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.
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.
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