vees:blog

Congratulations are due all around as the Penticton Valley First Vees are 07/08 BCHL Champions, for the first time in 22 years.

With 9 consecutive victories and back-to-back (4-0) sweeps of the Westside Warriors and Nanaimo Clippers, the Vees knocked off the best possible foe in each Conference, and left little doubt about which team was the best of the BCHL. The 9 game winning streak matches the regular season high for the club, but comes against the best the BCHL has to offer and vaults the team to the Doyle Cup.

Scott Carter and his ownership group, now in their 4th season, have turned this franchise around and back into a perennial contender. This championship puts the Vees back where they belong: among the heavy hitters of Jr. ‘A’ Hockey in this country.

When the buzzer sounded Wednesday Night in Nanaimo, the Vees had completed a thorough beating of the Coastal Conference Champions, who had lost each of the first three games by just a single goal. Game 4 wasn’t close. The depth of the Vees roster was quite evident and the team had the good luck of avoiding serious injuries in the post-season to decisively end the Clippers season.

The defense core was solid with Ryan Wagner and Nic Knudsen shutting down the Clippers best, and the rest of the group stepping up their game for a 4 game sweep.

Up front the Vees super-rookies were their top guns in the final. Zac Dalpe and Austin Smith were all over the score sheet in Nanaimo, with Smith leading all players in the Fred Page Cup with 6 goals, including the first in each contest. The Vees ‘energy’ unit was much better than any 4th line we’ve seen play against the club this season, and the group of 4 lines was much more physical than a talented Clippers crew, that must have been shocked at what they faced.

Between the pipes, Alex Evin showed the Clippers what they probably already knew, mainly that he is the best goalie in the BCHL. Evin earned his 2nd shutout of the season in the final and fourth game.

It’s been some time since the Vees have had to organize travel plans in Alberta, but that is what lies ahead for the freshly minted ‘Best of B.C.’ The team will play the Camrose Kodiaks or Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the AJHL, both teams are currently battling for the Enerflex Cup: the league’s championship series.

The format of the Doyle Cup is as such: the Alberta winner will host Games 1 & 2 of the Royal Bank Cup Qualifier, and if one team wins both games the scene will switch to Penticton Memorial Arena. Should both teams split the opening pair, a third game will be played before the Vees will host the remainder of the series at home.