Penticton Vees battle Vernon Vipers tonight in Game 7 at SOEC
Harbinson wants Penticton to play ‘desperate’ tonight in deciding game
It’s Vernon and Penticton, it’s the Interior Division final, it’s Game 7, it’s the South Okanagan Events Centre and a berth in the B.C. Hockey League final is on the line.
What else did anyone expect? The teams are meeting in Game 7 of the Interior final in Penticton for the third time in four seasons, with Vernon winning 4-3 in overtime in 2014 and Penticton triumphing 2-0 in 2015. Game time is 7 p.m.
“I don’t think anyone is surprised,” said Vees GM/ head coach Fred Harbinson, still agitated after his team didn’t finish off the series in a largely dismal showing in a 5-1 loss in Game 6 Saturday in Vernon. “We can’t be scared of it. We’ve all been through it before. We played a Game 7 (against Merritt at the SOEC) two weeks ago. Hopefully we can draw on that.”
Harbinson said the Vees need to take a more “desperate” and “personal” approach than they did in Game 6 — and at other times in the bitterly contested series between the longtime Okanagan arch-rivals.
“Play hard, play desperate and recognize who you are up against and do everything you can to be better than them,” said Harbinson. “That’s what I do with their head coach (Mark Ferner). Everyone has to win their personal battle to help the team win.”
The Vees have been outscored 17-14 in the six games and production from several of their top forwards has been sporadic.
“Some guys have played hard and not produced,” said Harbinson. “They were brought here to produce and that’s what we need from them now.”
The coach was not the least bit pleased with the first 35 minutes of Game 6. Vernon scored 2:15 in on a power play and never looked back, busting it open with two goals in 16 seconds in the second period.
“Soft coverage on the first goal, we need a desperate response and we didn’t get it,” Harbinson said. “We give up a bad goal in the second, you’re chasing the game now and then it just unravels. We played well late in the second and through most of the third, but by then it’s a little bit out of reach.”
In the last minute of the game, Vernon defenceman Cooper Watson ignited a fight with Vees forward Taylor Sanheim, who was left with little choice but to defend himself as the punches rained down.
On the same play, Vees first-line winger Chris Klack fought Vernon defenceman Chris Jandric. Under the Junior-A Supplement rule on a second fight on the same stoppage, it means Klack and Jandric are suspended for Game 7.
After a review on Sunday, the league upheld the ruling.
“We thought the first fight was instigated by their guy,” said Harbinson. “Sanheim is wearing a guard to protect a broken jaw . . . the last thing he wants to do is fight. If they had ruled (Watson) instigated it, then the second fight and the two suspensions would have been negated.”
Asked if the plan now is to insert talented rookie forward Massimo Rizzo into the lineup, Harbinson said “we’ve got a bunch of back-up plans.”
Harbinson said he badly wants to win this series and advance to the final, stressing the fact the Vees will still be playing as the host team in the Western Canada Cup — April 29 to May 7 at the SOEC — doesn’t enter into the equation.
“I’m not joking around . . . anybody who says to me before (tonight’s game) that we have a second chance better be at least four feet away from me when they say it,” said Harbinson. “This is real important to me and I’m expecting our players to treat it the same way.”
The coach conceded the players may have “subconsciously” not brought the desperation in Game 6, knowing even with a loss they have Game 7 at the SOEC with 3,500-plus fans in their corner.
“I’m not driven that way. We really need to guard against that mentality,” Harbinson said. “The other part is that (Vernon) is a real good team, they made plays and we didn’t.
“Definitely, even though it guarantees nothing, I’d much rather be at home than on the road in Game 7. That’s why you work so hard in the regular season to finish ahead of teams and get that extra home game. The winner is going to the final, so you can’t hold anything back in this one.”
The winner faces the Chilliwack Chiefs in the Fred Page Cup final, with Games 1 and 2 set for Friday and Saturday at Prospera Centre in Chilliwack.
The BCHL champ, of course, joins the host Vees and the Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba league champs in the WCC. If the Vees prevail tonight and go on to win the BCHL title, Chilliwack gets in as the B.C. rep.