vees:blog

The Penticton Valley First Vees look to end the Vernon Vipers’ season tonight at Penticton Memorial Arena. Up 3-1 in the Interior Conference best-of-seven the Vees survived a OT split up in Vernon mid-week, losing Tuesday 3-2 before winning 4-3 Wednesday Night.

After blowing the Vipers out of the water 7-2 in Game 1, the Vees have played 3 very close contests. Game two was scoreless until 14:20 of the 3rd period with the Vees striking first, and adding a pair of empty net goals, Game 3 needed extra time, where the Vipers ended play on a unusual and mildly controversial goal from Kellen Jones and Game 4 was another nail biter that saw Denver Manderson play hero, returning from injury to set up the overtime winner scored by Michael Guzzo. Don’t expect tonight’s match to be a blowout, these teams have played each other very tight.

I can’t help but notice the over-whelming number of post that have been hit in this Okanagan Battle. Game 3 featured the post-man ringing six times, Game 4 had another few pings for each team, and Zac Dalpe got his iron supplement in Game one wiring a rocket off the cross-bar. Are their magnets in these pucks? Are the goalies covering the rest of the net? I don’t know the answer, but I do know it is a game of inches and a few bounces one way or the other and this series could have an entirely different complexion.

The Vees Power Play awoke from it’s slumber in Game 4. After finishing the season converting at 22.4% on the Power Play (4th in the BCHL), the Vees are just 3/22 (13.6%) in the post-season. Austin Smith’s first of the game Wednesday snapped a 0/16 slump for the special teams unit. The silver lining is that the Vipers have been worse with the extra man. Vernon is 2/23 on the Power Play, while both teams have allowed a short handed goal in the series (Schneider in Game 1, and Zurevinski in Game 4)

Elsewhere around the BCHL the Salmon Arm Silverback continue to beat up on the Westside Warriors after losing Game 1. The Warriors are without number one goalie Nathan Lieuwen and have watched Bryan Gillis of the Silverbacks outduel Stephen Caple between the pipes.

The Langley Chiefs and Victoria Grizzlies are all square after four games with the road team winning each game of the series. If the trend continues Victoria will win Game 7 in Langley!

And we can lay to rest the Powell River Kings, who upset the Surrey Eagles, but never seemed to recover from a Game 1 collapse that saw the Nanaimo Clippers tie the game after trailing by 3 and winning in OT.

Monday on Boston Pizza Vees This Week we’ll continue in our efforts to nail down a current NHLer who cut his teeth in the BCHL, and if their isn’t a Game 7 on Tuesday, Mitch Lebreche and Michael Guzzo will be signing autographs at Boston Pizza.

Tonight’s Game is a 7:00 start, Pre-game 6:30 on EZ Rock.