Toughest test lays ahead for Vees
Penticton heading to Chilliwack for Game 1 of league final on Friday
Despite having already played in a pair of Game 7s, the Penticton Vees are expecting their toughest challenge of the playoffs when they clash with the Chilliwack Chiefs in the Fred Page Cup B.C. Hockey League championship series.
The best-of-seven series starts Friday and Saturday at Prospera Centre in Chilliwack before Games 3 and 4 are staged Tuesday and Wednesday at the South Okanagan Events Centre. All series games are 7 p.m. puck-drops.
“Merritt was a hard series, Vernon was a hard series . . . this will be even harder,” said Vees GM/head coach Fred Harbinson. “We’ve talked about the importance of coming out and getting emotionally invested right off the hop.”
Harbinson said the Chiefs are a fast team, strong in transition and have a lot of depth up front. The Chiefs are 12-4 in the playoffs and no team is even close to the 59 goals they’ve scored. Penticton is 8-6 with 39 goals scored.
Jordan Kawaguchi (playoff leader in goals with 12 and points with 28) and Kohen Olichefski (tied with Vees captain Nicholas Jones for third with 17 points) have led the way offensively.
“You can’t just key on one or two guys though,” said Harbinson. “They change their lines up a lot, throw a lot of different looks at you. They’ve got a solid back end and really good goaltending with (Mark) Sinclair.”
Harbinson said the Chiefs can also be physical when they have to be.
“They’re not going to run around and go out of their way to be stupid,” said Harbinson. “They’re definitely not soft, but their big attributes are their speed and skill. If we’re lazy or unwilling to skate for even a play or two, you can find yourselves on the wrong end of things in a hurry.”
The Chiefs figure to have plenty of motivation after losing in last year’s final to the West Kelowna Warriors.
“There isn’t a team in the league that doesn’t dislike the Penticton Vees,” said Harbinson. “We’re coming off two emotional series against longtime division rivals. We’ve got to be into this right away because (Chilliwack) will be.” Even though both teams have qualified for the Western Canada Cup April 29 to May 7 in Penticton, the Vees desperately want to go in as champions.
“Who doesn’t want to raise that trophy over their heads?” said Harbinson, who has won three BCHL titles in nine years with the Vees.
“You want to be the champions of your league. It’s the first team to win four games here and that’s all I care about. I don’t get concerned about getting a split in their building, you just think about the game in front of you and ultimately finding a way to get to four before they do. We’ll worry about the (WCC) when this is over.”
The Vees get first-line winger Chris Klack back from a one-game suspension that kept him from participating in the thrilling Game 7 triumph over Vernon Monday at the SOEC.
However, 18-year-old Cassidy Bowes from the Okanagan Hockey Academy made quite an impression on the Vees coaching staff with his performance filling in for Klack. He tallied the primary assist on the Vees’ first goal and was named the Energy Player of the Game.
“We’ve got a lot of great options and we can change things from game to game if we want,” said Harbinson. “(Bowes) definitely got himself in the conversation. He was terrific.”
Defenceman Sam Rossini, who has missed the entire season after tearing a knee ligament in an exhibition game, finds out Friday if he is medically cleared to return.
“If he gets the green light, he could potentially enter the series in Game 3,” said Harbinson.
ICE CHIPS: The Vees practise today at noon then will spend the night in Chilliwack so they don’t have to travel the day of the game on Friday . . . . The Vees have drawn more than 110,000 fans through 28 regular-season and eight playoff dates . . . . After an unpleasant exchange with Vernon GM/head coach Mark Ferner when the Vees beat the Vipers in five games last season, Harbinson said Ferner simply “wished us good luck” in the final in the handshake line after Game 7.