Penticton, BC – The B.C. Hockey League (BCHL) announced its finalists for six year-end awards after a vote among the 21 BCHL head coaches, and three Vees are in the running.
President, General Manager, and Head Coach Fred Harbinson, along with defenceman Nolan Stevenson and goaltender Will Ingemann are finalists for three of the six BCHL year-end awards.
President, General Manager, and Head Coach Fred Harbinson is one of three finalists for the Joe Tennant Memorial Trophy as Coach of the Year. Harbinson led the Vees to a first place finish in the BCHL with a 41-8-5-0 record, as Penticton captured the Ron Boileau Memorial Trophy as regular season champions. It was the franchise’s 17th regular season pennant and 13th consecutive Interior Conference regular season title. Harbinson has won the Coach of the Year award four times, with the most recent coming in 2022. Trail’s Tim Fragle and Chilliwack’s Brian Maloney are the other two finalists.
Nolan Stevenson is nominated for the BCHL’s Top Defenceman Award. The 19-year-old finished fifth in scoring among BCHL defencemen in the regular season with 39 points (8G, 31A) in 51 games. The 6’2, 175 pound defenceman has had a good start to the playoffs as well, as he posted three assists in the Vees’ four-game sweep of Okotoks. The other two finalists is Cranbrook’s Bryce Sookro and Sherwood Park’s Connor Gengle.
Will Ingemann is a nominee for the Michael Garteig Award as the BCHL’s Top Goaltender. The 19-year-old led the BCHL in wins (24) and in goals-against average (2.52) among qualified goalies in the regular season. Ingemann played in 34 games and posted a 24-5-4-0 record, along with a .892 save percentage and had a pair of shutouts. The other two finalists are Salmon Arm’s Andrew Ballantyne and Trail’s Teagan Kendrick.
The winners of the league awards will be announced between the second and third round of the playoffs. BCHL year-end All-Star Teams will be announced next week.
