Excuses aside, Harbinson tips hat to Trail
Penticton coach-GM gracious in defeat as Vees’ season ends on losing note in 2nd round
Fred Harbinson is known to be relentless and driven in pursuit of victory.
Perhaps even more impressive is the Penticton Vees president, GM and head coach’s graciousness in defeat.
And while acknowledging the second-round, Game 7 defeat to the Trail Smoke Eaters before a massive crowd Monday at the South Okanagan Events Centre was “heartbreaking” for the Vees, he lavished plenty of praise and congratulations towards the winning team.
“It hurts like heck to lose, but on the other side, Trail is a great story,” said Harbinson, who concluded his 11th season with the Vees having won at least one playoff round every year. “I am sure a lot of people think it is better for the league. Top to bottom, Trail has really transformed that franchise the last few years and here they are in the third round for the first time ever. Then you’ve got Prince George and Wenatchee getting to this point, too.”
While the Vees controlled long stretches of the series, they dug a big hole in the decisive game.
“We had some uncharacteristic mistakes that really hurt us, like the too-many-men penalty and the turnovers that led to a couple of big goals,” said Harbinson. “Give Trail credit — they’re a good hockey team. They played desperate. They just seemed to find a way to make the right play at the right time as the series went along.”
Harbinson agreed the injuries — close to 300 man games lost for the Vees — were damaging.
He noted losing forward Cassidy Bowes just before the Trail series, and forward Jack Barnes in Game 2 further depleted Penticton’s depth.
“Barnes was one of our best penalty-killers — and that part of our game went sideways when we lost him,” said Harbinson. “(But) you can’t use it as an excuse. It’s part of the game.”
The coach said defenceman Michael Campoli (broken hand) and forwards Ryan Sandelin and Taylor Ward (shoulder) were among those who were compromised in the series.
“I’m sure (Trail) had lots of guys banged up on their side,” said Harbinson. “I’m just proud of the way our guys battled through and kept playing.”
At the outset of the season, Harbinson said he thought the Vees had a team capable of taking a good run at repeating as BCHL champions.
The injury hits were relentless from the get-go, but the Vees won the regular-season pennant for the second time in three years.
“I think we bled every ounce out of this group,” Harbinson said. “The expectations people have of us are always high . . . we can’t control that. I am content with what we accomplished given everything we dealt with. I’m extremely proud of every one of those kids.”
Harbinson said even with all the injuries, the Vees iced an entertaining team every night.
“We don’t sit back . . . we’re certainly not boring,” said Harbinson. “We play disciplined and we do things the right way. It makes us easy targets for people because we’ve won a lot.
“(And) I think what sometimes gets lost is how much these kids do for the community as well. They’re great ambassadors for the team and the city.”
Harbinson said it was another extremely successful season on and off the ice, praising the 4,300-plus fans who came out to cheer the Vees on Monday.
The Vees also became the first Junior-A team in Canada to average more than 3,000 fans per game during the season.
“We added two more banners this year . . . losing in a Game 7 against a real good team doesn’t diminish that,” said Harbinson, whose team won an unprecedented seventh straight Interior Division pennant.
“That’s 21 banners we’ve raised in the last seven years. The next closest team in the league has five. We’ll stay strong and we’ll be back.”
Harbinson said the Vees have been a contender year-in, year-out — a trend he is determined to make sure continues.
“You see teams win it one year and then fall off,” said Harbinson. “It’s a great league. It’s hard to stay in the upper-echelon. You’re not going to win it every year, but you want to be in the hunt and give yourselves a good chance.”
The coach said he’ll have a better idea of who may or may not be back after today’s player exit interviews.
Several top players such as defenceman Jonny Tychonick — a projected first- or second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft — will move on to university careers.
The 20-year-olds who will no longer be eligible to play junior hockey include defenceman Jordan Henderson and forwards Wyatt Sloboshan, Dakota Boutin, Chris Klack, Jackson Keane and captain Owen Sillinger.
“I think we’ll still probably have a pretty solid nucleus back,” said Harbinson.
The Vees will hold their annual bantamage camp for players born in 2003 April 13-15, as well as their annual Spring Camp from May 24-27.
Fans got a glimpse of the future as 16-yearold phenom Cole Shepard played in the last four games of the Trail series and looked impressive despite not being able to practice with the Vees.
“I think we’ve worked pretty hard to identify top players to come to the camp,” said Harbinson. “We’re always optimistic.”
The BCHL’s final four features TrailWenatchee and Prince George-Powell River.