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.
Another short-staffed two clubs will hit the ice at the SOEC this weekend. The Vees will be without the aforementioned 3 WJAC competitors as well as Bruins pick Ben Sexton. Merritt meanwhile have been ravaged by the flu bug (not H1N1) to the point where Friday’s game vs. Vernon was in question earlier in the week. The Cents aren’t the only club who have been hit by the flu bug as Burnaby was missing 5 regulars in last night’s 8-0 loss in Penticton, and tonight’s tilt between the Clippers and Grizzlies has been canceled (speculation has the flu as the culprit).
The EVIL Flu Bug
The Cents are running through goalies like I run through clean socks on a road trip… after adding another young tender in Cameron Dagg (the Cents third 17 or younger), the club has finally brought in an veteran guy in the form of 20-year-old Riley Wall who is a Jr. B journeyman. The Cents have allowed more goals against than any other team in the Milky Way… check that, just the BCHL.
Meanwhile, you can look for Billy Faust to make his first BCHL regulation start tonight. Faust is an L.A. kid who was teammates with Beau Bennett last year on the LA Jr. Kings (Midget) and has posted great numbers in Nelson (KIJHL, Jr. ‘B’) thus far this season. The Cali-kid has a tough act to follow as Joel Rumpel hung a zero on the Burnaby Express last night for his first BCHL shutout.
Tonight’s broadcast will start at 6:45 on EZ Rock in the South Okanagan and Similkameen, at BCHL.ca at the audio scoreboad, and at MyEZRock.com. I’ll be flying solo as Al Formo is dressing up for Halloween as the invisible man.
WJAC UPDATE
Though the tournament has yet to begin with the games that actually matter, Team Canada West has suited up for a pair of exhibition games in the Maritimes. On Thursday the Western Canadians beat Belarus 3-2 in a shootout, while they dropped a 5-2 decision to the defending gold medalists from USA last night.
As for the Vees in the competition, Beau Bennett has recorded an assist in his only game for the Yankees, while Sean Bonar has a win in his only appearance and stopped all three shots in the shootout, while Joey LaLeggia (who’s name is spelled ‘LaLegea’ in the boxscore) has a single assist in his two games played.
The real action gets underway on Sunday when the Canada West crew face the Russians, and the Americans clash with the Swedes. Elimination games begin on Thursday.
Eddie Gregory joins us to preview Friday’s pending visit from the Burnaby Express (lots of former Vees on that squad). Also we hear from the Head Scout of the Vees, catch highlights of a successful 6-days on Vancouver Island, and pick Coach Fred Harbinson’s brain as we cornered him on the ferry from Nanaimo to Vancouver last night.
Who’s leading the Vees in the 3 star standings?? Rock hard hits?? Hardest working honours? Yeah.. we’ve got that too!
‘Vees This Week’ is brought to you by Boston Pizza. Be sure to join us at BP’s on the 3rd of November as the whole team will be in attendance to sign autographs, and we’ll have prizes galore - including a spectacular Canucks prize package including two ticket to a ‘nucks game and a night’s stay in Vancouver. See you there!
Another game, another 6 points from the top line of the Penticton Vees. The Vees top unit has piled up 19 points in the teams last three games and have combined for 34 goals and 55 assists this season through 16 games played (Holy Toledo!). Manderson leads the league in scoring, Bennett sits in third spot, and despite missing three games (suspension for a line brawl, and WJAC evaluation camp) Garrett Milan sits in 17th spot in league scoring (he’s 7th in points per game).
STIFLING DEFENSE
The Vees have been particularly scrooge-like in the month of October. While the club has been filling the net all season, the goals against have plummeted since the turn of the calendar. in seven games in October the Vees have allowed just seven goals. The goal against totals since their 5-4 loss in Merritt in late September: 2, 0 , 1, 2 (OT), 1, 1, 0. That’s airtight defense. Sean Bonar has been especially dialed in as he has allowed just four goals in his last five games, two of which were shutouts.
CLIPPERS VS. VEES
Bill Bestwick’s presence behind the bench for the Clippers is not a given tonight in Nanaimo. The long time GM & Head Coach was less than impressed with the officials in last night’s OT loss to his former assistant Nolan Graham’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs, and threw a waterbottle in an officials direction after the game winner was scored last night. The Clippers were issued a Game Misconduct at the conclusion of the match and Bestwick could be suspended. The Vees early successes aren’t lost on Coach Bestwick as the Nanaimo Bulletin discovered.
“We know they’re real good, we know they’re real deep, we know they’re real skilled… They have excellent puck possession and puck management.”
~ Bill Bestwick
MIDGET GIANTS
The Penticton Vees have in recent years been the Junior home some of the top talent to emerge from the Vancouver Major Midget Giants program. Burnaby Now takes a look at the recent captains of the oxymoronic lower mainland club (how can a Midget be a Giant?!) and their hockey futures.
NANAIMO MEMORIES
The last time the Vees were in Nanaimo, they hoisted the 2008 Fred Page Cup after a clean four game sweep of the Clippers. Just Denver Manderson remains from that championship roster. Fred Harbinson (Head Coach), David Small (Assistant Coach), Murray Maxwell (Asst. Equipment Manager), Al Formo (Broadcaster) , Tom Jones (Bus Driver) and I were there too. It’s incredible how quickly BCHLers move on.
Here’s a look at where the players that comprised that championship club of 2008 are today:
GOALIES:
ALEX EVIN - The Castlegar product is making a push for the starting job with the COLGATE RAIDERS (NCAA - ECAC) as a Sophomore, though a 5-3 loss last night won’t help the cause.
BRYAN MOUNTAIN - An accomplished martial artist, Mountain’s intense focus earned him a spot on the NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES (NCAA - HOCKEY EAST) roster after posting some impressive numbers in the MJHL last season. Mountain is yet step on the ice for the Huskies.
DEFENSE:
JAMES BETTAUER - A raw 16-year-old defender, ‘Bettsy’ didn’t play much in the post-season for the Vees, and elected to play in the WHL with the CHILLIWACK BRUINS (CHL - WHL) last season where he recorded seven points and was minus 25 on one of the weaker teams in Major Junior Hockey. Bettauer has yet to play a game this season after being dropped by the Bruins this off-season and suffering a broken jaw this Fall.
MICHAEL HENGEN - A four year Western League defender before arriving in Penticton Mike is now playing his second season in Germany, this year he’s in the third division with the HERN EV (GERMANY - OBERLIGA) where he is averaging about a point a game. Michael father Tom Hengen is a Lower Mainland scout for the Vees.
ZACK JOSEPHER - A cannon of a shot from the point, Josepher was a mainstay on PP in his two years with the Vees. Zack is a Freshman at MICHIGAN STATE (NCAA - CCHA) where he had 4 points in his first NCAA game two weeks ago.
NIC KNUDSEN - Affectionately know as ‘The Beast’, Nic played last season with the CONCORDIA STINGERS (CIS - OUA) in Montreal. The hulking defender known as much for his heavy hits as ear to ear grin, isn’t listed on the Stingers 09/10 roster.
DEVON KROGH - Devon Krogh is now a freshamn for OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (NCAA - CCHA) and has a single assist in the early going. Krogh was known for his ‘flow’ (hockey hair), and his presence in the community with the SPCA dog walks and his role with the Read to Succeed program.
RYAN WAGNER - Ryan had all sorts of offers to continue to further his hockey career South of the border but the 20-year-old defender returned to Saskatchewan to work on the farm. Quiet, dependable, sturdy… he was voted the Vees top D-man in 2008.
NATHAN WESTOVER - ‘Westy’ was a well rounded defender with a knack for scoring against his former clubs (of which there were a few) and a love of blue sweat pants on the bus! Nathan spent most of the 08/09 season with the Burnaby Express. Much like his Junior eligibility, Westover’s hockey career appears to be over.
FORWARDS:
ZAC DALPE - MVP of the WJAC gold medal game, Dalpe was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes and is a current member of the OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (NCAA - CCHA). As a Sophomore ‘Z-D’ has 2 points in 3 games this season.
ELI GROSSMANN - Eli’s Junior career ended on a sour note (just YouTube ‘Grossmann loses it’) with the Grande Prairie Storm, as they got swept by the Vernon Vipers in the Doyle Cup, but his adventurous spirit lives on. The Alaskan suited up in the AIHL (Australian Ice Hockey League) this summer (their Winter), and at last check was still enjoying life down-under.
MICHAEL GUZZO - One of Al Formo’s all-time penalty killers through the years, Guzzo is playing with CURRY COLLEGE COLONELS (NCAA DIV III - ECAC NORTHEAST) who still haven’t started their 09/10 season. Michael had 23 points in 27 games as a Freshman.
BRETT HEXTALL - One of the greatest captains I’ve seen lead a team, Hextall was drafted by Phoenix and now plays for the NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING SIOUX (NCAA - WCHA) where he has 2 points in 4 games as a Sophomore on the 2nd ranked team in the nation.
ERIC KROSHUS - A great hockey player and a better student (that’s saying something!) Kroshus is a Sophomore with the HARVARD CRIMSON (NCAA - ECAC) who have yet to start their season. Kroshus was selected an ECAC Hockey All Academic last season.
MITCH LEBRECHE - Traded after training camp this season (there was a glut of centres) Mitch is now playing for the POWELL RIVER KINGS who are off to a great start of the season. Mitch has 5 goals and 5 assists in 19 games with his new club.
DENVER MANDERSON - The lone member that remains from the 2008 squad, Denver is a reminder of how quickly BCHL rosters turnover. Head to the top of this post for more on Denver.
CURTIS McKENZIE - C-Mac is having a sensational start to his freshman season with the MIAMI REDHAWKS (NCAA - CCHA) as he recorded 5 points in his first two weekends. Just 16 in 2008 Curtis was in a fourth line role with the club and threw his fists and checks with surprising success for a rook.
KYLE McMURPHY - A special teams wizard for the 2008 club, ‘McPowerPlay’ scored 13 of his 22 goals on the man-advantage. Kyle was playing poker in Vancouver at last check, and hung up the blades after the 2008 Championship.
VINNY MUCHALLA - A trade deadline pick up, Vinny was a physical force on the 4th line, who is taking business classes at UNBC and at last check was mulling over the option of suiting up for the FORT ST. JOHN FLYERS (SR. ‘AAA’ - NPHL) who will host the Allan Cup this Spring (Canadian National Sr. AAA Championship).
TREVOR NILL - Trevor is playing hockey in his home state for the MiCHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (NCAA - CCHA). Nill has 8 PIM and 0 points in 4 games. Nill was used in a checking role on the 08 Championship squad.
ANTHONY PERDICARO - Fresh off his 4 game stint in the AHL, Perdicaro will be back in the line-up of the COWICHAN VALLEY CAPITALS on Sunday when the Caps host the Warriors. Peridicaro was given a Gross Misconduct in his first game back with the Caps.
CORY SCHNEIDER - Cory Schneider suffered a mid-season injury with the OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (NCAA - CCHA) last year and had a tough time cracking the line-up on his return to full health. This year Schneider has played 4 of 5 games in his Sophomore season.
AUSTIN SMITH - Smitty and his patented glass diving were at their finest during the Fred Page Cup Finals in 2008, where he scored the first goal of each of the 4 game sweep of the Clippers. Smith is a Dallas Stars draft pick playing his Sophomore season for the COLGATE RAIDERS (NCAA - ECAC). Austin had 31 points in 37 games as a Freshman.
It’s shaping up to be fire against fire tonight as the two of the league’s most powerful offenses square off at the SOEC.
Tonight’s match pits the 5th ranked Penticton Vees against the 6th ranked Salmon Arm Silverbacks, in the Vees first game against a nationally ranked team in the country. Both teams have been getting it done with offense, as the Vees have scored 30 goals in six games, while the Silverbacks have 24 goals in five games played.
Sean Bonar Will Attempt to Slow the Silverbacks Snipers
Heading into tonight’s action, the Vees and Silverbacks can lay claim to seven of the league’s top thirteen scorers. F - Denver Manderson (89), F - Beau Bennett (91) and F - Mark Zengerle (89) are 1-2-3 in the scoring race with 16, 14 and 11 points respectively, while F - Travis Statchuk (90) and D - Joey LaLeggia (92) have 9 points each, while F - David Killip (91) has 8 points and F - Garrett Milan (91) has 7.
Mark Zengerle was named the BCHL’s ‘Player of the Week’ on Monday after a monster 9 point weekend in the Caribou, while Vees Captain Denver Manderson was named the P.O.W. after the opening weekend of the season.
On top of the obvious stakes of facing a Conference foe, some Vees will also be looking to impress Salmon Arm GM Rylan Ferster who is part of the Team Canada West brass for the upcoming 2009 World Junior ‘A’ Challenge. Milan, LaLeggia and Bonar were named to the evaluation camp roster set for next week in Okotoks.
The Silverbacks are (3-1-0-1) with both loses coming at the hands of the Vernon Vipers, while the Vees are (5-1-0-0), suffering their lone loss in West Kelowna last weekend.
Through 3 games the Smokies have allowed 16 goals while scoring just 4. Trail’s special teams numbers have been horrendous too, as they have the league’s worst PK (Bennett, Manderson, and the league’s #1 PP may be drooling) and a feeble 1/25 power play (good for 6% efficiency… only Alberni is worse).
Keep in mind this Trail club has to play at Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna tomorrow, and it’s clear this will be a very ornery Trail squad.
Meanwhile, the Vees kick off their first of three games in four nights tonight, and second of three-in-a-row at home. This will be the first game played since the club traded J.C. Lirette to Winkler of the MJHL, meaning you should expect to see Mitchell Jones suit up as the 12th forward tonight (Adam Zamec is still weeks away).
Denver Manderson and Beau Bennett both have league leading 5 game point streaks coming into tonight’s action, they are also 1-2 in league scoring.
TECHNOLOGY, INTERNET & STUFF
For those new to the BCHL scene, tonight’s game will be broadcast live on EZ Rock in the South Okanagan and Similkameen.
As you may or may not know, I’m on Twitter updating Vees and Sports news. New to the scene is our VeesOnEZRock twitter account which will update game play every few minutes.
Following every Vees game, get the skinny on the tilt, as I write a press release style re-cap here on the Vees Blog.
As you can see, we’re taking over the globe, one medium at a time!
The Vernon Vipers and Grande Prairie Storm are set to do battle for the right to advance to the RBC Cup in Victoria.
The Storm have been idle since April 5th when they swept the Spruce Grove Saints in the Enerflex Cup (AJHL Final), while the Vipers dispatched of the Powell River Kings last night in Game 6 of the Fred Page Cup in Vernon.
There are a few interesting storylines set up for the Doyle Cup, here’s a peek at the details…
COACH VANDEKAMP
Mike Vandekamp’s return to Vernon should be fun to watch. The Grande Prairie Coach and Director of Hockey Operations has an extensive BCHL coaching career in Merritt, Vernon and Powell River. Vandekamp has been named BCHL coach of the year twice including in ‘01/’02, his first year as the head coach of the Vipers.
Vandekamp Coached Vernon for four seasons (’01/’02 to ‘04-’05) taking the Vipers to the final in all but one of those years, and leading the snakes to a Fred Page Cup Championship in ‘02/’03. The Vipers eventually were eliminated by the Camrose Kodiaks (sound familiar Vees fans?) in the Doyle Cup.
SERIES STARTS AT CIVIC CENTRE
The Vipers will open the first leg of the series in the Vernon Civic Centre, not the Westbild Centre which is booked for a forestry show. It’s a case of bad timing for the Vipers who will now be maxed out at just over 2000 fans per game rather than the 3000+ that fit the Wesbild Centre. Should the Vipers have closed out the BCHL Final sooner, the series could have been started early allowing games to be played at the bigger, better barn.
FAMILY TIES
Vernon Vipers Forward Braden Pimm will face his cousin Bernie (Director of Scouting for the Grande Prairie Storm) who used also to be an assistant coach of the Vipers in ‘05/’06. The Pimms are a from Fort St. John, BC where Mike Vandekamp played his Junior (Huskies) and Senior (Flyers) Hockey, and started his coaching career (coincidentally F.S.J. is where this broadcaster called his first junior hockey on the radio).
GROSSMANN RETURNS
For the third season in a row, Elias Grossmann will face the Vernon Vipers in the playoffs. In each of the past 2 seasons Eli suited up against the snakes as a member of the Vees, but will do so as a member of the Storm this year. Grossmann was acquired by Grande Prairie from the Vees at the Junior ‘A’ trade deadline in January, and was reunited with Mike Vandekamp, who coached him in Prince George with the WHL’s Cougars in ‘06-’07.
HISTORICALLY
The Vipers and Storm have never played before in their history, but Alberta has won the Doyle Cup 6 times this decade, after BC won the Cup 8 times in the 90’s.
The Vees and Silverbacks close out their 8 games season series tonight at the SOEC. The Silverbacks have won 4 of the previous 7, including the second of a two game set in Salmon Arm last weekend.
The Vees will insert ‘AP’ Jimmy Geerin and give Colton Jobke a breather, while Jordan White should get the nod between the pipes.
The home team has won 5 of the 7 games between the two clubs this season. The Vees need just one win to surpass last season’s total for home wins (wow).
CONOR MORRISON… DAS IST GOOD
Connor Morrison is an integral part of the deadly top line of the Silverbacks that has compiled 243 points coming into tonight’s action.
The duel citizen grew up in Germany where his dad, Dave, played pro hockey and married. Connor represented Germany at the World Jr A Challenge in Camrose, and at the IIHF World Juniors in Ottawa.
Last season the slight forward had just 26 points in 54 games, while this season he has already notched a team high 37 goals to go with 45 assists in just 48 games.
I had my eyebrows raised a few times last night at the Awards Banquet. Most Award went right where I thought they would, but a few just seemed a touch odd.
UNSUNG HERO… CURTIS McKENZIE - Unsung? Curtis has been in the spotlight all season, and leads the team in Goals and Points! Curtis’s Mom and I laughed about that last night as she knows that I’ve been pumping C-Mac’s tires all season. I look at a guy like Adam Zamec, Logan Johnston or Matt Paltridge who could have been recognized instead!
HUMANITARIAN… JOEY HOLKA - If ever there was a time to go back-to-back on an award… Devon Krogh would have been my pick here. While Joey has been a staple of the community events, Devon spearheads most of the events.
MVP… DENVER MANDERSON - No questioning the value of Captain Mandy to the team, but 35 games played (58%) is too small a number in my opinion.
CHASE FOR 3RD
Salmon Arm and Vernon will visit the Vees and the Warriors this weekend and will help determine who is the third seed in the Interior. Should the Vees glean more points off the top 2 teams than the Warriors they’ll earn 3rd spot, while a tie or an edge in points for the Warriors will mean they grab the higher seed.
