Jordan White was smiling ear to ear in the Nichola Valley Arena. Come to think of it, so were Murray Maxwell and Al Formo - who represented the only present links to Jordan’s last stint in Penticton 3 years ago.
Just after midnight in the wee Sunday morning hours Jordan was acquired in a 5-team, 8-player deal that involved the Merritt Centennials, the Cowichan Valley Capitals and a team in both the AJHL and the MJHL. The Vees surrender 20-year-old Camrose native David Andreassen (off to the AJHL) and 19-year-old rookie Goaltender Anthony Borelli (to the MJHL) in the dizzying exchange.
But, while the addition of White most certainly improves the strength of the Vees club, the club looked plenty weak on the ice in an embarrassing 4-1 loss in Merritt where the visitor seemed to feign interest and lacked any sort of intensity.
Sean Bonar got the start for the second straight game (that likely won’t be happening much anymore), as White worked the gate on the Vees bench in his ‘08 Vees debut. Odds are strong the easy-going former Portland Winter Hawk will start Wednesday in Powell River - the second of five games for the Vees on this eight day road trip. Perhaps we’ll see glimpses of why Al and Murray were so happy today!
Here’s my conversation with Jordan today prior to the game with the Cents.
