FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, March 12th
VEES SET TO FACE CHIEFS IN PLAYOFFS
Penticton, BC– The Penticton Vees will face the Chilliwack Chiefs in the BCHL Interior Conference Semi-Final best-of-seven series, starting Friday, March 16th at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
The Vees finished with the best record in the 2011-12 BCHL regular season with a record of 54-4-0-2. They also clinched home-ice advantage throughout the Fred Page Cup Playoffs as the top team in the eight team playoff bracket.
The season series between the two teams heavily favoured the Vees, winning six of seven games, including all three at the SOEC. The Vees outscored the Chiefs 38-15 in seven games, including 19-2 on home-ice.
Season Series
Sep 24th 7-1 Chiefs (Prospera Centre)
Nov 25th 5-4 Vees (Prospera Centre)
Nov 26th 9-0 Vees (SOEC)
Jan 6th 6-2 Vees (Prospera Centre)
Feb 3rd 5-1 Vees (SOEC)
Feb 7th 7-0 Vees (Prospera Centre)
Mar 3rd 5-1 Vees (SOEC)
Playoff Series Schedule
Game 1 Mar 16TH (SOEC)
Game 2 Mar 17th (SOEC)
Game 3 Mar 19th (Prospera Centre)
Game 4 Mar 20th (Prospera Centre)
Game 5** Mar 22nd (SOEC)
Game 6** Mar 23rd (Prospera Centre)
Game 7** Mar 24th (SOEC)
All games are at 7pm
**If necessary
Mario Lucia led all Vees in scoring against the Chiefs this season, collecting three goals and 13 points. Lucia was closely followed by Mike and Connor Reilly who each had 12 points.
Mike Garteig was the goaltender of record for six of seven games against the Chiefs this season. The 20 year-old fashioned together a 5-1-0 record with 1.67 goals-against average and a .924 save-percentage including two shutouts; Chad Katunar won his only start against the Chiefs on March 3rd.
The Chilliwack Chiefs had quite the return to the Fraser Valley, making their first post-season appearance in their first season back in the BCHL. The Chiefs finished fourth in the Interior Conference with a record of 33-22-2-3 for 71 points.
Malcolm Gould led the team in scoring, as he registered 36 goals and 71 points followed by Derek Husman and David Bondra who each had 65 points. Gould had a strong finish to the regular season, amassing nine points in four games including back-to-back hat-ricks on March 9th & 10th (Gould was named the BCHL Player of the Week for the week ending March 11th).
Game one of the Best-of-Seven Interior Conference Semi-Final goes Friday, March 16th at the SOEC; face-off is slated for 7pm and tickets can be purchased at the SOEC box office, or online at www.valleyfirsttix.com
The Vees will be giving away noise makers to the first 2, 500 fans before game one at the SOEC. Fans are urged to wear white for both games as the Vees want a “White Out” at the SOEC. Prior to game two, the first 1, 000 fans at the rink will receive a playoff t-shirt.
The pre-game show on EZ Rock AM 800 starts twenty minutes prior to puck drop for Friday’s games at 6:40pm. You can also tune in on MyEZRock.com and at BCHL.ca where both the audio stream and Pay-Per-View video are available.
HEADER
