Season-ending flourish could be just the start
Vees-Smokies to play 4 more — before the playoffs
The Penticton Vees and Trail Smoke Eaters will be seeing a lot of each other in the final six weeks of the BCHL season.
The two teams — separated by one point in the Interior Division standings — meet for the first of four more games tonight at 7 p.m. at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
“It’s going to be a great test for us,” said Vees president, GM and head coach Fred Harbinson. “It’s a team with a lot of firepower that can score at will. We’ll have to be on our details when we don’t have the puck and be aware of who is on the ice.”
The Vees (25-9-2-2) have won the first three games of a four-game homestand to move a point ahead of Trail (25-13-3) and Wenatchee Wild. The Vees still have three games in hand on Trail and two on Wenatchee.
“It was big to win one of those games in hand (4-3 on Wednesday against Merritt) and keep putting the pressure on those teams,” said Harbinson.
“Every game is critical right now and we want to keep playing our best.”
The Vees and Trail are meeting for the first time this season in Penticton. The Smokies won the first meeting 4-1 Oct. 28 and the Vees won 2-1 Nov. 22 at the Cominco Arena.
The Smokies were breezing along in first place until the 2-1 loss to the Vees triggered a 1-9 skid. But the return of star forward Kale Howarth and the acquisition of standout goalie Adam Marcoux from Cowichan Valley has helped Trail bounce back with a 5-0-1 record since the Christmas break.
Howarth, a 2017 draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets, is still tied for fifth in the league with linemate Ross Armour with 48 points despite missing nine games. Forward Levi Glasman is ninth in the league with 43 points.
A busy weekend will also see the Vees visit the Chilliwack Chiefs on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s BCHL final won by the Vees in seven games.
The Chiefs, 19-16-2-2, have fallen short of expectations for a team that will be hosting this year’s RBC Cup national Junior-A championship.
“Chilliwack will want to get on a roll before the playoffs,” said Harbinson.
“It’s going to be another big challenge for us.”
The teams are meeting for the third and final time in the regular season with the Vees winning 6-3 at the Showcase Tournament Sept. 23 in Chilliwack and 2-0 Nov. 25 at the SOEC.
Harbinson was delighted with the Vees effort in the come-from-behind win over Merritt. The Vees outshot Merritt 43-21, including 20-6 in the second period.
“We had a lot of puck possession and zone time and really limited their chances,” said Harbinson.
“We were down 3-1 there but we were playing real well. We told the guys to keep doing what they were doing and not to panic.”
Newly acquired forward Wyatt Sloboshan and defenceman James Miller both played well, while forward Chris Klack came back from a lengthy injury absence and got an assist. Captain Owen Sillinger returned from a two-game suspension and scored the winning goal early in the third.
“Sloboshan made a huge hit on the first goal to keep the play going and got an assist,” said Harbinson. “Miller did really well after not playing for two months. He’s got that huge shot from the point and he almost broke the post with that one in the third period. Klack keeps himself in such great shape and he didn’t miss a beat. We’ve really missed everything he brings to the table.”
The Vees are still without injured forward Cassidy Bowes and defenceman Nicky Leivermann, and they may be without forward Taylor Ward for the weekend games.
Ward — who has scored in three straight games — left the game in the third period against Merritt after taking a bad hit.
“It’s an upper-body thing … we should know more by (Friday morning) on whether he can play,” said Harbinson.
ICE CHIPS: The Vees play Trail Jan. 20 and Feb. 9 at the SOEC and Feb. 7 in Trail … The Vees will be keeping a close eye on the other Interior games this weekend, with Vernon visiting Merritt tonight and hosting Cowichan Valley Saturday, while Wenatchee plays two home games against West Kelowna. Trail is home to Merritt on Saturday… The Vees – still in the hunt for an unprecedented seventh straight Interior pennant - are just five points behind firstplace Vernon with three games in hand.