Vipers Strike Twice

     The Spruce Kings dropped their first meeting with the Vipers 5-3, but that included a late empty netter goal. The first period was mostly controlled by Vernon, and they went up up by two goals. Prince George wasn’t overly outplayed though, and knew they had a shot at getting back into the game.

     In his first game back with the team after an ankle injury kept him out of early exhibition games, Braiden Epp made his presence known with a goal in the second. Right in front of the net, he was the recipient of a great pass from Rider Stoglin, and then some quick hands helped him get the puck around, and over Schamerhorn in the Viper cage.

     Halfway through the second, as planned before the game Alex Brooks-Potts came out of net and made way for rookie Liam McCloskey. The Vipers came out flying, and had two great opportunities to score within minutes of McCloskey entering the game, but he stood on his head and kept his team within one.

     Alex Stoley had possibly the goal of his life, as he made an end to rush going between the forwards, and then splitting the defence before whipping a shot past Schamerhorn to tie the game at two. Vernon would score again in the period though to head into the third with the lead.

     The second period also had a scrap in it, as Alex Rasovic threw a few hits too many for the Spruce Kings liking, so Adam Burnett dropped the gloves, and landed a few blows on Rasovic who didn’t manage to do a lot with the jersey pulled over his head. Both players were given game misconducts and left the game dropping each team down a defenceman.

     In the third, the Vipers would score early to double their lead at 4-2. The rest of the period was relatively slow, as both teams looked pretty gassed playing dump and chase hockey. Prince George would draw a late penalty though, and Corey Hoffman took advantage scoring on the 6-on-4 as Prince George had their goalie pulled. The team was handed another gift as McCarthy slashed a player skating by after the goal, and Prince George had the opportunity for a late power play goal.

     It would be the Vipers icing the game though with an empty net goal that just squeaked in past the post.

The team warming up in Vernon

     Saturday the Spruce Kings made the long trek to Vernon hoping to find some revenge. Unfortunately Viper’s goalie Andrew Shortridge had something to say about that as the Anchorage, Alaska native was perfect in a 3-0 win.

     The game started out back and forth, with no team getting any high quality scoring chances, and the two went to the dressing rooms in a scoreless draw.

     In the second frame Linden Hora would score, and that was all the Vipers would need, but they would add a pair of goals 27 seconds apart in the third to stake the victory. The Spruce Kings had their fair share of chances, and had a 3-on-1 while the score was 1-0 Vernon, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

     One of the more interesting moments came during a scrap behind the net, when a few players got a little heated, and one of the refs wound up dragging McCarthy off of a Spruce King player, and basically wrestled him to the ice in the process.

    In the end the Spruce Kings came away in the post season with a win, three losses, and an overtime loss, but the coaches said after the game that Saturday night’s effort against Vernon was possibly the best yet of the exhibition games.

     The Spruce Kings are now to set to take on the Wenatchee Wild, who have looked very strong this pre-season against BCHL teams. They outscored their opponents 14-1 in three games, with Surrey being the only team between themselves, Chilliwack, and Coquitlam that could put one in the net. Puckdrop is at 7pm, and Ron St. Clair will have the call on 99.3 The Drive.

Not a Meek Acquisition

The Prince George Spruce Kings are excited to announce the acquisition of 19 year old defenseman Mitch Meek in a three team deal involving The Vernon Vipers and The West Kelowna Warriors.

In exchange for Meek the Spruce Kings have given up the BCHL/CHL list rights to 20 year old forward Luke Harrison to West Kelowna. West Kelowna had traded 20 year old defenseman Mackenzie Ferner to acquire Meek before trading him to Prince George.

Mitch Meek is a 6’0” 200lb right handed defenseman who calls Victoria, B.C. home. Last season Meek tallied 7 goals and 11 assists for 18 points and 38 penalty minutes split between The Vernon Vipers and The Victoria Grizzlies after an early season trade last season from Victoria to Vernon.

“Mitch is a veteran BCHL player with almost 150 games played. He is a top tier defenseman in our league who will come in here and play in all situations and provide tremendous leadership.  He joins a strong group of defenseman that will be the backbone of our team this season” said Spruce Kings General Manager Mike Hawes.

Mitch Meek is committed to NCAA division 1 Clarkson University for the 2016/2017 season.

(Press Release from the Prince George Spruce Kings)

Exciting Time In Hockey

The first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are in the books and eight teams now move on, one step closer to the holy grail of hockey. Just as exciting is the buzz around the start of the 2011 RBC Royal Bank Cup. This year in Camrose Alberta, the National Tournament to identify the Junior A Champion of Canada will feature five teams in a round robin format.

Starting in the West ... or actually the Pacific Region ... the Vernon Vipers have made the long journey back to the RBC Royal Bank Cup for an astounding third consecutive year and will be there as the two-time defending champions. The Vipers earned the right after going through the BCHL Playoffs and coming out League Champions and then taking seven games to dispatch their Alberta counterparts in the Doyle Cup Championship.

To make it all the way and win it just once is tough enough, but to make it there twice and win it in back to back seasons is the stuff legends are built on. To make it there three consecutive times is to flirt with the notion of a dynasty. Especially when you consider that the average duration of a Junior A player is two seasons with the same team. Between attrition, graduation and age restrictions, having a championship calibre team three years in a row is not something that just happens.

The Vernon Vipers started the season and even the playoffs as underdogs to make it to the end. Now they enter the RBC Royal Bank Cup as heavy favourites up against four strong teams from across the country. If it can be said that they quietly made it through the BCHL playoffs, their arrival to the RBC Royal Bank Cup has drawn lots of media attention and is making lots of noise across the country.

After receiving a first round bye in the BCHL Playoffs, the Vernon Vipers spotted both of their next two opponents early series leads before answering back and dispatching them in six games each. They did better than that in the League Finals, sweeping the hands-down best team in the BCHL and a top ranked team in Canada in four games.

The Vipers required all seven games in the Doyle Cup against the Spruce Grove Saints and had to win three of four games in unfamiliar surroundings in the Grant Fuhr Arena in Spruce Grove. The Spruce Grove Saints were ranked at the top of the list among Junior A teams in Canada and had only lost two games in regulation time at home all season. They had swept their first two post season opponents and in the league championship only lost one game.

The Doyle Cup games were low scoring and close with the Vernon Vipers outscoring the Saints 17-16 in those seven games. After the Vipers opened the series with a win, the Saints won the next two and brought the series home leading 2-1. The Vernon Vipers took back the lead going up 3-2 in the series but could not dispatch the Saints in game six. Game seven was a different story with the Vernon Vipers getting an early lead and never let go.

One of the teams that the Vernon Vipers will face is the host team; the Camrose Kodiaks were the only team to register a win against the Spruce Grove Saints during the AJHL post season. The Kodiaks have been to the RBC Royal Bank Cup five times before and have hoisted the National Junior A prize once winning it in 2001. Of their five trips to the RBC Royal Bank Cup they played in four championship games, the only time they missed out was in 2007 after losing to the Prince George Spruce Kings in an epic battle during the semi-finals.

This is the first time that Camrose has hosted the tournament and it will be the first time it has been held in Alberta since 2004 when the Grande Prairie Storm was the host team. Since 1990, six host teams have gone on to win it all and be crowned National Champions. The last to do it was the Weyburn Red Wings in 2005. The other five were the Halifax Oland Exports (2002), Fort McMurray Oil Barons (2000), Summerside Western Capitals (1997), Olds Grizzlys (1994) and the Vernon Lakers (1990).

The equivalent of the Doyle Cup, the Anavet Cup determines the winner to represent the West between the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Portage Terriors come into the RBC Royal Bank Cup for their third time having seen both ends of the spectrum in their previous two visits. Representing the West in 1973, the Terriors came away National Champions from the Tournament held in Brandon and Winnipeg Manitoba. More recently, in 2005 in Weyburn Saskatchewan, the Terriors were the first team eliminated not making it out of the round-robin portion of the Tournament.

The Central Region representative has a longer post season road to travel that is capped off with a round robin tournament known as the Dudley Hewitt Cup. The Wellington Dukes dispatched the host team of that tournament to earn the right of representing the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) as well as the North Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) and the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL). This is the second time at the RBC Royal Bank Cup for the Dukes having finished 3rd in 2003 after losing the semi-final game to the eventual tournament winner the Humboldt Broncos.

Rounding out the five team field is a familiar name for those that remember the 2007 RBC Royal Bank Cup in Prince George. The Pembroke Lumber Kings will be making their six appearance this year, fourth as the East Region representative. Interesting enough the Lumber Kings once attended the Tournament as a representative of the Central Region in 1987 and one year later as the host team, finishing third both times. In 2007 they finished 4th while in 1977 and 1973 they came away with silver.

All teams have fought hard all year long to get here and this year the field looks extremely tight with all five times having a legitimate shot at hoisting the RBC Royal Bank Cup. Round robin play gets underway on Saturday April 30 with the defending champions taking on the host team - the Vernon Vipers and the Camrose Kodiaks get underway at 7pm Mountain Time (6pm Pacific Time). For complete schedule and additional information check out the RBC Royal Bank Cup page on the Hockey Canada website (click here).

Thoughts Following Vipers RBC Championship

Congratulations to the Vernon Vipers on their 2009 RBC Royal Bank Cup National Championship. After going through the tournament undefeated, the Vipers shutdown the defending national champs to win the Championship game 2-0.

Along with the congratulations I have a few other thoughts, after all I did have the opportunity to call three games in Vernon and watch three others from the press box in Prince George during the regular season. The first thought is how the Spruce Kings split their season series with the Vipers; every game was a low scoring affair with four of the games decided by one goal and the other two by a pair of goals each. In no game did either team manage more than four goals against the other.

Aside from the head-to-head matchups and everything that could be said about that, my thoughts turn to a few players, a coach and a broadcaster with the Vernon Vipers. First of all I just want to say congratulations to Todd Miller for providing a very professional broadcast. Todd is one of two broadcasters that took the time to spend with yours truly to provide some valuable insight and courage to try my vocal cords at calling some games of my own.

As a broadcaster I had my opportunities to speak with many coaches and ask my fair share of cliché questions; Mark Ferner was always respectful and gave me answers no matter how badly the question was worded. Even when the microphone wasn't rolling Mark would always say hello and talk shop. He was always about promoting the game and in the end he won the game that matters the most.

With only twenty players able to dress for a game, there were always a few players in the press box at the Westbild Centre that shared my perch above the ice surface. Those players were always respectful to me and at times would participate on the Spruce Kings broadcast either directly or indirectly. In the championship game three of those "black aces" were again cheering on their team mates from afar. Nick Amies, Steve Weinstein and Kory Roy are as much a part of the Vernon Vipers championship team as any other player in that final game and will be impact players in seasons to come.

There are two players on the Vipers squad that I want to perhaps apologize to for under-estimating them. Goaltender Andrew Hammond always surprised me with the amount of recognition that he received, I always thought that his defence allowed him to be as good as he was. Perhaps supporting my claim is the fact that it was one of his defenceman that won the Top Defencman and Most Valuable Player of the tournament while another goaltender took away that honour from Hammond. Credit where credit is due however; Andrew finished as the best goaltender in both the regular season and the playoffs.

Another player that has destroyed preconceived notions I had of him at the beginning of the season is the tournament MVP, Kyle Bigos. Perhaps it was his name or his size, but I had Kyle pegged as not much more than an awkward goon ... wow has he ever proven me wrong! It may have been the All-Star Game or the next meeting after the All-Star Game that I started waking up to what the scouts were seeing ... a big man that could control the game when he played with control.

Shortly after the All-Star Game, Kyle Bigos caught the flu bug and was a scratch when the Spruce Kings came calling on Valentine's Day. During the broadcast I had another opportunity to talk with the players in the press box including Kyle showed that he was a multi-dimensional player and provided some interesting thoughts and answers to his season as well as the team's. On Mother's Day, the big man made NHL scouts salivate when he walked around three players and beat the goaltender on the far side to give the Vipers a 2-0 cushion late in the third period. The goal showed off his talent and was reminiscent of many a skilled power forward's moves; more importantly it possessed none of the early season awkwardness that I had judged him with.

It truly is amazing what a single season can do for a player, but that might be the topic for another blog. It is something I have seen firsthand with players on the Spruce Kings squad who have evolved into players that NCAA scouts can't wait to get their hands on.

Live or Memorex

The RBC Royal Bank Cup championship game is set with the Vernon Vipers ready to faceoff against the defending National Champions. The Vipers have been on a roll since heading into the post season with a first round bye. The "Snakes" have only lost five games since the beginning in March. In those twenty-six games, they have also been on a roll having won ten straight games including a sweep of the Grande Prairie Storm to become the Pacific Representative at the RBC Royal Bank Cup.

Now they are one opponent away from winning it all; standing in their way of RBC gold is the Humboldt Broncos. Last year it was the Broncos that came away from a long season of battling to wear the National Championship crown. In the preliminary round, the Vipers defeated the Broncos 7-1, but something tells me it won't be that easy on Sunday.

The RBC Royal Bank Cup Championship game is reason to celebrate and cheer Junior A hockey players for a season of hard work and personal achievements. The game at the national level is still struggling to gain main stream approval as it goes up against NHL playoff games and other hockey games. If you have digital cable service, you will get to watch the Championship Game live on TSN2. If you have satellite or some other level of cable television, you will have to wait until after the game is finished before you will see it on the main TSN channel.

I admit that it must be a scheduling nightmare for those that plan out television programming and admit that at least everybody who wants to will be able to see the game. Unfortunately it feels like a slap in the face that the game won't be seen until after Sports Centre airs following the NHL game. The time shift of the game will deter well over fifty percent of those that would otherwise be interested in watching the game.

By the time it comes on the main TSN channel, those interested in the game will know who won and don't forget that although 8:30pm isn't a bad time for us, it will be 10:30pm in Saskatchewan and of course later in Eastern Canada. That stated, if you want to see it live, the game will be shown on TSN2 (channel 213) at 4:30pm and then tape delayed for 8:30pm (depending on the Carolina Boston game) on the main TSN channel.

No matter what, all I hope for is a memorable game and if you are asking me, I'm biased for the Vernon Vipers for reasons I have mentioned in the past. A win by the Vernon Vipers speaks volumes for the BCHL, especially the Interior Division and the teams that play here.