vees:blog

Luke Curadi may not have said a word at morning skate today, but he’s ready for Vernon.

What the…

Wow

Luke is ready!

The Vees are inviting fans to come down to the rink early for the first three home games of the year. Global Spectrum’s Director of Marketing Ryan McCarthy has the full details.

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Fan favorite and captain of the 2008 BCHL Champion Vees, Brett Hextall was in Penticton for a few days. After skating with the troops at prep camp Sunday and today, Brett caught up with some old pals for a round of mini golf on his final night in the Okanagan.

I caught up with Vees Assistant Coach Dave Small, local icon Murray Maxwell and Brett on the 5th hole of Loco Landing’s 18 holes.

Sideline reporting, talking hockey, and catching up with Hexy… Enjoy!

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****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.

BCHL Playoff Bracket

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.

AJHL PLAYOFF LOOKSIE

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

This is the end

(why not go out on The Doors)

Just in case you’ve been hibernating or under the sleepy spell of holiday eggnog and turkey, tonight is the deal of 2009 at the SOEC.

Former Penticton Coach Tommy Bohmer and his Quesnel Millionaires play opponent for the Vees tonight with CBC’s cameras in the house for Kraft Hockeyville 2009. Tickets are $5, and kids in minor hockey jerseys get in for Free-Ninety-Nine.

The tale of the tape paints a mismatch, but the Mills stole two points the last time these teams met, despite getting heavily out-shot and out-chanced up North. Since that Dec 12th game the Vees have 3 wins and an OT loss, while the Mills have lost 4 games in a row.

The Vees have outscored the Mills 11-5 over the three games season series and have a pair of wins.

Season Series Leading Scorers

Travis Ouellette (PEN) - 3GP (2-2-4)

Mitchell Smith (QUE) - 3GP (2-2-4)

Zack Josepher (PEN) - 3GP (1-3-4)

Garrett Milan (PEN) - 3GP (1-3-4)

Curtis McKenzie (PEN) - 3GP (3-0-3)

Trevor Hertz (QUE) - 3GP (1-2-3)

Denver Manderson (PEN) - 2GP (0-3-3)

Ryan Viselli (PEN) - 3GP (0-3-3)

No goalie from either club has a pair of wins, Keifer Smiley is the only net-minder with 2 starts.

The Vees are 2/14 (14.3%) with the man advantage, while Quesnel is yet to score with the man-advantage (0%!) despite 10 opportunities.

Puck Drop is 7:05 tonight at the SOEC.

Happy Holidays! The Vees Blog is ramped up for the final 21 games of the season… THE STRETCH DRIVE!

From here on out points seem to be that much more valuable, and palms that much sweatier come the third period.

What’s done is done, over the next 7 and half weeks we’ll find out who has home ice, who is clinging by fingernails, who can make the big trade, and who is the team to beat heading into the playoffs.

WEDNESDAY the Vees look to celebrate NYE by continuing their home success over the Trail Smoke Eaters. Johnny Reid is playing a NYE show at the Convention Centre following the game, and you can buy tix for both at a discount (take a taxi not your truck).

FRIDAY is a lock to be one of the biggest crowds of the season at the SOEC as CBC’s TV Cameras will be rolling in Penticton as our fair city attempts to win the annual billing of the top hockey town in the nation otherwise known as KRAFT HOCKEYVILLE 2009! Tix are just $5, and minor hockey players wearing their jerseys will be admitted free of charge (yes, you read that correctly)!

SATURDAY the Vees host the Prince George Spruce Kings and former Vees forward Vinny Muchalla. The Vees have won each of the 3 meetings between the clubs this season.

It’s nearly 2009! Hope you have some bubbly on ice.

Here’s a great opportunity to help the needy, catch Vees action on the cheap, and enter yourself in a draw for an experience of a lifetime.

The Vees have 2 for 1 tickets to tonight’s (Merritt) and Friday’s (Westside) games if you bring a non-perishable food donation for the Salvation Army. All 2 for 1 tickets also enter you to win ‘The Ultimate Vees Experience’ that will see a Vees fan warm-up with the team, join the team at the intermission, attend practice and get seats right behind the bench with a team jersey for a game.

2 for 1 tickets are available all week at the SOEC box office.

With not a ton of rainbows, lollipops and sunshine surrounding the team after suffering their third straight loss (one was in Overtime) last night in Westside, let’s look back at a much happier Sunday afternoon and the community skate at the SOEC.

I spoke with Logan Johnston, Ryan Viselli, Matt Paltridge and Neil Jamieson at the event.

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Here’s a great opportunity to meet your favorite Vees on the ice!

Sunday afternoon the Vees are hosting a Community Skate at the SOEC.

Here are the details.

The Vees are currently leading the BCHL in average attendance, but the way they are drawing, don’t expect that to last.

The Vees opened their home schedule with a single game at Memorial Arena (1986 fans) before the first ever game at the SOEC (4485 fans).

The club has seen 24,847 fans pass through the turnstiles through 12 home games this season, an average of 2071 (30 more fans than the Vernon Vipers have averaged through 15 home games) per game.

If we remove the game in Memorial and the SOEC opener (a sellout for the first public glimpses at the new facility) the Vees have drawn 18,376 fans over the 10 games since the season opening pair… that’s 1,837 per contest.

While 1837 fans still ranks among the best in the BCHL, rumblings were that the club and building staff were eye-balling 2500 fans on a per game basis, which is a far cry from 1837. Also last night’s marque match-up with the dreaded Vernon Vipers in town for the first time all season drew 2067. If Vernon on a Saturday draws just 2067, a half full SOEC (2500) is still a long way away.

Last season the Vees averaged 1556 fans in Memorial Arena.