Vees coach sounds off on boo birds at Saturday’s game
Coach Harbinson unhappy with fans following 4-2 loss to Nanaimo
On what was the annual Teddy Bear Toss Night on Saturday, Penticton Vees fans were anything but soft and cuddly. A lacklustre Vees’ power play against the Nanaimo Clippers in the third period at the South Okanagan Events Centre drew a round of boos from some of the 3,000plus fans in attendance.
Fred Harbinson, the Vees’ general manager and coach, was visibly frustrated after the game.
“I’m very disappointed in our fans booing 16- to 20-yearolds when we have five guys out of the lineup,” Harbison said following his team’s 4-2 loss. “In 10 years in this building, (it’s only) the 38th time that we’ve lost on home ice and they want to sit there and boo our kids.”
Fans didn’t have to wait long to toss their bears, with Taylor Ward quickly knocking one past Clippers netminder Taz Burman just 4:14 into the opening frame with the assist from Owen Sillinger.
After hundreds of teddy bears and toys were tossed onto the ice for the Salvation Army, it was downhill for the Vees with Brad Lynn and Maxwell Crozier knocking two past Vees goaltender Adam Scheel in the second.
It was a tough night injury-wise for the Vees, with forward Grant Cruikshank likely out for the season and defenceman Ryan O’Connell set to miss a significant amount of time after suffering a broken arm while at the World Junior A Challenge.
“It had a big impact, we had five guys out of the lineup. I thought our guys played hard,” Harbison said.
The two second-period goals by the Clippers put the Vees in a hole they couldn’t dig their way out of, going 2-for-5 on the power play and prompting fans to voice their frustration.
“I guess if they want to act like NHL fans, then we can turn the prices up,” Harbinson said. “It’s the cheapest ticket in the league. I have thick skin. It’s not about me. It’s about my players and the way they treated my players tonight makes me sick.”
The Vees looked for a late-game rally with Dakota Boutin scoring at 16:23 of the third period off an assist from Ward to bring the Vees within one, but Parker Colley knocked in an empty-net goal for the Clippers at 18:20 to dash the Vees’ hopes.
“I’m sure these comments are going to stir up some people who think, ‘Well, we have every right,’ and all this stuff. These are kids. I thought it was absolute spoiled brats the way they acted when we’ve won over 200 games to 38 in our own building,” Harbinson said.
“They want to act like that with the cheapest ticket in town? Guess what? Ticket prices are going to go up if that’s the way they want to act.”
Harbinson took no more questions from the media.
The Vees head into the Christmas break with a 22-7-1-2 record and return to the ice Dec. 29 and 30 in Wenatchee. Their next home game is Jan. 5 against Prince George.
In other BCHL action from Saturday night, the Interior Division-leading Vernon Vipers downed the visiting Trail Smoke Eaters 5-2 — thanks to a hat trick from Josh Prokop — while the Wenatchee Wild hit double-digits in defeating the visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks 10-2. Three Wenatchee players scored twice in that contest — Josh Arnold, Sam Morton and Jasper Weatherby.
On Sunday, the West Kelowna Warriors played to a thrilling 6-6 tie with the visiting Powell River Kings. The Warriors rallied from a 6-3 deficit with three straight goals in the third period to force overtime, which was scoreless.