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Vees Add Three out of Midget Ranks

The Penticton Vees Jr. ‘A’ Hockey Club is pleased to announce that forwards Ty Barnstable (98) and Turner Ripplinger (98), and defenceman Cory Babichuk (98) have committed for the 2016-17 season.

“All three had very productive seasons within their respective midget leagues and we are thrilled to add young talented pieces to our line-up for the upcoming season,” commented Vees’ President, General Manager and Head Coach Fred Harbinson.

Barnstable and Ripplinger played their 17-year-old seasons with the Regina Pat Canadians in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) and both call Regina home.

Barnstable

Barnstable hand a banner year with the Pat C’s, as he was named the SMAAAHL MVP, Top Forward and named to the league’s First All-Star Team. The winger had 22 goals, 31 assists for 53 points in 43 games. He led Regina in scoring and finished seconds in the league in assists and fifth in the scoring race; he had another four goals in six playoff games.

Two seasons ago Barnstable, along with current Vee Owen Sillinger, won the SMAAHL championship and helped guide Regina to a third place finish at the Telus Cup, the National Midget Championship. His teammate was no slouch either.

Ripplinger

Ripplinger finished right behind Barnstable in team scoring with 22 goals and 46 points in 43 games; he finished 10th in league scoring. Ripplinger, who also plays the wing, turned heads at the Mac’s AAA Hockey Tournament in Calgary back in December, leading the entire tournament in scoring. Ripplinger was a point per-game player in the playoffs for the Pat Canadians, notching six assists in as many games.

Ripplinger split two seasons of midget hockey in Saskatchewan between Regina and Moose Jaw. In 86 games in the SMAAHL he tallied 34 goals and 77 points.

Babichuk

Babichuk is also entering his 18-year-old year and hails from Edmonton, Alberta. The rear-guard played the past two seasons in the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL) with the CAC Edmonton Canadians. Babichuk wore the ‘C’ this year for the Canadians and collected 21 points in 30 games from the blue-line. His strong play at the midget level has already landed him an NCAA Division l commitment to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and as of now, is scheduled to enroll in the fall of 2017. Former Vees that have played for the RPI Engineers include Luke Curadi, Bo Dolan and Louie Nanne.

The Vees organization is excited to welcome Cory, Ty and Turner to the team and look forward to seeing them at Main Camp in August.