****Mammoth Post Warning****
Please take a seat, pour yourself a few fingers of brandy, and make sure your laptop battery is full. This posting could get lengthy as I’m feeling yappy. That’s a scary thought coming from a play-by-play hack that fills three hour radio time slots talking about ice, pucks, hits and whistles on a regular basis. See your physician if you feel dizzy or nauseous.
VERNON PREVAILS
No shame in losing to a better team. The feel abound in Vernon was palpably different than that following last season’s 5 game defeat at the hands of the Camrose Kodiaks. Vees fans are still trying to sort out how the Kodiaks beat the Vees last season, yet have accepted last night’s loss to the Vernon Vipers. The difference is a decided edge in play held by Vernon in the best-of-seven. When the Vees were at their best the games were close, when the Vipers were at their best the games were one sided.
The Vipers outscored the Vees 25-10 in the series, and the Vees were stymied repeatedly at even strength, notching just 4 5-on-5 goals in the series.
After back-to-back shots drew ringing posts in a scoreless first period one got the sense this would not be their night. Not even Don Cherry’s presence was enough for the Vees to force a Game 6 in Penticton.
Roger Tepper, Edge Photography, No copies or reproduction without permission. EdgePhoto(at)telus.net
Tough to say goodbye to the 2008/2009 season with the calendar not yet even March 15th, especially since the Vees were alive until the end of April last year.
EYE ON DOYLE
Two other BCHL clubs were eliminated last night in Game 5 of their respective Conference Semi-Finals.
The injury plagued Westside Warriors tied their game with Salmon Arm at 4’s with 1:14 to play in the third late but had their season ended by Bobby Lipsett 3:28 into the extra frame. The result is a Salmon Arm vs. Vernon Interior Final… I’ll take the deeper, grittier Vipers.
Also booking tee times today are the Surrey Eagles. The Powell River Kings dismantled the Mainland Division 3rd seeds losing just one game as Tommy Tartaglione made 40+ saves in an OT shutout win in Surrey in Game 3.
Cowichan hosts Victoria tonight down 3-2 in the Island Final. A home win would force a Tuesday elimination game at Bear Mountain.
In Alberta the Spruce Grove Saints have advanced to the Northern Division Final where they’ll host the winner of the Grande Prairie Strom and the Sherwood Park Crusaders (GP leads 3-2).
In the South Division the Camrose Kodiaks are tied at 2 games apiece with the Brooks Bandits after a pair of lopsided loses on the road to open the series (the home team has won each tilt). Elsewhere the Olds Grizzlies are tied with the Okotoks Oilers at 2 wins each.
Just 12 remain in the hunt for the Doyle Cup… that number will be whittled down to 8 in by mid-week.
VEES OFF SEASON
Roger Tepper, Edge Photography, No copies or reproduction without permission. EdgePhoto(at)telus.net
Between today and August’s training camp Fred Harbinson will be hunting for parts to mix in with his skilled young group of returnees. Size and grit will be on the menu as the Vees seemed to be man-handled at times in their series loss to Vernon.
Gone for sure are 20-year-olds White, Grassi and Josepher. Safe bets graduating to NCAA hockey include Krogh (OSU), Ouellette (Ferris State) & Brodie Reid (Northeastern). While 18-year-olds Slemp and Odegard have a big decision regarding their pending scholarships to Alaska Fairbanks as does super sophomore forward Curtis McKenzie. C-Mac’s decision will be the most influential on the make-up of the club. An 18-year-old C-Mac would be a force of nature next year in the BCHL, how he would fit in the Miami Ohio line-up is much more of an unknown.
As for the rest? They’ll be hitting the gym this summer, getting ready for Vees training camp in August. There’s always a defection or two you don’t see coming, let’s hope the core of this green club stays united for what is shaping up to be a stellar 2009/2010 season.
WHAT’S NEXT
As for the Vees Blog? Well, the final ‘Boston Pizza Vees This Week’ runs Monday at 6PM. We’ll have feedback from the Vees as they empty their lockers Monday morning. We’ll take it from there in a few days.
I appreciate you stopping by the Vees Blog. Over 30,000 hits this season! I hope you’ve enjoyed the content as much as I have enjoyed gathering it!
Enjoy the off-season,
Ryan Pinder
(why not go out on The Doors)
