vees:blog

COACH’S CORNER

Join us tonight at the Kettle Valley Station Pub for another edition of ‘Coach’s Corner’ with Fred Harbinson - the Head Coach and GM of the Penticton Vees.

Lots to talk about with just eleven games remaining in the regular season and the Vees trailing the Vipers by just a single point for top spot in the BCHL. We’ll find out how important the bye is to the Vees bench boss with a new best-of-seven format for the first round.

Also we’ll break down the Vees top ranked power play and assess how integral it has been to the Vees success.

Of course we’ll also tee up the Cents and Mills who play opponent this weekend, and reminisce about Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Powell River.

We’ll see you from 6-7 at the Kettle Valley Station Pub at the Ramada tonight!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

* Local boy Justin Pogge is enjoying a rebirth in the Anaheim Ducks organization (he’s currently on loan to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL). The winning Canadian goaltender at the 2006 World Juniors stopped 32 shots in a big 4-3 win against his old team in Toronto (the Marlies) last night.

Justin talked with The Fan 590 (the gold standard of Canadian sports talk radio) following the game.

* I caught up with Vees ‘Beast’ Nic Knudsen from the ‘08 Fred Page Cup squad a few days ago through the magic of a little thing called the internet. Nic is at Concordia University in Montreal for his second year and is practicing on the ice with the Stingers, but not a roster player due to an issue with credits from his first year (I’m not sure I could make it through a single semester in a city like Montreal, myself). Nic says his classes are going much smoother this year and that he’ll be back on the roster next Fall.

* Believe it or not, Kyle McMurphy hasn’t even put on his skates since the Vees lost Game 5 to Camrose in the Doyle Cup in 2008. McMurphy is a card shark who makes his living (and a tidy one) playing poker. He’s off to Australia to hit a line-up of poker tournaments now. And Pro hockey players thought they had it good. Some life!

* Former rivals Zack Josepher (Penticton Vees) and Matt Grassi (Salmon Arm Silverbacks) have teamed up to form a great pairing on the Michigan State blue-line. Here’s more on the unlikely BCHL pairing with the Spartans.

* I spoke with Mitch Labreche prior to Wednesday’s game. Mitch is enjoying his finest season in the BCHL and appears to be a great fit for Kent Lewis and the Kings.

Click the ‘play button’ below to hear from the 2-year member of the Vees.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player

The Penticton Vees are a single point out of first place in the Interior Conference after a 3-2 win over the Powell River Kings on Wednesday night.

Alex Szczechura recorded his 29th assist on Wednesday

Denver Manderson notched his 38th and 39th goals of the season on the power play to lead the Vees to their 20th home win in front of 1,654 fans at the SOEC. The Vees captain now has 110 points, and leads the BCHL in scoring with eleven games remaining.

The Captain’s two power play strikes in the first period had the home side up 2-0 after twenty minutes. The Kings would get the game within one in the second frame on a goal from Matt Garbowsky, only to watch Beau Bennett slide in his 30th of the year to resurrect the two goal lead for Penticton.

With less than two minutes remaining, Garbowsky got his second of the night on a power play with an empty net behind him, but the Vees would hang on for the win.

Sean Bonar made 26 saves on 28 shots for his 24th win of the season and was name the ‘3rd Star’ of the game. Josh Watson was great for Powell River stopping 32 of 35, but was stuck with his tenth loss of the season.

The Vees finished 2/8 on the power play, and 5/6 on the PK. The Vees own the top ranked power play in the BCHL.

Joey LaLeggia had two power play assists to stretch his point streak to 10 games, Beau Bennett had an assist to go with his 30th goal, and now has an assist in each of the last 9 games.

Alex Szczechura and Bo Dolan also had helpers in the win for the Vees, while Darcy Huisman, Andrew Pettitt, Mat Bodie and Justin DaSilva had an assist each for the Kings.

With less than a month left in the season the Vees now have eleven games left and are just one-point back of the Vernon Vipers. There is one first round bye awarded to the top team in the Interior Conference this season.

Next up for the Vees is a Friday journey to the Nicola Valley to face the Merritt Centennials, after which the Vees will host Quesnel on Saturday back at the SOEC.

Puck Drop on Friday Night is at 7:30 with the Underwriters Insurance Pre-Game Show starting at 7:10. Opening faceoff is at 7:05 on Saturday night in Penticton.

Vees NCAA 3 Stars of the Week:

1) Alex Evin

The net-minder for the 2008 Fred Page Cup squad has gotten through some nagging injuries and came up with a solid weekend of tending the Colgate Raiders net. Evin, a sophomore, made 25 saves in a 4-1 win on Friday and stopped 34 pucks in a 3-3 Saturday tie to take three of four points from Robert Morris this past weekend. Evin was especially impressive in Saturday’s tie making mulitple big stops to keep the Raiders within striking distance of the Colonials.

2) Eric Kroshus

Smarty-pants Kroshus is a bit of a roll after missing most of the first half of the season. The Harvard Crimson won just once in their first twelve games, but have grabbed seven points in their last four games to get right back into the mix in the ECAC. Kroshus had the game winner and an assist in Friday’s big win over Union. Harvard hosts their arch rivals Princeton on Friday!

3) Austin Smith

Another 2nd year Colgate Raider cracks the 3 Stars this week. Smitty scored a massive goal on Saturday Night to tie the game with less than a minute to go. We mentioned Alex Evin’s strong play to keep the game, close, but Austin Smith forced OT with his rebound bang-in. They’re loving the Penticton Vees in Hamilton, New York! Austin (of Dallas, and property of the Stars) has put together a sensation season leading all Penticton Alums with 29 points - good for 20th in NCAA scoring.

NCAA GAME OF THE WEEK - RECAP

****** @ ******

Zac Dalpe (OSU) and Trevor Nill (MSU) each had a goal over the weekend split between the Buckeyes and the Spartans. Michigan State won 5-2 on Friday where Trevor Nill popped in his 2nd goal of the season (and 8th point in 7 games), then Ohio State won on Saturday 4-2 with Zac Dalpe notching a power play goal (his 13th bingo of the season).

Michigan State fell from 10th to 12th in the USCHO Poll.

NCAA GAME OF THE WEEK - THIS WEEK

****** @ ******

Three former Vees defender will be on the ice for an CCHA battle between the Nanooks (of Fairbanks) and the Wildcats. T.J. Miller is in his final season of NCAA Hockey and will be pushing for Nothern Michigan to get back into the pack in the CCHA. Kaare Odegard (Freshman), and Bryant Molle (Junior) will escape the 49th state looking to grab just their second win of 2010.

Below is the rest of the Alumni Update Keep reading →