Make it ten in a row for the Penticton Vees, as they crushed the visiting Victoria Grizzlies 6-2 on Wednesday.
Beau Bennett had a pair of goals and Joey LaLeggia had two assists in their return from the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge. Ryan Viselli, Eric Filiou, Garrett Milan and Denver Manderson also had two point nights as the Vees scored 5 straight after the Grizzlies opened the scoring.
Captain Manderson now has 50 points on the season and has recorded a point in each of his last 10 games. Denver is four points behind Salmon Arm Silverback Mark Zengerle in the BCHL scoring race, with two games in hand.
Americans Luke Curadi and Joey Holka also scored for the Vees who haven’t lost since the 9th of October when Vernon beat them at home in overtime. The Vees remain 3 points back of the Vipers for top spot in the league.
1600 fans saw rookie Joel Rumpel earn his eighth win of the season stopping 26 of 28 shots, as Sean Bonar got a night off after being named the MVP of the World Jr. ‘A’ Challenge on Sunday. At the other end of the ice Colin Fernandes faced 39 shots and suffered the loss.
The Grizzlies got goals from Gregory Simpson and Nick Buchanan in a losing cause with Alex Allan, Dustin Mowrey, Brad Pawlowski and Joel Lowry adding assists.
The Vees power play went 2/4 with all four man-advantages coming in the third period. In the second the Vees took their only two penalties, and killed them both.
Earlier in the day Adam Zamec was traded to the Wellington Dukes of the CCHL in Ontario for future considerations. Pentictonite Logan Johnston has been named an alternate captain of the club with his departure.
Next action for the blue, black and white is a home-and-home series with the Westside Warriors, which kicks off on Friday night at the SOEC in Penticton. Both games start at 7:00 PM with the pre-game show starting at 6:45 on EZ Rock.
Despite being just 4 points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand, the Williams Lake Timberwolves have fired Head Coach Dave Dupas. Working with what is essentially a Junior ‘B’ all-star team from last season (just 4 players are NOT rookies), Dupas had his club playing beyond expectations of many… Clearly not that of his ownership though.
In my opinion this team is out skilled, and wasn’t out worked… That’s not the fault of the coach.
VEES THIS WEEK
Join us tonight on Boston Pizza Vees This Week for feedback from the Vees three medalists from the WJAC in PEI. Also we’ll hear from Dave Sales from the league office Bruce Judd of Penticton Minor Hockey(better audio quality), catch up with some alumni who set accomplished some firsts in the NCAA, check in with the Interior Conferenece Power Rankings, hear highlights of the weekend home-and-home against Langley, and much more Vees yammering.
Join us from 6:05 to 7:00 on EZ Rock AM 800 or MyEZRock.com.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Vees and Vipers are back into the top three in the weekly CJHL National Rankings. Spruce Grove (AJHL) is #1, the Vipers #2, and the Vees are #3 as Dauphin and Kingston are dropped. Coastal leading Surrey Eagles are in at #9 and also garnering attention from the BCHL are Alberni Valley Bulldogs who beat Surrey in OT on Saturday.
Sean Bonar was named tournament MVP after standing on his head in the gold medal game, making 34 saves on 34 shots. Bonar - who is committed to Princeton - was also named Canada West player of the game for the second time in the tournament.
Coming home to the Okanagan with gold is Beau Bennett, the leading rookie scorer of the BCHL this season. Beau was the only non-USHL player on the American roster and compiled 3 goals and 4 points in 5 games played (not to mention a pair of posts in Sunday’s gold medal game). Having visited Denver and Colorado earlier in the season, Beau seems to have narrowed his decision on an NCAA club down to two.
Joey LaLeggia was his productive self as the tournament contributing 4 assists over 5 games from Canada West’s blue-line. The 17-year-old Burnaby product is committed to New Hampshire, and was the Captain of the Vancouver Major Midget Giants last year.
The trio will return home with medals around their necks (and perhaps bags under their eyes) after a long day of travel from the Maritimes later this afternoon (there is a 4-hour time change). Coach Harbinson has stated he wants to meet with each of them before deciding their status for Wednesday’s game.
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.
Join Fred Harbinson, the local media and myself at Coach’s Corner at the Kettle Valley Station Pub tonight from 6 ’til 7. We’ll be yaking about the success the Vees have enjoyed on the ice through their first third of the season, also some clarification on Hayden Trupp’s ‘AP’ status with the club, and how it came to be. Also tonight, a preview of the Langley Chiefs who the Vees will play a home-and-home with this weekend starting in Penticton tomorrow.
A pair of tickets to Friday’s tilt with Langley are on the line for the best question from the audience.
WORLD JUNIOR A CHALLENGE
Beau Bennett and Team USA are through to the WJAC Semi-Finals. A 3-1 win today over Sweden put the Yankees in against the Russians tomorrow for the right to play for the Gold Medal. For the first time in the tournament, Beau Bennett was held off the score sheet for Team USA. Both Goalies were named players of the game.
The winner of the Canada West and Belarus game today will face the host team - Team Canada East - on Friday for the other entry to the Championship match which goes Sunday.
More updates to come on Team Canada West:
* Puck just dropped and Sean Bonar is in the net for Canada West for the third straight game
**It’s 4-2 Canada West in the 2nd period. Cam Reid and Connor Jones have a pair each
*** 5-3 after 40 minutes with Madison Dias getting Canada West’s 5th. Bonar is 13/16, LaLeggia was initially given an assist on the Dias goal but has since had it removed.
**** ‘MAKE THE FINAL’ 7-3 Canada West with Cam Reid notching the hat trick and Joey LaLeggia chipping in with a pair of assists (they ended up giving him that assist on the Dias goal after all). Sean Bonar made 18 saves on 22 shots in the victory. Canada West will play Canada East tomorrow (awkward) with the fans backing the Eastern boys. The two teams have yet to play this tournament.
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…)
No games today at the WJAC in Summerside, PEI as the tournament pauses before the Quarter-finals on Thursday and the Semi-finals on Friday.
Action from Team USA’s 6-1 win yesterday over Belarus
Team Canada West faces Belarus at 3:00PM tomorrow (that’s 7:00PM AST in Summerside, PEI… if you’re in the neighbourhood) in a rematch of an exhibition contest that Canada West won in a shootout 3-2 after Kellen Jones tied the game with a second remaining.
At 10AM (2PM AST) defending gold medal winners - USA - face the win-less Swedes who have had some issues keeping pucks out of their net, having allowed 9 goals on 61 shots through two games at the WJAC.
Beau Bennett had another goal in the USA 6-1 win over the Belorussians yesterday. Beau now has 2g-1a-3pts in 2 games with the American squad which puts him just a point back of the tournament leaders.
Canada East and Russia await the winners of the quarterfinals and won’t play until Friday. Canada East faces the winner of Canada West / Belarus, while the Russians face the winner of Sweden / USA.
