Penticton clinches BCHL title

The Penticton Vees may have taken the longest route possible, but they’re going in through the “front door” for the Western Canada Cup that starts Saturday at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton.

Penticton stretched the nerve endings of their diehard legion of fans to the limit, needing a Game 7 to win all three of their BCHL playoffs rounds, including an emotional 1-0 win over the Chilliwack Chiefs on Duncan Campbell’s overtime goal to win the championship Tuesday in Chilliwack.

“No host team for the WCC has ever gone in through the front door — as the champion of their league,” said Vees president, GM and head coach Fred Harbinson. “That was something we talked about from Day 1. We badly wanted to go in as champs.”

By going the distance in the final, both the Vees and Chiefs only have a couple of days off to reset before the five-team WCC begins on Saturday, with the Chiefs playing in the opener against the Brooks Bandits at 2 p.m. and the Vees taking on Battlefords North Stars at 7 p.m. The Portage Terriers are the other team in the field.

Harbinson said the Vees are delighted to be going in with the momentum of a Game 7 overtime victory. The Vees led the series 3-1 but couldn’t close it out after leading 2-0 in both Games 5 and 6.

“I told the guys, it doesn’t matter whether you’re up three or down three in a series, it’s all about getting to four,” said Harbinson.

With the win, the 45-year-old Harbinson became the first coach to capture four BCHL championships, doing it all in a 10-year span. Now he will look to add a second WCC and a second RBC Cup to his ledger.

“You’d be lying if you said you weren’t proud of it,” said Harbinson. “You do it first and foremost for the players, for the organization, and of course our great fans.

“I love being able to bring titles home to this city, these fans who have been second to none with their support. You see us getting 4,000 people out for a Monday night game. They’ve been incredible.”