No Okanagan teams left, but still players to cheer
It wasn’t the best of springs for junior hockey teams in the Okanagan.
By the end of March, the boys of winter in Major Junior, Junior A and Junior B had their respective seasons come to an end.
Only the winter-like weather remains, it seems.
In the BCHL, Valley hockey fans were anticipating another big showdown between bitter-rivals, the Penticton Vees and Vernon Vipers, who were the top two teams in the league in the regular season.
Both teams won a round and then grabbed 2-0 series leads in the second round. It went sideways from there, with the Vees getting upset in seven games by Trail, and Vernon stunningly losing four straight games to the Wenatchee Wild.
We’re used to the Vees playing well into April and often into May — and this reminds us we’ve maybe been a bit spoiled during GM/head coach Fred Harbinson’s terrific 11-year tenure.
The West Kelowna Warriors had what amounts to a cup of coffee in the post-season, going down in Round 1 in four straight to Trail.
In the KIJHL, the Osoyoos Coyotes made another strong run before once again falling in the conference final. Since that league’s playoffs start a week or so earlier, they were out at roughly the same time as the Vees and Vipers. The Summerland Steam went out at the hands of the Kelowna Chiefs in Round 1, then the Coyotes took out the Chiefs in Round 2.
In the WHL, the Kelowna Rockets are another team that has enjoyed a lot of success over the years, but this season’s playoffs ended with a resounding thud — a four-game sweep at the hands of Tri-City Colorado Avalanche forward Tyson Jost, seen here throwing a check on Vancouver Canucks defenceman Ben Hutton, has been helping his team towards an NHL playoff berth. Americans, despite the fact Kelowna had finished higher in the standings.
There won’t be much respite in the Stanley Cup playoffs, where the Vancouver Canucks’ playoff hopes essentially ended somewhere around the beginning of December.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets will carry Canada’s hopes in the playoffs. A couple of good, young, skilled teams and each with a legitimate shot at lifting the Cup. The Jets have enjoyed zero success in the post-season and the Leafs haven’t won a Cup since 1967.
Let’s hope both make a run — to the second round, at least.
Not sure about the Jets, but I honestly believe the Leafs are the best team in the Eastern Conference.
HOPES FOR JOST: It’s nice to see Tyson Jost starting to produce offensively in his first full season with the Colorado Avalanche.
The former Vees captain — who only turned 20 in March — is up to 12 goals and 22 points in 63 games as he looks to help the Avs push for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Nobody envisioned the Avs contending after a dreadful 2016-17 season, but here they are clinging to a one-point lead over the St. Louis Blues going into the last four days of the regular season.
Hats off to the schedule-maker, who was
BCHL
Ben Berard and the Powell River Kings won a game they almost had to win.
Berard scored the game-winning goal on a power play at 13:40 of the second overtime period as the Kings edged the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings 3-2 on Monday.
Powell River still trailed the best-of-seven Coastal Conference final series 2-1 going into Game 4 on Tuesday. The series heads back to Prince George for Game 5 on Thursday.
Neil Samansky and Kevin Obssuth staked Powell River to a 2-0 lead after one period but Jay Keranen in the second and Kyle Johnson early in the third time it for P.G. Powell River outshot Prince George 55-42. In the Interior Conference final, the Wenatchee Wild led the Trail Smoke Eaters 2-0 with Game 3 played Tuesday night and Game 4 tonight in Trail.
KIJHL
The Revelstoke Grizzlies are back in the hunt in the KIJHL championship series.
Jordan Rea scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 7:27 left in the second period as Revelstoke beat the visiting Kimberley either good or lucky to have the Blues visiting the Avs on the final day of the regular season on Saturday.
St. Louis also has a home-and-home with struggling Chicago tonight and Friday, while Jost and Co. have just one other game left, Thursday at San Jose.
With the Rangers’ season having gone south months ago, I’d love to see the Avs get in to cheer on Josty and his squad in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
I just hope I didn’t give them the kiss of death there.
FROZEN FOUR: There will be plenty of former BCHL players on display in what should be an exciting finish to the NCAA Division 1 hockey season.
The semifinals go Thursday, with Minnesota-Duluth taking on Ohio State at 3 p.m., and Michigan facing Notre Dame at 6:30 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
The championship game is on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on TSN-2.
One-time Vees and Coyotes forward Dexter Dancs is a member of the Michigan team.
Michigan knocked out former Vees defenceman Dante Fabbro and the Boston University Terriers 3-1 in the quarter-finals.
Fabbro is of course a long-time friend of Jost, with both getting picked in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft (Jost was taken 10th by the Avs and Fabbro 17th overall by the Nashville Predators).
SUPER TWINS: Not much to add to what has been so well documented in the media in recent days after the retirement of Canucks stars Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
Two classy guys who showed it once again by retiring while still exhibiting enough ability to hang around in “The Show” for another couple of seasons.
Some guys hang around too long (Messier was a good example) to pocket a few last millions at the expense of tarnishing their legacy somewhat.
The Swedish sensations will be great missed, but it was time.
The Canucks are in full rebuild mode and the twins would be well into their 40s by the time Vancouver is ready to contend again.
David Crompton is a sports reporter at the Penticton Herald. He can be contacted via email at david.crompton@ pentictonherald.ca. Dynamiters 4-1 on Monday.
Joel Scrimbit, Clark Nelson and Tommy Bodtker also scored as the Grizzlies halved the deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Game 4 went Tuesday night in Revelstoke, with Game 5 on Thursday in Kimberley.
Mason Palaga scored for the Dynamiters, who had a 41-34 edge in shots on goal.
DARTS
The Clancy’s Snipers held on to win by four points in the Penticton and District Dart Association A Division playoffs.
The Snipers collected 16 points in the ninth and final week to finish at 146. Roll N Stones Alley Brats had 15 points to finish second at 142 and Penticton Legion Smokin’ Aces had a big 21-point final week to finish third at 135.
Rounding out the standings: OK Falls Hand Grenades 120, Eagles Wreckers 111, Elks No. 1 team 103, Clancy’s Dreggers 98, Roll N Stones shooting Stars 98, Clancy’s Arrows 96 and Elks Points 76.
Doug Belanger led the way with four perfect 180 scores on the season, as well as the only two 177s. Seven other players had a pair of 180s.
Rick Royer worked the bottom of the board for five 171s.