Canada West
In an all Canadian match-up this afternoon (3PM PST), East will be pitted against West with a trip to the gold medal game on the line. Canada East has been perfect since the puck dropped in exhibition, while Canada West is rounding into form having outscored their opponents 13-6 in back-to-back wins over Sweden and Belarus.
Joey LaLeggia (4 assists) and Beau Bennett (3 goals, 1 assist) each have 4 points and sit in the top 10 in tournament scoring, while Sean Bonar is tied for the tournament lead with a pair of wins. Bonar has a save percentage of .897 and a goals against average of 2.68.
***UPDATE***
Team Canada West plastered Team Canada East 9-1… Ugly. So it will be the match-up featuring all three Vees in the gold medal game as Beau Bennett and Team USA will face Joey LaLeggia, Sean Bonar and Team Canada West.
VEES vs. LANGLEY
For the third time in two seasons, the Langley Chiefs will see the Penticton Vees without their best players. Last season the Chiefs beat a Vees club that was missing Brodie Reid, Curtis McKenzie and Denver Manderson in in their only meeting of the season, while this season’s home-and-home today and tomorrow will be missing Vees puck stopper Sean Bonar, D-man Joey LaLeggia, and super-rook Beau Bennett. Also, out for the Vees is Bruins draft pick Ben Sexton who suffered an upper body injury in Alberni on October 25th.
The last time the Vees played the Chiefs outside of the WJAC, was back in 2007 when the team got in an accident on the way to the rink, delayed the start of the game and then promptly shellacked the home side in one of their most thorough efforts of that championship season.
A player to watch tonight for the Chiefs is rookie defender Tim Daly. The 18-year-old 17-year-old is one of just five BCHL players on the NHL Watch List (a list of draft eligible prospects that NHL Central Scouting throws together every Fall). Also, Daly has just committed to St. Cloud State of the WCHA (NCAA), where Fred Harbinson served as assistant coach before arriving the Okanagan.
Jake Johnson has been especially productive for the Vees since arriving from the Sioux City Muskateers of the USHL. The 20-year-old from Minnesota has 9 points in 8 games with the Vees and will be looking to extend his point streak to 8 games tonight.
Langley has been lurking in the weeds in the Coastal Conference, quietly putting together a tidy winning percentage of .650 with teams like Powell River and Surrey getting all the limelight and attention. The Chiefs have a sparkling 6-2-1-0 record at their new rink - The Langley Events Centre, while the Vees are the BCHL’s best on home ice having gone 8-0-0-1 at the SOEC.
Here’s a sneak-peek at Langley’s barn courtesy of broadcaster/blogger/funny-man Evan Hammond of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
Pre-game broadcast starts at 6:45 with Al Formo and myself on EZ Rock in the South Okanagan and Similkameen, MyEZRock.com, the BCHL.ca Audio Scoreboard, and the BCHL Pay-Per-View.
Join Fred Harbinson, the local media and myself at Coach’s Corner at the Kettle Valley Station Pub tonight from 6 ’til 7. We’ll be yaking about the success the Vees have enjoyed on the ice through their first third of the season, also some clarification on Hayden Trupp’s ‘AP’ status with the club, and how it came to be. Also tonight, a preview of the Langley Chiefs who the Vees will play a home-and-home with this weekend starting in Penticton tomorrow.
A pair of tickets to Friday’s tilt with Langley are on the line for the best question from the audience.
WORLD JUNIOR A CHALLENGE
Beau Bennett and Team USA are through to the WJAC Semi-Finals. A 3-1 win today over Sweden put the Yankees in against the Russians tomorrow for the right to play for the Gold Medal. For the first time in the tournament, Beau Bennett was held off the score sheet for Team USA. Both Goalies were named players of the game.
The winner of the Canada West and Belarus game today will face the host team - Team Canada East - on Friday for the other entry to the Championship match which goes Sunday.
More updates to come on Team Canada West:
* Puck just dropped and Sean Bonar is in the net for Canada West for the third straight game
**It’s 4-2 Canada West in the 2nd period. Cam Reid and Connor Jones have a pair each
*** 5-3 after 40 minutes with Madison Dias getting Canada West’s 5th. Bonar is 13/16, LaLeggia was initially given an assist on the Dias goal but has since had it removed.
**** ‘MAKE THE FINAL’ 7-3 Canada West with Cam Reid notching the hat trick and Joey LaLeggia chipping in with a pair of assists (they ended up giving him that assist on the Dias goal after all). Sean Bonar made 18 saves on 22 shots in the victory. Canada West will play Canada East tomorrow (awkward) with the fans backing the Eastern boys. The two teams have yet to play this tournament.
One third of the way into the 2009/2010 campaign, the Penticton Vees are on pace for their highest output since being renamed the Vees in 2004.
The Vees wait on the bench for another flood at practice
In fact since junior hockey arrived in Penticton in the 1961 no team has never eclipsed 100 points, though through a third of the season the Vees are ahead of that mystical century mark as 17-2-0-1 is a pace for a 105 point season. While that is just a projection, there are reasons to believe that maybe, just maybe, the Vees can continue to roll at their current pace.
For budding historians in the crowd 52 wins is the BCHL record set by the New Westminster Royals in 89-90 and the Vernon Vipers of 98-99. That New-West club also had 108 points, which stands as the BCHL record. The Royals beat Fred Harbinson (the player) and the Calgary Canucks that year in the Doyle Cup… Crazy.
Clearly this club is deep and talented. Clearly they are among the best teams in Junior ‘A’ in Canada. Clearly there are players who will be selected in the NHL Entry Draft this coming June in LA (Beau Bennett, Luke Curadi, Joey LaLeggia, Sean Bonar, and Isaac MacLeod are on scouting radars). The rest is still to be determined.
With the first 20 games in the history books, let’s pour a scotch, light the fireplace, and take a closer look at how the season has gone to this point. Keep reading →
No games today at the WJAC in Summerside, PEI as the tournament pauses before the Quarter-finals on Thursday and the Semi-finals on Friday.
Action from Team USA’s 6-1 win yesterday over Belarus
Team Canada West faces Belarus at 3:00PM tomorrow (that’s 7:00PM AST in Summerside, PEI… if you’re in the neighbourhood) in a rematch of an exhibition contest that Canada West won in a shootout 3-2 after Kellen Jones tied the game with a second remaining.
At 10AM (2PM AST) defending gold medal winners - USA - face the win-less Swedes who have had some issues keeping pucks out of their net, having allowed 9 goals on 61 shots through two games at the WJAC.
Beau Bennett had another goal in the USA 6-1 win over the Belorussians yesterday. Beau now has 2g-1a-3pts in 2 games with the American squad which puts him just a point back of the tournament leaders.
Canada East and Russia await the winners of the quarterfinals and won’t play until Friday. Canada East faces the winner of Canada West / Belarus, while the Russians face the winner of Sweden / USA.
Hayden Trupp has been designated an ‘Affiliated Player’ and has been assigned to the Penticton Lakers of the KIJHL (Jr. B).
With BC Hockey reversing their decision, and deeming Trupp an import, the Vees were forced to make a move with their roster already sitting at the league maximum of 8 imports. Trupp will play for the Vees this weekend, after which he will be allowed 10 games for the big club in the remainder of the regular season. Once the Lakers season has ended Trupp would be free to play with the Vees with no restriction. The Vees now have an open roster spot.
The 17-year-old forward has no shortage of skill but has been physically outmatched in his rookie season. Trupp has recorded a goal and an assist in 16 BCHL games after playing Midget hockey in Alaska last season.
Hayden was born in Penticton in 1992, his father and older brother both played their Junior hockey in Penticton.
I spoke with Vees HC/GM Fred Harbinson after Tuesday’s Practice…
Boston Pizza is welcoming everybody over tonight for a great night of hockey starting at 7PM.
The full team will be in attendance for your chance to get a signed poster or a photo with the guys. The Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers will be on the tube in a rematch of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, and there will be a mountain of prizes to be won.
Among Vees Club seats, and game tickets, two separate pairs of Canucks Tickets will be won. Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals visit Vancouver on the 18th of December and we’ve got a pair of VIP seats with unlimited grub, a night’s stay in Vancouver, and $100 spending cash. Also a pair of Blackhawks tickets will be given away for later in November.
We’ll see you at BP’s at 1900 Main Street at 7PM.
WORLD JR. ‘A’ CHALLENGE
Matt Cormier, FullFrameMedia.ca
Sean Bonar stopped 33 of 36 shots, and Joey LaLeggia had two assists as the Western Canadian squad beat the Swedes 6-3 in the final round robin game in Group A. Sweden and Canada West will now wait for the evening result to come in to find out who they will face in Thursday’s Quarterfinal. Canada West will play the loser of Belarus/USA, while Sweden will have to play the winner.
Canada East and Russia have already advanced to Friday’s Semi-Final with 2-0 records in round robin play.
We’ll catch up with Sean Bonar from Summerside, PEI following a Canada West 2-1 loss to the Russians on Sunday, also Interior Conference Power Rankings, News and Notes, Fred on Central Scouting’s swing and a miss, and the weekly staples like weekend highlights, the best answering machine in Penticton and our featured intermission conversation of the week.
Tune in from 6:05 to 7:00 on EZ Rock AM 800, MyEZRock.com, or wait until the show is posted on Monday night right here on the Vees Blog.
To illustrate the lack of logic in the CJHL rankings take a closer look at the Vernon Vipers… Since being ranked #1 in the nation, the Vipers have beat the #2 team in the country (which was Penticton at the time), have won 9 consecutive games, have outscored opponents 63-14 over that margin, and yet have fallen to fourth in the country. They’ve lost once since April the 10th playing in the top Junior ‘A’ league in the country.
Why has Vernon fallen from #1??
WJAC UPDATE
With Team Canada West and the USA both 0-1 in the round robin, both have a day off to prepare for Tuesday tilts. The Americans face the Belorussians and the Western boys will face the Swedes - who lost to Russia 3-2 in a shootout earlier today. The Russians advance to Friday’s Semi-Finals with the win having won ‘Group A’.
For more WJAC coverage check out the local fish-wrap in Summerside: the Journal Pioneer
