Rain, rain, rain, power outage, rain, power outage, rain, rain.
Welcome to Powell River, ironically located on the ‘Sunshine Coast’ of BC, where candles line the hallways of the Powell River Town Centre Hotel.
The weather report is pretty soggy here. Unlike most places North of the 49th parallel you might trade in a block heater and a snow shovel for an umbrella and a pair of rain boots in the winter.
Getting games played here in Powell River has been a nightmare in the last week. The locals are getting antsy here after the last two home games have been cancelled due to nutso weather. On Sunday high winds suspended ferry sailings that kept the Nanaimo Clippers on Vancouver Island. On Wednesday the Vipers were in town only to have the game cancelled due to a 3.5 hour power outage.
As for the hockey here - the Kings are on a bit of a skid after leading the Coastal Conference for the lion’s share of September and October. With just 2 wins in their last 12 games the Kings have slid to fourth in the Coastal Conference.
The King’s strength is from the net out as the tandem of Josh Watson and Michael Garteig have kept opponents well under 3 goals a game.The Powell River defense has four returning cogs that played a bunch in last season’s run to a Coastal Conference Championship.
The glaring weakness for this club is their lack of skilled players upfront. The Kings used all six 20-year-olds slots on forwards last season, which leaves them without most of their firepower from last season.
Lebreche in Training Camp
Mitch Lebreche will play his first game against his former club tonight. Lebreche was part of the 07/08 Fred Page Champion Vees and was moved from Penticton in the pre-season. Mitch is enjoying his most productive season of his BCHL career as he sits on career highs in goals, assists, and points as a 19-year-old.
Last season, the Vees were shellacked in Powell River in Jordan White’s first game of the season. The much older Kings dismantled the Vees as league leading scorer Darcy Oakes buried a pair of goals including one on the first shot of the game. The Kings would win 8-4 with ease.
The Kings have been very solid on home ice this year (like last year) having lost just 2 games in regulation in eleven games at the Rec Centre.
It took the Vees 10 hours to get to Powell River yesterday. Two ferries and a lot of time on the bus was need to finally arrive in the isolated community.
The Queen of Surrey
The Vees were on the bus at 10 AM, at Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) by 2:30, On the Queen of Surrey at 3:30, back on the bus to drive from Langdale to Earl’s Cove, onto the Island Sky at 6:30, and finally pulled into to Powell River at 8PM. That’s a long way for a single hockey game (you could get to Calgary with less hassle, lower cost, and in less time).
Tomorrow the Vees will need two ferries to get back to Burnaby for their 7:30 game with the struggling Express.
Denver - in his 3rd year with the Vees - has been in the spotlight after a sensational start to his 20-year-old season. The captain is on pace for 129 points and is in the thick of the scoring race with Salmon Arm’s Mark Zengerle.
The Penticton Vees have dropped back-to-back games to the Westside Warriors, the latest a 7-3 setback on Saturday in West Kelowna.
Greyson Downing
For the first time since being eliminated in the playoffs by the Vernon Vipers last Spring, the Vees have lost two games in a row. The weekend skid comes on the heels of a ten game winning streak that was the second longest in the BCHL this season.
Sean Bonar struggled and was replaced by Joel Rumpel in the third while Warriors 17-year-old forward Greyson Downing was a force notching a pair goals – including one shorthanded – and an assist.
Kyle Singleton had three assists and Cole Wilson had two snipes as the Warriors showcased their secondary scoring. Trevor Bailey got his fifth goal of the weekend in the third period (he had four on Friday), and Alex Grieve and Tyler Kraus also bulged the twine much to the delight of the 1408 fans at the Royal LePage Place.
Veteran net-minder Kevin Jebson was solid for the Warriors as he set aside 31 of 34 shots for his fifteenth victory of the season and second in two nights against the Vees. Sean Bonar stopped 18 of 23 shots in the first two periods, before being spelled by Joel Rumpel who made 5 saves on 7 shots in the third.
Matt Paltridge, Alex Szczechura and Ryan Viselli scored for the Vees in the loss, while Denver Manderson’s league leading point streak was halted at 11 games.
The Vees got beaten badly on special teams on Saturday surrendering a short-handed goal and allowing a pair of power play goals against. The Vees finshed 2/4 on the penalty kill and 0/5 on the power play.
Three players were ejected for hitting from behind on Saturday as Eric Filiou and Logan Johnston got the early shower for the Vees, Spencer Humphries got the boot for the Warriors.
Up next for the Vees (20-4-0-1) are the Salmon Arm Silverbacks who visit the South Okanagan Events Centre on Wednesday night. Thursday morning the Vees head up the Coast to Powell River for a Friday game. On Saturday the Vees will make their only visit to Burnaby.
Wednesday’s home game starts at 7:05, while the road games this weekend begin at 7:30. Catch the pregame show on Wednesday at 6:45 and tune in at 7:15 on the weekend. You can catch every single Vees game on EZ Rock in the South Okanagan and Similkameen and at BCHL.ca.
Highlights from the weekend that was include a massive explosion of goals from Vees Alumni. Steve Cameron (Mercyhurst) , Travis Ouellette (Ferris State), and Evan Trupp (North Dakota) all had three goal weekends, while Austin Smith (Colgate) led the way with four points. Notching the first goals of their NCAA careers were former line-mates Eric Kroshus (Harvard) and Cory Schneider (Ohio State) from the 2008 Fred Page Champion Vees.
Vees Alums combined for 16 goals this weekend! Not too shabby.
Cory Schneider who is shown here jockeying for position with former member of the Vees TJ Miller.
Brennan Barker D (SR, Alabama-Huntsville) - 8GP 0-3-3 8PIM
Anthony Borelli G (FR, Brown) - Has Not Played
Steve Cameron F (JR, Mercyhurst) - 10GP 7-3-10 6PIM
Cody Collins F (SR, Mercyhurst) - 10GP 2-2-4 0PIM
Deron Cousens D (JR, Michigan Tech) - 8GP 1-1-2 6PIM
Zac Dalpe F (SO, Ohio State) - 9GP 3-4-7 0PIM
Alex Evin G (SO, Colgate) - 5GP (1-1-2) 3.45 .883
Brett Hextall F (SO, North Dakota) - 7GP 2-0-2 18PIM
Tanner House F (JR, Maine) - 4GP 2-1-3 2PIM
Zack Josepher D (FR, Michigan State) - 8GP 2-2-4 10PIM
Devon Krogh D (FR, Ohio State) - 7GP 0-2-2 2PIM
Eric Kroshus F (SO, Harvard) - 1 Goal - Stats unavailable?!
Justin Krueger D (SR, Cornell) - 3GP 0-0-0 4PIM
Brian Lebler F (SR, Michigan) - 8GP 1-3-4 10PIM
Alex MacLeod F (SO, Michigan Tech) - 7GP 2-2-4 10PIM
Bryant Molle D (JR, Alaska-Fairbanks) - 8GP 0-1-1 4PIM
Curtis McKenzie F (FR, Miami-Ohio) - 10GP 3-5-8 24PIM
Cory Milan G (JR, Union) - 8GP (3-2-3) 2.63 .903
TJ Miller D (SR, Northern Michigan) - 6GP 0-1-1 4PIM
Trevor Nill F (SO, Michigan State) - 6GP 0-0-0 8PIM
Bryan Mountain G (FR, Northeastern) - Has Not Played
Kaare Odegard D (FR, Alaska-Fairbanks) - 7GP 0-2-2 2PIM
Travis Ouellette F (FR, Ferris State) - 9GP 5-1-6 4PIM
The Penticton Vees needed a late goal on the power play but have won their ninth game in a row with a tight 2-1 decision in Langley on Saturday Night.
After trading goals in the first period of play the Vees and Chiefs were deadlocked at one apiece for over half the game before Alex Szczechura put the Vees ahead on the power play with just 2:44 remaining in the game.
Bo Dolan registered a pair of assist and Logan Johnston wacked in his 6th of the season in low scoring second meeting between these teams in as many days. Denver Manderson stretched his point streak to 9 games with an assist on the winner and Isaac MacLeod also had a helper in the Vees 19th win of the season.
Joel Rumpel set aside 24 of 25 shots to earn his third win since Sean Bonar departed for the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge. Andrew Walsh was much improved for the Chiefs on Saturday, as he stopped 27 of 29 shots a night after allowing seven goals.
The Vees power play ended up 1/9 on the night, while they killed every penalty they took.
The Vees are now 19-2-0-1 to start the season, but haven’t been able to gain any ground on the Vernon Vipers who beat Quesnel on Saturday night and haven’t lost since September.
Next action for the Vees comes on Wednesday as they host the Victoria Grizzlies at 7:05 at the SOEC.
The Penticton Vees have now won 8 games in a row after beating the Langley Chiefs 7-2 at home on Friday night. The Vees remain undefeated in regulation at the SOEC and will look to improve their road record on Saturday as they close out their home-and-home and two games season series with the Chiefs in Langley.
The Vees took advantage of an undisciplined Langley squad in the first period going 3 for 4 on the man advantage, outshooting the Chiefs 26-6 as they went to the locker room up 4-0. While the game wasn’t over after 20 minutes, it certainly appeared out of reach for an overmatched Langley team that struggled to create scoring chances against a quicker and more skilled Vees club.
Garrett Milan potted a pair of goals and was named the first star of the game. While Denver Manderson chipped in with 3 points and Jake Johnson added a pair of goals as both Vees stretched their league leading point streaks to 8 games.
Other Vees with multi-point nights included Bo Dolan and Alex Szczechura. Joey Holka potted his 11th of the year and Byron Sorensen and Eric Filiou had lone assists in the Vees 18th victory of the season.
The Langley Chiefs got goals from defenders Matt Cronin and Ryan Bakken, while Vees net-minder Joel Rumpel set aside the other 22 of 24 directed his way. Andrew Walsh was lit up for seven goals on 45 shots before getting the hook in the third period to make way for Wyatt Waselenchuk who stopped all five shots he saw.
The Vees killed both Langley power plays, while going 5 of 11 on the night with the man-advantage. The Vees have killed 49 of 51 penalties since the end of September.
Tomorrow the Vees will make their first visit to the Langley Events Centre with the opening faceoff set for 7PM. You can catch the pre-game show at 6:45 on EZ Rock, BCHL Pay-Per-View, MyEZRock.com, and at the BCHL.ca Audio Scoreboard.
Friday was also a victorious day for the Vees participating at the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Beau Bennett scored his third goal of the tournament in a 6-3 Team USA win over Russia, while Joey LaLeggia and Sean Bonar were part of a 9-1 Canada West beat down of Team Canada East in front of their own fans.
The World Junior A Challenge gold medal game is Sunday at 1PM (PST) and can be seen on TSN2.
Just three teams remain in the hunt for gold at the world Jr A Challenge in Summerside, PEI.
Beau Bennett scored this morning against Russia
The defending champions from the USA are through to the gold medal game after hopping out to a commanding 4-0 lead on the way to a 6-3 victory over the Russians earlier today.
Beau Bennett had a goal in the third period for the American side.
Sean Bonar stretches to make a stop for Canada West
In an all Canadian match-up this afternoon (3PM PST), East will be pitted against West with a trip to the gold medal game on the line. Canada East has been perfect since the puck dropped in exhibition, while Canada West is rounding into form having outscored their opponents 13-6 in back-to-back wins over Sweden and Belarus.
Joey LaLeggia (4 assists) and Beau Bennett (3 goals, 1 assist) each have 4 points and sit in the top 10 in tournament scoring, while Sean Bonar is tied for the tournament lead with a pair of wins. Bonar has a save percentage of .897 and a goals against average of 2.68.
***UPDATE***
Team Canada West plastered Team Canada East 9-1… Ugly. So it will be the match-up featuring all three Vees in the gold medal game as Beau Bennett and Team USA will face Joey LaLeggia, Sean Bonar and Team Canada West.
VEES vs. LANGLEY
For the third time in two seasons, the Langley Chiefs will see the Penticton Vees without their best players. Last season the Chiefs beat a Vees club that was missing Brodie Reid, Curtis McKenzie and Denver Manderson in in their only meeting of the season, while this season’s home-and-home today and tomorrow will be missing Vees puck stopper Sean Bonar, D-man Joey LaLeggia, and super-rook Beau Bennett. Also, out for the Vees is Bruins draft pick Ben Sexton who suffered an upper body injury in Alberni on October 25th.
The last time the Vees played the Chiefs outside of the WJAC, was back in 2007 when the team got in an accident on the way to the rink, delayed the start of the game and then promptly shellacked the home side in one of their most thorough efforts of that championship season.
A player to watch tonight for the Chiefs is rookie defender Tim Daly. The 18-year-old 17-year-old is one of just five BCHL players on the NHL Watch List (a list of draft eligible prospects that NHL Central Scouting throws together every Fall). Also, Daly has just committed to St. Cloud State of the WCHA (NCAA), where Fred Harbinson served as assistant coach before arriving the Okanagan.
Jake Johnson has been especially productive for the Vees since arriving from the Sioux City Muskateers of the USHL. The 20-year-old from Minnesota has 9 points in 8 games with the Vees and will be looking to extend his point streak to 8 games tonight.
Langley has been lurking in the weeds in the Coastal Conference, quietly putting together a tidy winning percentage of .650 with teams like Powell River and Surrey getting all the limelight and attention. The Chiefs have a sparkling 6-2-1-0 record at their new rink - The Langley Events Centre, while the Vees are the BCHL’s best on home ice having gone 8-0-0-1 at the SOEC.
Here’s a sneak-peek at Langley’s barn courtesy of broadcaster/blogger/funny-man Evan Hammond of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
Pre-game broadcast starts at 6:45 with Al Formo and myself on EZ Rock in the South Okanagan and Similkameen, MyEZRock.com, the BCHL.ca Audio Scoreboard, and the BCHL Pay-Per-View.
One third of the way into the 2009/2010 campaign, the Penticton Vees are on pace for their highest output since being renamed the Vees in 2004.
The Vees wait on the bench for another flood at practice
In fact since junior hockey arrived in Penticton in the 1961 no team has never eclipsed 100 points, though through a third of the season the Vees are ahead of that mystical century mark as 17-2-0-1 is a pace for a 105 point season. While that is just a projection, there are reasons to believe that maybe, just maybe, the Vees can continue to roll at their current pace.
For budding historians in the crowd 52 wins is the BCHL record set by the New Westminster Royals in 89-90 and the Vernon Vipers of 98-99. That New-West club also had 108 points, which stands as the BCHL record. The Royals beat Fred Harbinson (the player) and the Calgary Canucks that year in the Doyle Cup… Crazy.
Clearly this club is deep and talented. Clearly they are among the best teams in Junior ‘A’ in Canada. Clearly there are players who will be selected in the NHL Entry Draft this coming June in LA (Beau Bennett, Luke Curadi, Joey LaLeggia, Sean Bonar, and Isaac MacLeod are on scouting radars). The rest is still to be determined.
With the first 20 games in the history books, let’s pour a scotch, light the fireplace, and take a closer look at how the season has gone to this point. (more…)
Sean Bonar, Joey LaLeggia and Beau Bennett were in action today for the opening day of round robin play of the World Jr. ‘A’ Challenge in Summerside, PEI.
Of note to Vees fans (and scouts too, I’m sure) was the fact that Bonar and Bennett were named the player of the game from each of their respective teams. Beau scored a goal and had an assist, while also scoring in the shootout to earn the nod as the top American. Bonar stopped 18 of 20 shots against a crafty Russian squad and was named the Canada West player of the game, while defender Joey LaLeggia was held off the score sheet.
Tune in ‘Boston Pizza Vees This Week’ Monday night at 6PM to hear my conversation with Sean following that 2-1 loss to Russia.
