vees:blog

* It took nealy a month, but the Trail Smoke Eaters have finally have gotten into the win column. It appears the Williams Lake Timberwolves were the perfect tonic for the struggling Kootenay club as the Smokies pounded the resurrected Caribou squad 7-2. The Smokies are off the grill yet though, as they play @ Salmon Arm on Tuesday, @ Penticton on Friday, before hosting Burnaby on Saturday.

* The Vernon Vipers are still undefeated on the campaign after wins over Williams Lake and Quesnel. The Jones boys have finally scored a goal after what some have called a sluggish start to the season for the Twins (it hasn’t seem to have slowed the team, has it).

* Home ice has been kind so far in the BCHL. Teams in the Interior Conference are (15-12-0-2) on home ice, while the Coastal clubs are (19-6-0-3) against visting clubs. That’s a BCHL winning percentage of .669 for the hosts this year. Still unbeaten in regulation at home are: Alberni/Burnaby/Langley/Penticton/Powell River/Vernon/Victoria/Westside. The only teams without a home win are Nanaimo and Salmon Arm

* Millionaire Kirby Halcrow wins the BCHL POW as he back stopped the Quesnel Millionaires to a single win in 3 games (huh!?). Don’t get me wrong, I like what I’ve seen from Halcrow, but how does the league overlook Denver Manderson’s monster weekend with 10 points in 3 games (including back-to-back 4 point nights against Salmon Arm) for a goalie who won once? Also, check in on Graeme Gordon’s numbers in Vernon - the Vipers tendy’s numbers are downright stingy for the WHOLE SEASON. His season GAA is better than Halcrow’s was this week, yeesh!.

Speaking of Manderson here are the filthy numbers on his 20-year-old season: 8GP - 9G - 15 A - 24 Pts.

The Vees Captain has recorded at least a point in each of his 8 games. Denver has 7 multi-point games, a trio of three-point games and 3 four-point games. Manderson leads the league with 9 goals and has yet to spend a single minute in the penalty box. WOW.

* The Vees strong play early this season has vaulted them up another 2 spots in the National Rankings. The blue, black and white are now sitting 3rd in the Nation behind the undefeated National Champs in Vernon who haven’t lost since 1976 (or maybe it just feels like it’s been that long) and the Manitoba Jr. League’s Dauphin Kings (this year’s host of the RBC Cup in May) who are ranked #2 in Canada with six wins in their first seven games.

The Salmon Arm Silverbacks (3-3-0-1) have disappeared from the rankings altogether after a pair of loses to the Vees. Salmon Arm’s 3 wins in 7 games have all come at the expense of Caribou clubs (WL, PG, QUE). The Silverbacks have given up 8 points in 4 games played with Penticton and Vernon.

Still no love for the Coastal Conference in the national rankings. I’m not sure why the Burnaby Express (5-0-0-1) haven’t garnered a mention yet, with their quick start (undefeated in regulation play).

The Express have three former Vees helping turn that club around after missing the playoffs last year. D - Jimmy Geerin (89) had 4 points against Merritt on Saturday, F - Brad Reid (90) (older brother of Cam Reid in Westside) has 5 points in 6 games after recording 18 points all last season in Penticton, while uber-skilled defender Matt Ridley (90) has chipped in with 3 points in 4 games played. Tough as nails F - Luke Challier (90) was a member of the Vees to start the 07/08 season and leads the club with 26 PIM.