After a record breaking 2022-23 BCHL Regular Season, the Penticton Vees now turn their attention to the 2023 BCHL Playoffs, presented by Shaw. The Vees are the defending Fred Page Cup champions and face the Trail Smoke Eaters in the Interior Conference Quarterfinals starting Friday, March 31, at the SOEC.
Vees playoff schedule
The Vees went 50-3-0-1 in the 54-game Regular Season, setting a new single-season BCHL winning percentage mark of .935. The previous record was .917 set by he 2011-12 RBC Cup championship Vees squad. They also became just the eighth team in the 60 plus year history of the league to win 50 games. The last team that did was the 2015-16 Vees, led by Tyson Jost and Dane Fabbro.
Penticton is just the fifth team in BCHL history to have three players finished one, two, three in league scoring. The last time that feat was accomplished was the 1979-1980 Nanaimo Clippers. Penticton are also the first team since the 1977-78 Vees to have three 40-goal scorers, as Bradly Nadeau, Josh Nadeau, and Aydar Suniev hit the 40-goal plateau this season.
Penticton opens its defence of their BCHL title against the Trail Smoke Eaters, a team they met in the first round of last year’s BCHL Playoffs. Penticton won that series in five game, not before Trail put a scare into them by winning Game 1 at the SOEC. That loss, back on March 31, 2022, was the Vees last loss at home.
it’s well documented the Vees have 14 returning players from last year’s championship team, led by the Nadeau brothers. Trail has 10 players back from last year’s team that faced the Vees in the opening round. Put in a five-game season series this year and, as the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt.
Season Series
Sep. 23 Trail (1) at Penticton (7)
Oct. 29 Trail (3) at Penticton (9)
Nov. 12 Penticton (2) at Trail (1) SO
Jan. 13 Penticton (7) at Trail (2)
Mar. 4 Penticton (7) at Trail (2)
Aydar Suniev led the Vees against Trail with 12 points (7G, 5A) in just four games. Josh and Bradly Nadeau each had nine points against the Smoke Eaters. Luca Di Pasquo made four starts against Trail and posted a 4-0 record to go along with a 1.47 goals-against average (GAA) and .942 save percentage (SV%)
Trail’s Brady Hunter had five points (2G, 3A) against the Vees in five games. Adam Parsons had three points (2G, 1A) in five contests against Penticton. Teagan Kendrick started three games against Penticton, posting a 0-1-0-1 record, 4.14 GAA and .897 SV%.
