vees:blog

With a big Game 7 coming up tonight in the NHL between the Bruins and Habs, the Vees weigh in on who they like in the historic rivalry.

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Our friends at the CJAHL National Ranking Headquarters are giving up hope. The Vees have dropped form 3rd to 7th. Camrose remains in 2nd spot. Saturday’s Rankings.

Cam Tait of the Edmonton Journal is following the Doyle Cup. Here is more from the 30 year sports reporter.

Fred Harbinson following a Game 2 4-3 OT Loss.

The Vees trail 2-0 in the series, coming home for Game 3

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41 year Vees colour man Al Formo and I sit down to talk Game 1 after a flat start to the Doyle Cup for Penticton.

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A bunch of Doyle Cup coverage in today’s Edmonton Sun.

Jonanthan Huntington is covering the Kodiaks.

Game Recap

Brett Hextall Feature

Kodiaks’ Olsen Injured

There’s your daily quota of hockey reading, on a winter-esque day in Camrose, Alberta.

Give credit to the Camrose Kodiaks, they we’re the better team Friday Night in Game 1 of the Doyle Cup… And the Vees were most certainly not.

Aside from Eric Kroshus - who played well in his return to Camrose - and perhaps another 3 or 4 Vees, the group was very average.

Here’s the Game Recap.

The silver lining? They can’t be that bad tomorrow!

Here’s the Doyle Cup page with the broadcast links and stats.

Cam Tait of the Edmonton Journal was blogging at the Game… here are his thoughts.

There is some confusion about online broadcasts of Doyle Cup games.

Each of our Doyle Cup radio broadcasts will be available in the BCHL’s ‘fanzone’.

Video will be available from Penticton but not from games in Camrose.

The CJAHL announced their nominees for the CJAHL Player of the Year earlier this week.

Vees Captain Brett Hextall was selected to represent the BCHL, While Joe Colborne was selected from the AJHL.

Just another storyline to follow in the Doyle Cup which starts tonight.

Here’s the full story and the rest of the nominees.

The Doyle Cup opens tonight in Camrose.

Here’s the Edmonton Sun’s Jonathan Huntington on the Camrose Kodidak’s approach against the Vees, and on ‘the trade’ which we’re sure to hear more about as this series unfolds.

Here’s my weekly Penticton Western News column

The AJHL Powerhouse Camrose Kodiaks stand between the Penticton Valley First Vees and their first National Championship in over 2 decades. The Doyle Cup kicks off tonight in Camrose, Alberta, pitting the BCHL’s best against the AJHL’s best for the right to represent the ‘Pacific’ region at the 2008 Royal Bank Cup in Cornwall, Ontario.

A franchise just 11 years young, the Camrose Kodiaks have quickly become recognized as the best hockey program in the AJHL with Boris Rybalka acting as the brains of the operation for the last decade.

Tuesday’s 2-0, Game 7 victory over the Fort McMurray Oil Barons marked the 5th AJHL title for the Kodiaks including their second straight Enerflex Cup, and 3rd in 4 years.

Not only have the Kodiaks been the cream of the Alberta Jr. ‘A’ Hockey League, but the team also has a perfect record in Doyle Cup showings, winning all four of the best of seven series they’ve battled in. The Kodiaks have advanced to the National Championship in 2007, 2005, 2003 and winning the Royal Bank Cup in 2001 in their maiden trip to the tournament.

If the Vees were looking for a stiffer test after reeling off nine consecutive victories in the BCHL playoffs against the best the league had to offer, the blue, black and white may have found a worthy adversary.

Penticton has home ice for the series, as action moves from Alberta to B.C.. The format of the Royal Bank Qualifier is as such; the series opens with a pair in the brand new, 40 million dollar, 2500 seat - 2008 home of the World Jr. ‘A’ Challenge, Encana Arena (in the Edgeworth Centre). Should the Vees or the Kodiaks win both games the series will return to Penticton for Game 3 and the remainder of the series. Should the opening pair be split between the foes, Game 3 will be Sunday in Camrose (3rd Game in 3 days) before the remainder of the series is played in Memorial Arena. The scheduling is confusing at first glance, but is designed to keep travel as minimal as possible, while trying to split the series evenly between the two communities.

Call the Vees office at 493-8337 for tickets and take painkillers for headaches caused by the scheduling.

Interestingly, these two clubs were involved in a deal mid-season that saw Eric Kroshus swapped for Alex MacLeod and Nigel Dube. As weird as it may sound, it is a deal that has paid dividends for both teams. Any slight edge in the deal will likely be based on how this series tips.

For the first time in this post season, the Vees will open a series on the road. The BCHL Champs have had quick starts thus far in the playoffs: 6-0 in the opening pair of each series. Another opening pair would go a long way in securing a berth in the Royal Bank Cup.

Radio 7:00, Puck Drop 7:30.

Here’s Fred Harbinson

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