West Kelowna keeps eyes on playoff road ahead

Rylan Ferster didn’t sound Sunday morning like a guy overly revelling in one of the biggest playoff upsets in BCHL history.

“I’m just watching tape right now,” said Ferster, coach of the West Kelowna Warriors, the squad that ended the Penticton Vees’ chances at repeating as league champions Saturday night. “I’m just trying to get us ready. It’s a quick turnaround.”

The Vees (50-7-0-1) finished 18 points ahead of the next best team in the 17-team Junior A loop and 22 points in front of West Kelowna (38-17-2-1). They have two projected first rounders in the upcoming NHL draft in forward Tyson Jost and defenceman Dante Fabbro, not to mention all the playoff experience from last season.

They aren’t getting to the third round this time, though. A 4-3 West Kelowna win at home Saturday gave the Warriors the best-of-seven Interior Division final in six games, and propelled them to the three-team, six-game league semifinals, where they will meet the Mainland-winning Chilliwack Chiefs (38-13-4-3) and the Island-champion Nanaimo Clippers (38-18-1-1).

The playoffs restart Tuesday, with West Kelowna visiting Chilliwack. (Full scheduling info at bchl.ca)

“This is a new format to me, a new format to our team,” Ferster said of the three-team semifinal, in use for the third year. “Nanaimo and Chilliwack were both part of it last year with Penticton, so advantage them, for right now.

“We’re going to approach it like a bunch of mini Game 7s.”

As for the Vees, Ferster said, “their record speaks for itself,” and maintained the Interior is one of the toughest divisions in Junior A hockey in Canada.

He also said he’s not worried about his team getting caught up in beating Penticton and not being able to move forward emotionally, explaining, “our dressing room was pretty subdued afterwards.”

“I think the playoffs always comes down to good luck, good health and good goaltending,” said Ferster, whose team has been getting the third part of the equation from Matthew Greenfield, an over-ager from Parkland, Fla., who stopped 117-of122 shots (.959 save percentage) in the final four games of the set.

The top two teams meet in the best-of-seven final.