Champion Terriers deal for Mountain as No.1

After two seasons with the Penticton Vees, Bryan Mountain will take on a new role.

The Vees traded Mountain?s rights for future considerations to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champion Portage Terriers as the team looks to develop their younger goalies in the upcoming season. 

?They are going to play him a ton and that?s been a big thing with Bryan being a 20-year-old,? said Fred Harbinson, the Penticton Vees coach.

Sending the Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania native, who was 14-9-1 as a Vee, to the Terriers opened up a spot for a 20-year-old and allows the Vees to have a young tandem with 1989-born goalie Anthony Borelli and 1991-born stopper Sean Bonar. Harbinson feels the Vees goaltending depth for the future is strong and added to the mix is Castlegar Rebels goalie, 17-year-old Andrew Walton.

?He needs another year of junior B,? said Harbinson of Walton. ?We will have the three goalies at camp and then see how things play out.?

While Borelli hasn?t played junior hockey, he played on the 2006 New England championship team and was named one of three captains for the Salisbury School Crimson Knights last season. In Bonar, who stands six-feet-tall and weighs 170 pounds, the Vees get a goalie who sported a 17-3-1 record in 22 games with the Greater Vancouver Canadians in the B.C. Major Midget League along with three shutouts, a 2.22 goals against average and .922 save percentage.

?They are both very skilled, they both had very good spring camps here and they both have very good work ethic,? added Harbinson.

Solidifying the goaltending position isn?t the only thing the Vees have done.

The offensive pieces are falling into place with the additions of Brent Vandenberg, who was acquired from the Burlington Cougars of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League, for future considerations and the signing of Matt Tinordi, Ryan Viselli and Travis Ouellette who were signed earlier this month.

Vandenberg, who hails from Burlington, Ont., is a five-foot-11, 187-pound right winger who tallied 11 goals and 30 points in 45 games during the 2006/07 season then tripled his totals with 35 goals and 68 points in 49 games including five power-play markers and four game-winners. Harbinson said he was contacted by Vandenberg?s agent and expressed that the Vees were one of the BCHL teams he wanted to play for.

?It?s definitely very exciting and I?ve heard nothing but great things about the Vees and they had a great year last year,? said Vandenberg. ?There will be shoes to fill (with the losses of Brett Hextall, Denver Manderson, Zac Dalpe and Austin Smith), but there?s room for improvement. The ultimate goal is to go to the RBC Cup.?

?We?re hoping he can continue and put up some numbers here,? said Harbinson of the 19-year-old. ?In the short time that I?ve gotten to know him, he?s an unbelievable character kid. He works very hard away from the rink, wants to be a player. He?s a kid that may even push to wear a letter.?

Tinordi, 19, is the son of former NHL defenceman Mark Tinordi and played last season in the Atlantic Junior Hockey League with the Washington Nationals coached by his father. In Tinordi, a six-foot-one, 185-pound forward, the Vees get a player that can play either wing and brings a gritty style. Tinordi comes with a Division 1 scholarship from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and scored 35 goals and 59 points in 41 games with the Nationals.

?I?m hoping to bring a physical style of play,? said Tinordi. ?Play in all situations and bring scoring and play defence.?

Tinordi contacted the Vees after RPI suggested that Penticton would be a good place for him to develop.

?The organization has a winning reputation and they just seemed like the best place to be,? he added.

On Tuesday, the Vees made another deal with the Victoria Grizzlies to acquire the playing rights of 1990-born forward Brad Reid. In 51 games with the Grizzlies, the six-foot-one, 160-pound native of Delta popped in six goals and 10 points.

The Vees will be opening their training camp in Osoyoos on Aug. 20-23 with two teams of players vying for spots.

Bryan Mountain will get his chance to be a No. 1 goalie with the Portage Terriers in the Manitoba Junior League as the Vees look to go with youth between the pipes