vees:blog

Interesting!

Turris’ College Career is over, just like that!

Remember last year?

Here are the new CJAHL National Rankings.

The Vees and Clippers are both ranked in the top ten, and are set to clash Friday Night for Game 1 in Penticton.

The Clippers are ranked 4th while the Vees are ranked 7th, making the BCHL the only league with two teams in the top 7. The Maritime Junior ‘A’ Hockey League has 2 teams in the top 8.

You’ve seen who I’ve liked thus far in the Playoffs with my ‘Fridge Rankings’, now it’s your turn to pick!

If you elect to choose ‘Other’, be sure to type your vote into the Gray Area!

BCHL

The Fred Page Cup is set to feature the top seeded clubs from the regular season. The top ranked Clippers (in the Coastal Conference) beat Powell River (4-0) and Langley (4-2) on their way to the BCHL Final. The Vees were pushed to the brink by the Vernon Vipers (4-3), then promptly swept the Westside Warriors (4-0) to punch their ticket to the dance through the Interior. Both Nanaimo and Penticton had first round byes.

The Vees and Clippers split their two game season series, with each team winning on home ice.

The Clippers beat the Vees at home (4-2) in a penalty filled affair on December 9th. For the Vees it was their 4th game in 5 days and a Sunday Afternoon tilt after a Saturday Night game in Victoria. I called it one of the weaker efforts of the season, and it could have been much worse, if not for the solid goaltending of Alex Evin and a pair of late Power Play Goals from the Vees. That December 9th game saw Zac Dalpe and Russell Goodman sustain injuries. Dalpe missed nearly a month of play, while Goodman just returned to the ice for the playoffs, and has played 8 of the teams 10 post-season games… not playing often on back-to-back nights.

On Dec 29th in Penticton the Clippers lead 3-2 early in the third period, only to watch the Vees snipe 3 in a row to seal a victory in front of a large holiday crowd of 2055.

No surprise to see each of these teams advance to the Final, as many had suspected they were the cream of their respective Conferences. The strength of their respective Conferences is a different conversation all together. One could argue that the two teams the Vees beat to advance to the final were superior to the two opponents eliminated by the Clippers, the regular season records support this point.

The Vipers and Warriors combined for a regular season record of (76-37-2-5) a winning percentage of .663

The Kings and Chiefs combined for a regular season record of (59-44-1-16) a winning percentage of .563

Two very talented teams, only one will win the Fred Page Cup, and advance to the Doyle Cup as BCHL Champions.

AJHL

A similar story in the AJHL has taken form with the two division leaders qualifying for the Championship Series.

Both Fort McMurray and Camrose had byes in the first round, as a result of winning the North (Fort McMurray) and South Divsions in the regular season.

Camrose beat Olds (4-2) and Drumheller (4-1) to advance to the Enerflex Cup, while Fort Mac beat Bonneville (4-2) and Spruce Grove (4-1) en route to the Champioship series.

The teams each won a game in their two game season series with Camrose winning 3-0 at home in December and the Oil Kings winning 4-3 in Overtime in January.

1, 2, 3, 4, DONE. Well, that was quick! The Vees certainly made short work of the Westside Warriors in the Interior Conference Finals, needing just 6 days to break out the brooms on their South Okanagan rivals.

The writing was on the wall in a sloppy Game 2 where the Vees surrendered more than their usual share of chance, but managed to eek out a 6-5 win in overtime. When the Warriors couldn’t beat a less than stellar Vees club on a rare off night from Alex Evin, you knew they were in trouble when the Penticton club tightened up their game. The short series was predictable; this broadcaster wasn’t the only person in attendance draped in black clothes, as the Westside Warriors were laid to rest.

In the Warriors defense, they weren’t the same club they were in mid-season due to the early February injury of highly touted goalie Nathan Lieuwen. The 16-year-old 6’5” Kootney Ice prospect was injured in early February and came into the series against the Vees with no momentum, no playing time in a month and a half, and a nice collection of goaltending rust – which more often than not shows itself in the form of rebounds and bad angles. The Vees took advantage, beating the Warriors’ “1b” puckstopper, Stephen Caple, with regularity (as they did in the regular season) in Games 1 and 3, while getting to a less than perfect Lieuwen in Games 2 and 4.

The silver lining for the Warriors is that beyond the crease, they should have a ton of talent return for next year, including likely to be drafted Justin Schultz. If the Warriors can dig up a goaltender for next year they’ll be right back in the mix at the top of the Interior Conference.

As for those Vees? They just keep getting better. After a hard-fought 2nd Round match-up against Vernon, the Club looked battle hardened and poised against the Warriors. They found a way to win Game 2, when perhaps they shouldn’t have, and that seems to be the markings of a good hockey club.

The depth shown by the Vees is astounding.The top three lines have been excellent offensively while the energy line has lived up to its billing on a regular basis. No matter who is in the line-up the Vees have looked strong upfront.

On the back end the three duos have been solid, with standout performances from all 6 rear-guards in Games 3 and 4.

In the crease, Alex Evin has been himself. That’s about as good as a Junior ‘A’ goalie can be, if you aren’t familiar with the gaudy numbers posted by the Castlegar product.

As the Vees prepare for the BCHL Championship, they have to feel they are in great shape: they are healthy, they are playing well, and they are enjoying an 8 day span where they will heal some bumps and bruises while the Coastal Conference Finalist are battling for the right to advance.

Fred Page Cup Tickets for Game 1 & 2 are on sale Monday – Friday, 9-5 at the Vees Ticket office in Memorial Arena and on the phone at (250) 493-8337.

Here are the 7 remaining teams in AB and BC

AJHL

(1) Camrose vs. (4) Drumheller

* Camrose leads best-of-seven (3-1) Game 5 Friday Night @ Camrose

(2) Fort McMurray vs. (3) Spruce Grove

* Fort McMurray leads best-of-seven (3-1) Game 5 Saturday Night @ Fort McMurray

BCHL

Interior Conference

Penticton Vees defeat Westside Warriors (4-0)

* Penticton has 8 days between the Conference Final and Game 1 of the Fred Page Cup (@ Penticton)

Coastal Conference Final

(1) Nanaimo vs. (2) Langley

* Best-of-seven series tied (2-2) Game 5 Friday Night @ Nanaimo

The Vees win 5-2 and advance to the Fred Page Cup.

Listen Now:

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4-1 Good Guys.

One win sends this team to the Fred Page Cup.

Listen Now:

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Games 3 and 4 of the Interior Conference Final in Westside are not yet sold-out.

As of Monday Night at 7:00, the Warriors had 300 seats left and nearly 500 standing room tickets left for Tuesday Night, and more for Wednesday’s Game 4.

Here is the link to buy tickets to the games, as the Warriors don’t sell tickets over the phone.

For more information call (250) 762-5050

Puck Drop is 7:00 with the Warriors’ Tailgate Party Kicking Off at 5:00.

The Vees move up to #9.

Those other 8 teams must be really good.