Vees open playoffs tonight against Prince George
There’s one thing about the leadership group of last season’s B.C. Hockey League playoff champion Penticton Vees that still stands out to the club’s current co-captain Callum Arnott: passion.
“They just wanted to win so bad and that filtered down the lineup, and I think if I can do that for the guys this year then we’ll be in a good spot,” said Arnott in an interview Wednesday as his team was preparing to meet the Prince George Spruce Kings in Round 1 of the BCHL playoffs tonight at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Arnott and co-captain Thomas Pichette are the only two returning players from last year’s team, which swept the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in the Fred Page Cup finals en route to the club’s second consecutive playoff championship.
But rather than getting wrapped up in the prospect of a third consecutive title -- the last club to do so was the 2009-11 Vernon Vipers -- the Vees have kept their focus on practising the little things this week.
“It’s kind of like a second season, so we’re working on what we call ‘championship details.’ It’s just the little things in the game we do well and we’re trying to perfect those as best we can,” said Arnott, 20, who led the team in scoring during the regular season with 53 points.
“Like just getting back to pucks quick, strong five-men unit in our D zone would probably be the main thing.”
On paper, the Vees are the clear favourites against the Spruce Kings: Penticton finished first in the Interior Con- ference in the regular season with a record of 38-10-3-3, while Prince George stumbled to an eighth-place finish with a record of 16-35-3-0.
Penticton also won five of six regular season meetings between the clubs, including an 8-0 win the last time the teams met on Feb. 24.
None of that matters now, though. “They’re a hardworking team. We know that they can draw a lot of penalties with how hard they work and stuff after the whistle, so we’ve just got to match their work ethic,” said Arnott.
Meanwhile, Vees coach Fred Harbinson
is helping his club reset after concluding the regular season with three straight losses, plus cope with perennial championship expectations.
“This year, with two returning players, anybody that says we were the favourite has got to be crazy. Salmon Arm has had our number this year. West Kelowna has the same number of regulation losses as us. Surrey has had a hell of a year,” said Harbinson, also the club’s general manager and president.
“So, for us, I think it’s just about trying to play the right way against Prince George and hopefully everybody in town gets on board and helps us win that series. And, if we can, that builds some momentum… that can maybe spur you on to something bigger.”
Like a three-peat?
“It’s only happened four times in the history of the league, so it’s not easy for a league that’s been around since 1961 and that’s not our focal point right now,” said Harbinson.
Games 1 and 2 are set for tonight and Saturday at the SOEC, both at 7 p.m. The series shifts back to Prince George for Games 3 and 4 on April 9 and 10. If necessary, Game 5 will be April 12 in Penticton, Game 6 will be April 14 in Prince George, and Game 7 will be April 16 in Penticton.
Elsewhere in the first round of the Interior Conference playoffs, the No. 2 West Kelowna Warriors (33-10-11-0) face the No. 7 Cranbrook Bucks (20-31-3-0); the No. 3 Salmon Arm Silverbacks (34-17-03) take on the No. 6 Merritt Centennials (22-26-5-1); and the No. 4 Vernon Vipers (33-19-2-0) meet the No. 5 Trail Smoke Eaters (28-20-6-0).
In the Coastal Conference, the No. 1 Surrey Eagles (44-8-2-0) face off against the No. 8 Cowichan Valley Capitals (1634-3-1); the No. 2 Chilliwack Chiefs (3217-4-1) play the No. 7 Langley Rivermen (19-28-7-0); the No. 3. Alberni Valley Bulldogs (33-20-1-0) meet the No. 6 Coquitlam Express (21-29-1-3). And the No. 4 Victoria Grizzlies (29-22-1-2) square off against the No. 5 Nanaimo Clippers (2723-3-1).
The final round of the playoffs for the Fred Page Cup opens May 17. The winner will square off against the top club from the BCHL’s Alberta division in a best-ofthree series beginning May 31.