No place like home for Vees
Somewhat lost in the celebration and hoopla of the Vees qualifying for the RBC Cup was the fact it actually happened right here in front of their great fans in Penticton.
While there was no actual trophy to lift, it was every bit as significant as winning a championship - the outcome of the one-game showdown gave the winner an opportunity to compete for Junior-A hockey’s biggest prize.
The Vees remain one of just five teams standing, while the Chilliwack Chiefs become one of 127 Junior-A clubs across the country lamenting the fact they will not be heading to Cobourg, Ont. for the RBC Cup that commences this coming Saturday.
And the 3,000-plus fans who gathered on a sunny Sunday afternoon rightfully enjoyed every moment.
The Vees have won so many big games in Fred Harbinson’s 10-year (and counting!) tenure as president, GM and head coach.
They’ve won some of the biggest right here at the SOEC and even a few at old Memorial Arena in Harbinson’s first year in charge in 2007-08.
You think of Game 7 victories over the hated Vernon Vipers in the Interior finals of 2015 and 2017, the Game 7 win over Merritt to start this year’s wild playoff ride.
The Vees did in fact celebrate winning a post-season trophy at the SOEC when they beat the Brooks Bandits in the last Doyle Cup B.C.-Alberta championship in 2012, a title which also spring-boarded the generational team to the RBC Cup crown in 2012.
But despite winning four BCHL titles under Harbinson, the clinching game occurred each time on the road in 2008, 2012, 2015 and 2017.
The Vees had a great chance to win this year’s Fred Page Cup at home, leading Chilliwack 3-2 in the series and holding a 2-0 lead going into the third period of Game 6. The Chiefs rallied and eventually won in overtime, sending the series back to Chilliwack for a Game 7, which the Vees won 1-0 in overtime.
As fate would have it, the Vees and Chiefs clashed again for the second RBC berth (after Brooks won the WCC and the first RBC berth with a 6-1 win over Chilliwack on Saturday).
This time, the Vees delivered in one of the most dramatic and thrilling Junior-A hockey games witnessed at the SOEC.
It wasn’t a BCHL championship celebration, but it kind of was. Playing league rivals Chilliwack, who they’ve faced 11 times in the last three weeks, as opposed to some non-rival team from Alberta, it sure felt like it.
It was winner-take-all to play for the national title. It validated the Vees as B.C. champs, punctuated by the fact they ‘eliminated’ the Chiefs twice to do it.
The Vees faithful, who went through the ringer of three Game 7s and three other door-die games at the WCC along with their heroes, got their cake, and this time they got to eat it. How sweet it was. Right here at home. RBC DRAW: The rest of the five-team field for the 2017 RBC Cup was finalized on the weekend.
In the Fred Page Cup Central region championship game, Terrebonne Cobras (Quebec league) defeated the Carleton Place Kings (Central Ontario league) 5-2.
In the Dudley Hewitt Cup for the East region championship, Trenton Golden Hawks shaded Georgetown Raiders 2-1.
Brooks and Penticton are of course the West region teams, while the Cobourg Cougars are the host team.
The tournament starts Saturday, but the Vees don’t play until Sunday, facing Brooks at 12:30 p.m. PDT. Brooks, of course, rallied late and beat the Vees in a shootout 4-3 in the WCC roundrobin a week ago.
The Bandits went undefeated in five games at the WCC, validating their status as the No. 1 ranked team in the country. However, they were outplayed by the Vees for much of that round-robin game before scoring twice in the last three minutes to tie it up. I’m sure the Vees will be relishing a rematch next week. Or even two... The rest of the Vees RR schedule (PDT): Monday, May 15 vs. Cobourg, 4:30 p.m.. Wed., May 17, vs. Terrebonne, 12:30 p.m. Thurs., May 18, vs. Trenton, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 20: Semifinals (TBD), 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 21: Championship game, 2 p.m.
LEAVING ON A JET PLANE: The Vees flew out of Kelowna Airport Thursday at 9 a.m., arriving in Cobourg around dinner time.
Cobourg is located in southern Ontario, 95 kilometres east of Toronto. The population (as of 2011) is 18,519.
David Crompton is a sports reporter at the Penticton Herald. Email: david.crompton@pentictonherald.ca.