Vees regrouping following 1st loss
Penticton hosts Merritt tonight, then visits Wenatchee on Saturday
Fred Harbinson was philosophical after the Penticton Vees absorbed their first loss of the 2017-18 season on Wednesday.
“In the overall process and from a learning standpoint, it was almost better we didn’t win,” said the Vees’ president, GM and head coach, after his team dropped a 2-1 home-ice decision to the Langley Rivermen. “It reinforces that you can’t play one good period of hockey and expect to win on a consistent basis.”
The Vees (8-1-0-1) get right back on the horse to play the Merritt Centennials tonight at 7 p.m. at the SOEC before heading south of the border for the first of three visits this season to Wenatchee to play the Wild on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
“We get to hit the reset button,” said Harbinson. “We’ve done a real good job over the years in bouncing back from a loss, and making it hard to beat us twice in a row. There weren’t a lot of happy faces around here (Thursday) and it’s great to get back at it right away.”
As per usual, Harbinson met with the players one-on-one Thursday to review the 10-game increment of the schedule.
“It’s one loss and that includes four preseason games as well,” said Harbinson. “It was one of the games we had in hand and we let it get away. You don’t like losing at home and I didn’t like the way we played the first two periods. We’ve got a lot more than we showed in getting to the dirty areas.”
After the freewheeling, wide-open game against Victoria on Saturday, the Vees struggled to adapt to Langley’s trapping style.
“If you’re going to be a championship team, you’ve got to find different ways to win,” said Harbinson. “There are 16 other teams in this league and they’re all built a little different. We wanted to win on skill alone . . . we played right into their trap and turned pucks over at their blue line.
“We didn’t get going until we started playing with some urgency and desperation in the third.”
Harbinson agreed the Vees missed the presence of veteran forward Chris Klack in a game like Wednesday’s.
“Chris brings so much energy and puck pressure,” said Harbinson. “He does so much for us beyond scoring and setting up goals.”
Klack was diagnosed this week with a punctured lung after his first-star performance in the 4-2 win over Victoria.
Harbinson said Klack will be tested again in about 10 days to determine when he’ll be cleared to resume practice.
The Vees are also without another key veteran in defenceman Joe Leahy, who suffered a concussion after an illegal hit by Vernon’s Jesse Lansdell in a game Oct. 7 in Vernon. Lansdell got a four-game suspension for the hit.
“(Leahy) is feeling better but he’s still out indefinitely at this point,” said Harbinson.
The Vees face a hungry Merritt team mired in last place in the Interior Division at 4-8-2 following their 4-2 home-ice defeat to Chilliwack on Wednesday. The Vees won the first two meetings in Merritt, including a miraculous 3-2 comeback overtime win last Friday.
“(Merritt) is going to come in with a lot to prove after the way we came back late to win that one,” said Harbinson. “Both teams will have a bit of a chip on their shoulders.”
Wenatchee (7-5-0-1) has been up-and-down after moving from the Mainland to the Interior Division this season. The Wild breezed to the BCHL regular-season pennant last year.
Harbinson doesn’t have fond memories of the Vees lone visit to Wenatchee last year, as a depleted Penticton team lost 4-1.
“It was one of the worst performances by our team in my 10 years (in Penticton),” said Harbinson. “It could have been 8-1 or more if not for (goaltender) Mat Robson. The guys who were here last year haven’t forgotten that game.”
Adam Scheel is pencilled in to start in goal against Wenatchee, while Nolan Hildebrand gets the call against Merritt, the coach said.
“Two big divisional games and the points are critical,” said Harbinson, noting six of the seven Interior teams are above .500.
Meanwhile, Harbinson was delighted that forward Massimo Rizzo and defenceman Luke Reid were among six BCHL players who were selected to play for Team Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge Nov. 5-11 in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek.
“It’s great for our league to have six guys going, and there were a couple of others close to getting picked,” said Harbinson. “It’s the fourth straight year we’ve had at least one player make Team Canada for that event. Reid and Rizzo are two extremely talented kids who have worked hard and put a lot of effort into their careers and it’s great to see them get rewarded.”
Four other BCHLers were also named to Team Canada, including Vernon Vipers forward Alex Swetlikoff.