vees:blog

December is upon us and with the final month of the year comes the seasonal traditions of the ‘Mall Pilgrimage’, Advent Calendars, and the time honoured tradition of scoreboard watching in the BCHL.

With the BCHL’s Interior Conference tighter than the international credit markets, Interior Conference fans, coaches and players alike will be eyeing blackberries, arena video boards and the BCHL’s Fanzone in an attempt to sort out the ever-changing standings.

Tonight there is a pair of games in the Interior Conference with all sorts of implications on the standings; the Vernon Vipers have just a single loss in their last 10 games and host the blue-collar Smoke Eaters from Trail, while the Vees will make the short jaunt up highway 97 to Royal LePage Place to face the Westside Warriors, a team they have man-handled since joining the league 3 seasons ago.

Currently the Interior has layered off, with Vernon and Salmon Arm battling for top seed in the Conference, Penticton Trail and Westside battling for third and the Spruce Kings loitering in 6th spot with room between themselves and the Quesnel Gazillionaires and Merritt ‘what’s that scent?’-tennials.

Tough to make sense of the Conference with the only sure thing looking like a hectic finish to the season. Home ice and a first round bye are on the line… Stakes are high, keep that blackberry charged!

Vees Sniper Brodie Reid is looking very comfortable in his new silks. The Northeastern committed forward - who will represent the Coastal Conference at the Jan 14th All-Star Game - has scored 5 goals in his last three games and has 6 points in his 5 games with the Vees since being acquired for Brent Vandenberg and future considerations.

The Vees have had two of the last three Players of the Week in the BCHL as Denver Manderson earned the honour two weeks ago.

Here’s the BCHL’s weekly segment for the P.O.W..

Listen Now:

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The CJHL’s new National Rankings have been announced.

The mysterious brain trust at CJHL World Headquarters have fallen in love with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and their penchant for scoring goals. The Purple Primates (can somebody explain the Gorilla Name for a hockey team in Salmon Arm… wouldn’t the ‘Salmon Arm Houseboaters’ or ‘Salmon Arm Wharf’ be a more natural fit) lead the BCHL in Goals Scored per Game and have risen to #2.

The Vernon Vipers are finally getting some love this week to as they move from the disrespected masses into the spotlight of the nation’s top 15. If you listen closely you can hear the champagne bottles popping at the north end of the Okanagan.

Powell River fall out of the rankings and the RBC Cup host Victoria Grizzlies remain a mainstay in the weekly list of Canadian Jr. ‘A’ Hockey powers sitting in 14th.

This week’s bonus obscure CJHL team is the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL (Alberta Junior Hockey League).

The Bandits are set to move into a new 1,700 seat arena for the 2009/2010 season featuring luxury boxes and a running track (perfect for working off the calories from your Champagne and Brie Cheese at the intermission).

Brooks is located in SE Alberta on the Trans Canada Highway and is a city of about 15,000 people. The main industries in Brooks are Oil and Gas (it is located on a large gas field) and Agriculture (it houses a large meat packing plant), one can only imagine the alluring scent of commerce in the prairie community!

The Brooks Bandits only current NHLer is Curtis Glencross of the Calgary Flames, the Bandits are currently sitting in 2nd place in the AJHL’s South Division.