Photo: Cherie Morgan
Penticton, BC – For the third consecutive year, the Penticton Vees find themselves with a ticket booked to the Interior Division Final of the BCHL Playoffs. While Penticton’s roster is constructed much differently than in years past, the 2023-24 version has proven just as dominant in a much different way.
In past the Vees have relied on a collection of individual skill coming together at the right time to outscore their opponents. This year’s version of the Vees has relied on hard-work and defensive structure from the outset, and it’s showed so far in the 2024 Rogers BCHL Playoffs.
They fought their way through the Interior Division Quarter-Final against the Prince George Spruce Kings, earning a four-game sweep of the eighth seed. In the Interior Division Semi-Final, they faced the fourth seed Vernon Vipers, as the two teams renewed of one of the oldest rivalries in BC Hockey history.
The storied rivalry goes back nearly seven decades between Penticton and Vernon, with this year’s series being the 25th all-time playoff meeting between the two. While both have had their runs of dominance in the BCHL in recent years, they had not met in the postseason since 2017. They were set to face one another in the second round of the 2020 BCHL Playoffs that were interrupted and eventually cancelled.
In all, each franchise had won twelve of the previous 24 meetings prior to this year’s Division Semi-Final.
“It didn’t feel like a five-game series, but that’s what great about it. We had three overtime games and came from behind three times to win, including the last game. You gain a lot of playoff experience in those moments and that should get us ready for our next challenge,” said Vees’ President, General Manager & Head Coach Fred Harbinson.
Most who have been around the BCHL knew exactly what to expect from a Penticton, Vernon series. What was expected was a heavyweight bout between two teams had a healthy dislike for one another.
What ensued over five games was nothing short of an instant classic, boasting runs of dominance from the first place Vees and an abundance of resilience from a Viper team just one month removed from a coaching change. Both sides showed flashes of skill, grit, and determination, that kept games close and entertaining until the very end. The Vipers, to their credit, never went away and never quit despite the Vees’ stifling defensive efforts.
In 12 of the 15 regulation periods in the series, Vernon was held to single digit shot totals. Despite these shot totals all five games were entertaining, fast, and physical, with three of the five requiring overtime to crown a winner. Penticton outshot Vernon184-95 in the series, outscoring them 15-7. Their defensive play was nothing short of stellar for most of the series, not allowing more than a half dozen ‘Grade A’ scoring chances in any one game.
While the Vees boasted the league’s best powerplay during the regular season and were middle of the pack on the penalty kill, this series was completely the opposite. Special teams weren’t the story of the series, but the script did flip from the regular season. The powerplay went 3-for-15 (20.0%) while the penalty kill was a perfect 10-for-10 (100.0%) and scored a shorthanded goal in the series.
“We scored a shorthanded goal too, so plus one on the penalty kill. That’s huge. Power play maybe got a little nervous late in the series, but we will work on that as we prepare for Salmon Arm. This time of year, special teams always play a factor,” remarked Harbinson.
Andrew Ness and Will Ingemann continued to split goaltending duties for the Vees in the series win, with Ingemann picking up three of the four wins. The pair posted a combined goals against average of 1.40 and save percentage of nearly .930 in the five games. The two continued their run of dominance from the regular season that saw them each finish in the Top five in goaltending rankings in the BCHL.
“They were calm. When we gave up goals it didn’t affect them or our group. The biggest thing with our goalies this year, is the team doesn’t play differently in front of one or the other. They play the same way. We have confidence in both guys, so it makes for a great tandem.”
Up front the veterans led the way, with Co-Captain Callum Arnott (2-3-5) and 20-year-old Billy Renfrew (1-4-5) leading the team in scoring. Scoring came from all over for the Vees, as 12 different players found the back of the net. That included goals by a pair of defencemen in Matthew Biotti and Larry Keenan throughout the series. Anselmo Rego, Thomas Pichette and Simon Meier were the only players to score multiple times for the Vees against Vernon. Pichette’s second of the series was the clincher, just 42 seconds into overtime in Game 5 to punch Penticton’s ticket to the Interior Division Final.
Including the regular season, Penticton went undefeated in regulation against Vernon, going 8-0-1-1 in 10 meetings. They’ll now turn the page and begin preparation for a rematch of last year’s Interior Division Final against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Stay tuned to pentictonvees.ca for a preview coming early this week as a primer for the Interior Division Final beginning Thursday night.
