BCHL Thread

[Standing_Tall#37]

So either the Quesnel Millionares are being sold and moved to Chilliwack for the 2011/12 season or will cease operation and withdraw from the BCHL.Sad for the people of Quesnel.

Its ok, the arena is 50 years old, and we couldn't get young kids with talent to play here. Anytime the club drafted someone decent they refused to play and usually ended up getting traded. Hockey is on its way out of town anyhow even at the minor levels. Its the price of the Olympics and price of doing business. I don't doubt that this is happening all over small town b.c. or Canada for that matter.... wondering what our team Canadas will look like 15 years down the road.

[mypocketshurt]

Its ok, the arena is 50 years old, and we couldn't get young kids with talent to play here. Anytime the club drafted someone decent they refused to play and usually ended up getting traded. Hockey is on its way out of town anyhow even at the minor levels. Its the price of the Olympics and price of doing business. I don't doubt that this is happening all over small town b.c. or Canada for that matter.... wondering what our team Canadas will look like 15 years down the road.

The bchl doesnt have a draft. Any player refusing to report would be players acquired in a trade.

[old_time_hockey]

According to wikipedia it's a done deal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quesnel_Millionaires

"The Millionaires started out in the Peace Cariboo Junior Hockey League in 1975. The Millionaires are the 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1987 PCJHL Champions. They have also won the 1977, 1978, and 1979 Cyclone Taylor Cup Championships. In 1996, the Millionaires moved to the British Columbia Hockey League.

On May 9, 2011, the BCHL approved the sale of the Quesnel Millionaires to the Chiefs Development Group in Chilliwack, BC. The former Chiefs franchise was renamed the Langley Rivermen in preparation for the Millionaires' return to Chilliwack."

Well the Mills press release was on the 9th. And the BCHL has not reported the deal has been approved.

I know the Chiefs Development Group (CDG) do have someone working on a new website, but I think the Chilliwack Chiefs need to get the Langley Chiefs to sell them/release the Chiefs URL. Which I don't think should be an issue since Langley changed their name to Rivermen.

But I guess the big question now is can the Sprucekings compete in the league anymore cost wise since their closest geographical rival is gone? I know with the new rule changes that there will be more back to backs with a half-interlocked sched to try and save money, but even still.

[old_time_hockey]

PRINCE GEORGE, BC – The Prince George Spruce Kings are pleased to announce that Skylar Pacheco has committed to the team for the 2011-12 season. Pacheco is a highly skilled defenceman who will compliment an already strong Spruce Kings blue line.

Skylar Pacheco (Pa_check_oh) is a 1994 born defenceman from Kitimat, BC that played last season with the Creston Valley Thundercats of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. Pacheco was selected to play in the KIJHL Top Prospects Game picking up one point. The 16 year old rookie finished the regular season with 5 goals, and 12 assists in 43 games and also contributed in the post season with a goal and an assist in 13 playoff games.

"We're extremely thrilled to receive a commitment from a player like Skylar," said Spruce Kings General Manager, Mike Hawes. "He is an extremely intelligent defenceman with tremendous offensive upside, good defensive instincts and great work ethic. Skylar will be a very good player for our organization for several years."

"We are excited to be able to add another player from Northern BC," added Hawes. "From an organizational standpoint, it is important to us to be able to continue promoting players from the North."

The Prince George Spruce Kings are preparing for their 40th season and are looking forward to getting Sklyar Pacheco and the rest of the players back on the ice starting with the team’s main camp in late August.

[Sapper]

From the Chilliwack Progress

The results of a mail-in vote by the BCHL board of governors should be known early next week as Chilliwack waits on a junior A team to replace the departed Chilliwack Bruins.

BCHL commissioner John Grisdale says the e-mail vote started yesterday (Thursday) and, according to league rules, there is a 14 day window for completion.

There's no way it should take that long and Grisdale expects to have all votes accounted for by the end of the Victoria Day long weekend, leading into an official announcement on or around Tuesday.

Nothing's official yet, but it seems a slam dunk that the relocation of the Quesnel Millionaires will come to pass.

The board has two choices.

Leave an inactive team in Quesnel and get no money, or approve relocation to a proven BCHL market and pocket a share of the relocation fee (speculation has it at $250,000).

Seems an easy choice, but the BCHL wheels are turning remarkably slow.

....................................................

Also the url www.chilliwackchiefs.com has just been registered

[old_time_hockey]

So the League has voted yes, now Hockey BC has to have their say.

I know that the BCAHA has a big hand in the BCHL but not from the business side of it like say the BCHL Governers. I don't know what their debate could be about.

[PlanB]

The deal to move the Millionares out of Quesnel and into the Whack is DONE. I was just in Quesnel on long weekend (stop-over for work, went to BARKERVILLE!!!! Very cool place BTW!) and everyone was talking about it there. People don`t think the Spruce Kings will be in danger up there because they (I didn`t know this) generate the majority of their operating costs through a show home lottery so they are financially very stable (their game tickets are the lowest price in the league apparently). They are community owned so profit is not their sole reason for existing (unlike other teams which MUST generate profit or fold/relocate).

What this will do is cause problems for travel for other teams as well as the Kings. No one will enjoy taking the 6-8 hr (or longer for Island teams) drive up to PG to play TWO games (maybe three in some cases - whereas before teams could somewhat justify the travel because they were getting between 4 or 5 games out of the trip between PG/Que) and the board of governors will likely have to address this with some kind of travel subsidy I suspect (I believe this has happened in the past in the BCHL but is not widely known).

In just a short time the league has lost Quesnel and Williams Lake, who`s next? So much for the `heartland` being the soul of hockey as I have read somewhere before.

[Fincup13]

Travel for the Prince George team will probably be now close to what Trail has done for years. Assuming back-to-back games in Prince George for Interior Division opponents, travel will not increase this year for most teams. For the 7 interior division opponents it probably means a maximum of 4 games (2trips) to Prince George which even could be combined with a game in Chilliwack or Merritt on the way home. That being said, most of the changes to the league this year (i.e. reduced rosters) are about saving the teams money and if it is cheaper for a team like Merritt to play one game, pile back in the bus and go right back to Merritt instead of paying for a dozen hotel rooms and a couple of extra team meals expect them to do whatever is the most economical

Next season teams only face the 8 teams in the other division once, facing 4 at home and 4 teams on the road. Last year for most teams it was 2 long road trips per year to the other Division and this year I would expect only 1 trip. This year the 4 Coastal teams playing in Prince George could travel up and play PG on Wed, play Okanagan teams 2 games on Fri/Sat and Chilliwack or Merritt on the way back home on Sunday. Expect all teams to only have one road trip in the season to play teams in the other division.

It is sad to see a town like Quesnel lose the Millionaires hockey team after 35 years. They had good corporate support and believe they still had about 500 season ticket holders. Transportation, billet, equipment, ice time, and salary costs have been crippling for even the big market teams in recent years. There are probably only 3 or 4 teams in this league that do anything better than break even.

[BuckyHermit]

Kind of switching gears here, but I heard a rumor that Surrey wants to develop a new facility near Whalley for the Eagles. Does anyone know what happened to that?

I really hope it happens. They need a better building than the South Surrey Arena.

[Fanuck]

This thread has been pretty quiet for some time now even though the season's a couple of weeks old. Found this preview on the net, thought some people might be interested. As per usual, Penticton/Vernon on top yet again.

BCHL Interior Conference preview

1. PENTICTON VEES

KEY RETURNEES: F Logan Johnston (11-21-32), F Joey Benik (30-26-56), F Curtis Loik (10-16-26), D Troy Stecher (5-15-20), F Travis St. Denis (27-27-54), G Michael Garteig (36-8-3, seven shutouts, 1.69 GAA, 93.4 SV%).

ROOKIE SENSATIONS: Minnesota Wild draft pick Mario Lucia scored 30 goals and added 27 assists in 27 games with Wayzata High School. The son of Minnesota Golden Gophers coach Don Lucia , Marco was chosen 60th overall in the 2011 NHL draft. Mike Reilly was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fourth round in the 2011 draft. In 2010-11, Reilly led Shattuck’s St. Mary’s defence in scoring with 13 goals and 43 points and helped them capture the Under-18 Tier 1 National Championship. Steven Fogarty, drafted by the New York Rangers in the 2011 NHL Draft, racked up 23 goals and 40 points in 24 games with the Edina Hornets in Minnesota. Local Cody DePourcq scored 23 goals and 47 points in 43 games with the Okanagan Hockey Academy.

STRENGTHS: Speed and size will be the key ingredients for the Vees success. Coach Fred Harbinson has assembled a big team that will move the puck up and down the ice and use its quickness to create offence.

COACH’S QUOTE: Harbinson: “You can say a lot of things about our team. I don’t think you’re going to say we’re boring. We have a fun group to watch. We need people to come out and support the team. Our guys are going to play hard for them.”

2. VERNON VIPERS

KEY RETURNEES: F Patrick McGillis (13-12-25), Mike Zalewski (12-17-29), John Knisley (10-25-35), D Brett Corkey (1-23-24), G Kirby Halcrow (3.03 GAA, 90.1 SV%).

ROOKIE SENSATIONS: As the son of Edmonton Oilers ’ GM Steve Tambellini and brother of former Vancouver Canuck Jeff, hockey runs in Adam Tambellini’s bloodlines. The lanky forward pocketed 54 points and 113 penalty minutes in 34 games last season with Edmonton’s South Side Athletic Club. Marc Hetnik Jr. will have a shot at earning top-four minutes on the Viper blueline this season. Hetnik comes from the same Catholic Memorial high school program that brought Mike Collins and Garrett Noonan to the Viper den. Geoff Crisfield, a Calgary native, was a highly sought after defenceman prospect before he signed with Vernon in the spring. STRENGTHS: With seven of their 11 returning players being forwards, Vernon’s strength will be up front. This is an organization that has reached the national finals three straight years, meaning the vets know what it takes to succeed and, in turn, they can teach their talented crop of newcomers what it takes to be one of the top junior A clubs in Canada. First-year head coach Jason Williamson, a former Viper captain, was mentored by one of the best in Mark Ferner.

COACH’S QUOTE: Williamson: “We definitely have some good speed. We’re going to try to push the pace on some teams and be real aggressive on the forecheck. All our ‘D’ are fairly mobile, so we’ve got a good corps back there. When we turn pucks over, we’re going to get it and go with some pace.”

3. MERRITT CENTENNIALS

KEY RETURNEES: F Regan Soquila (20-25-45), F Evan Stack (13-19-32), F Chad Brears (4-17-21), F Jacob Reichert (7-11-18), D Brandon Pfeil (6-10-16), D Billy Marshall (4-12-16), D Reece Willcox (5-9-14), G Lino Chimienti (3.11 GAA), G Tyler Steel (3.49 GAA). The Cents start the season with no fewer than 15 returning veterans from a team that, despite finishing sixth out of eight teams in the Interior last year, had an impressive 5-1-0 record against the Westside Warriors and evenly split their six games with the league champion Vipers.

ROOKIE SENSATIONS: Eighteen-year-old Brandon Bruce was a late arrival at Cents’ training camp, but the former Swift Current Bronco (WHL) has made an immediate impact. The feisty 5-foot-10 centre plays with an edge, and has a ton of talent to back up his style. Local player Payton Schaefer, 18, has cracked the lineup after putting up some pretty respectable numbers last season with the Kamloops Storm (KIJHL). On the back end, look for Texan Ross Mancuso (KIJHL champion Osoyoos Coyotes), Tyler Martin (NE Chiefs major midget) and sixteen-year-old Dylan Chanter (POE midget prep) to round out a very experienced defensive corps.

STRENGTHS: Head coach and GM Luke Pierce begins his second full season behind the bench – a year older and undoubtedly a year wiser. His new assistant, Joe Martin, brings a wealth of experience to the Cents’ coaching staff, most recently as head coach and GM of the Creston Valley Thunder Cats (KIJHL). In Chimenti and Steel, the Cents have two proven netminders with a full BCHL season behind them. Both sparkled through the pre-season, where Merritt went 5-1 and allowed just 12 goals. Stack, Soquila and Bruce, if teamed up together, could be one of the most potent forward lines in the league. Reichert has already shown signs in the early going that he’s ready for a banner sophomore year.

COACH’S QUOTE: Pierce: “This is a group that will further expand on the core values of Centennials’ hockey. We will work as a group both to defend and create offence using the work ethic we have become recognized for. We will challenge our large core of veterans to continue striving to improve on their previous seasons. Our mix of new additions will provide some additional energy and offensive punch to our lineup.”

4. WESTSIDE WARRIORS

KEY RETURNEES: F Tyler Krause (11-31-42), F Dru Morrison (14-17-31), F Brett McKinnon (10-13-23) D Michael King (5-18-23), D Izaak Berglund (2-12-14), D Peter MacIntosh (0-11-11), D Brayden Sherbinin (4-8-12). Winger Richard Vanderhoek, 20, will be looked upon to provide offence and leadership. The Langley native was acquired from Surrey in the off-season and is coming off a 71 point season (26-45-71) last year with the Eagles.

ROOKIE SENSATIONS: A pair of Warriors rookies from the B.C. Major Midget League will look to make the jump to junior. Forward Seb Lloyd had 17 goals and 37 assists in 30 games with the Cariboo Cougars in the BCMML while D Ben Betker had 13 points with the Kootenay Ice .

STRENGTHS: The Warriors’ strength will likely come from the blueline with its top four returning blueliners, including Berglund, who was named the Warriors captain. New coach Rylan Ferster is preaching defence and work ethic as he takes over from the departed Darren Yopyk.

COACH’S QUOTE: Ferster: “I think we’re going to be a good defensive team. Guys are buying into that which is good. I don’t think we’re going to be a run-and-gun team. We’re going to have to be good defensively and have a really good work ethic.”

5. SALMON ARM SILVERBACKS

KEY RETURNEES: F Brett Knowles (30-28-58), Morgan Zulinick (12-17-29), Bryce Gervais (29-22-51), Devin Muller (12-16-28), D James Friedel (1-5-6).

ROOKIE SENSATIONS: Defenceman Brendan Kennedy, who played last season with Okanagan Hockey Academy, and forward Kyle Oleniuk of Moose Jaw (Saskatchewan Midget AAA) were rookie standouts in Salmon Arm’s main camp and look poised to earn quality minutes in the regular season. Vernon minor hockey product Alex Gillies, the SilverBacks’ 16-year-old, has the size and grit to handle the more physical junior style.

STRENGTHS: The SilverBacks boast a solid top-six forward corps that can put the puck in the net at any given time. With just one returning D-man (Friedel), Salmon Arm head coach/GM Colin O’Hara acquired veteran blueliners Klay Kachur (Powell River), Bennett Hambrook (Prince George/Vernon), Matt Brown (AJHL Drumheller Dragons) and Sean Flannagan (SJHL Kindersley Dragons) in the offseason.

COACH’S QUOTE: Ohara: “We’ve acquired some veteran defencemen to shore up our back end and we feel our six that will play on a nightly basis are as good as any in the league. Kurt (Williams, starting netminder) is prepared to step it up and put it on the line every night this year. The strength is our D-corps, but we also have some dynamic game-breakers up front.”

6. CHILLIWACK CHIEFS

KEY RETURNEES: F Spencer Graboski (15-21-36), Malcolm Gould (14-17-31), Derek Huisman (14-14-28), Chris Blessing (10-16-26), D Ty Miller (4-15-19), Stefan Gonzales (1-8-9).

ROOKIE SENSATIONS: Goaltender Mitch Gillam will be a busy man in the Chilliwack goal crease. The Peterborough native was drafted by the OHL’s Peterborough Petes , but spent last season playing at Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass. Forward David Bondra is the son of ex-NHLer Peter Bondra, who scored 503 goals in 1081 big league games. David spent last season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel , popping four goals and nine points in 58 games.

STRENGTHS: A Harvey Smyl team’s work ethic will always be its strength, but until this team plays some meaningful games, it’s hard to say what else they may offer. Last season, as the Quesnel Millionaires , they struggled to score and struggled defensively en-route to a 13-38-3-6 record and first round playoff exit. Gillam may be a solution in goal, but there are still far more questions than answers.

COACH’S QUOTE: Smyl: “This is a whole new scenario with a whole new group of guys, whole new coaching staff, new city and new building. Everything is new to them and it’s going to take some time for them to become a team, know what the coaches want and feel comfortable here.”

7. TRAIL SMOKE EATERS

KEY RETURNEES: F Eric Cooper (11-15-26), F Logan Proux (3-8-11), F Adam Boytnick (3-12-15), D Rajan Sidhu (1-22-23), G Matt Larose (2.67 GAA, 92.4 SV%).

ROOKIE SENSATIONS: Vancouver Chiefs F Matthew Bissett finished fourth in scoring in the Major Midget League last year; 16-year-old forward Luke Bertolucci netted a point a game for the Major Midget Kootenay Ice (15-19-34) as well as won a gold medal at the Canada Winter Games with Team BC. Dallas Calvin played for the KIJHL Beaver Valley Nitehawks, counting 40 points in 40 games as a 16-year-old. The 6-foot-3 forward will provide speed and size up front. STRENGTHS: The Smoke Eaters will be a young team with approximately 12 rookies. Depending on how they develop, offence may be a concern but the team should be strong defensively with goalie Matt Larose backstopping a solid defensive core of veterans led by Sidhu, Clayton McEwan and recent acquisition Nicholas Wong from Cowichan Valley.

COACH’S QUOTE: Bill Birks: “We’re going to be a hard-working, lunch-bucket type team, a good mix of solid veterans with some high-end kids that will take a bit to get into it but they’re progressing very nicely.”

8. PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS

KEY RETURNEES: F Jujhar Khaira (10-32-42), F Connor Tiechko (13-13-26), F Jeff Earnest (6-16-22), D Ben Woodley (6-11-17), G Kirk Thompson (3.91 GAA, 88.76 SV%).

ROOKIE SENSATIONS: On a team that also has triplets, the McHaffie twins (Scott and Spencer) garnered attention during the Spruce Kings spring prospect camp. The 1994-born forwards from Surrey committed to the Spruce Kings after winning a provincial Midget Tier 1 title with the Surrey Thunder. At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, 18-year-old Lethbridge product Cody Bardock will bring size to the blueline, while 16-year-old Kitimat native Michael Klonarakis joins the team after skating for the highly respected Pursuit of Excellence hockey academy in Kelowna.

STRENGTHS: The Spruce Kings may not impress anybody with highlight-reel goals, but they won’t get pushed around easily either, with the likes of Woodley (6-foot-6) and D Trevor Esau (6-foot-4, 110 penalty minutes) on their back end. If there’s one offensive game-breaker on the Spruce Kings, it’s Khaira, who’s committed to play NCAA Division 1 at Michigan Tech for the 2012-13. The Fitzgerald triplets (Gerry, Leo and Myles), who joined the team from the Nanaimo Clippers in an offseason deal, will be fun to watch.

COACH’S QUOTE: Dave Dupas: “We can’t throw our hands in the air and say ‘Now that Quesnel isn’t here, we’re finished’, because we’re absolutely not. We got a bunch of guys in here that we believe are going to compete hard for the Spruce Kings and want to win games. The difficulty is in the road trips and stuff like that, but you just have to do it. It’s what it is at this point and we’ll spend a lot of time on the bus. We’ll have to make sure that we’re eating properly, we’re getting a lot of rest and that’ll take care of itself.”

[Totes McGoats]

On a side note:

The Victoria Grizzlies are only pulling 600 people on a Saturday Night..... keep that up and their gone in a year. In the playoffs last year they were only pulling 1200-1500 during the 2nd round in a 3000 seat arena.... One of the nicest Arena's in the BCHL for sure.

A combination of a few things has taken the wind out the Grizzlie's sails...

1. Addition of WHL hockey to Victoria with the Royals.... you can watch Tier 1 WHL hockey rather than tier 2 BCHL hockey for LESS money, so you do in other words.

2. Len Barrie... need I say more? Everything this guy touches goes in the garbage. Bear Mountain Golf course = Bankrupt. Deal with Tampa Bay lightning to own the team only 3 years ago... FAIL......The guy just invites failure. Not only is he the majority owner of the team, but he's the GM and NOW the coach... the team is 1-5-0 Since he took over as coach.

3. The team sucks hard, Not sure wtf Len is thinking bringing in some of these terrible players... but gone are the Days of Jamie Benn, Kyle Greentree, Aaron Voros, Tyler Bozak, Ryan O'Byrne and Greg Zanon. I don't think there's a single draft eligible player on the team.... I mean, who the fudge would draft Mike Moran, Wes Myron or Wade Murphy?

Advertising in the rink is significantly less this year, which also hurts the financials of the team. The boards are empty, the box seats (10 boxes) are only rented by 2 different companies now.... the other 8 sit empty every night. Two years ago the signage was full, the board were full, and the boxes had a wait list.

WTF needs to happen to bring good hockey back to the Bear?

1. Len Barrie needs to GTFO, or at least go back to simply owning the team.

2. Advertising $$$'s need to increase, mainly the cost of advertising and the teams decreased popularity has hurt the viability of this for local businesses. A board-graphic is 4k per year? Give me a break.

3. Reduced ticket prices, 15 dollars for a family of 4 plus food is a bit crazy if you ask me to watch a bunch of nobody's play tier two Jr. Hockey.

4. Talent Scouts.... wtf are they thinking these days?

[Nevlach]

How is Vernon so good every single year?

[23•Qwerty]

How is Vernon so good every single year?

Our town is built on magic.

[pwnstar]

i found the wallet that belonged to the captain of the silverbacks, was loaded, but returned it. he gave me 50 bucks

true story ask him

[Windstorm]

How is Vernon so good every single year?

Vernon and Penticton have both developed good reputations, so they have no issues recruiting great players. Also worth noting that they're two of the richest franchises in the league.

[Fanuck]

The BCHL Governers recently made some significant changes that will take effect next season. Those of you who follow the BCHL will already know this, but it wasn't posted in this thread yet so:

The British Columbia Hockey League passed a number of significant motions Thursday at the league’s semi-annual governors meeting in Richmond. The changes will take effect in the 2012-13 season.

To allow more fans to attend games, governors voted to lower the number of regular season games from 60 to 56. This will decrease the number of mid-week games when fans are less able to attend. Now, a greater percentage of home dates can be held on the prime nights of Friday and Saturday.

Also, a showcase event will be held Sept. 7 to 9 at a site yet to be determined. The showcase is similar to events held in the Alberta and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey leagues where college and professional scouts are invited. Showcase results will count in the regular season standings. Each BCHL team will play two games at the event meaning all teams, except the host of the showcase, will then have 27 home dates in the 2012-13 season. Any revenues from the showcase will be split up amongst the league’s 16 clubs. Teams are being asked to submit by Feb. 1 their bids to host the event.

Another motion that passed was the decision to move the start of the regular season to Sept. 14, 2012. This will mark the date that the standard BCHL regular-season format shall commence though by that point, two regular season games will have been played at the showcase event by each team.

The season will end March 10, 2013 which means the coming season is two weeks longer than normal. This also will allow more games to be scheduled on prime nights rather than mid week.

With respect to the alignment of the conferences, there will be now be 10 teams in the Coastal Conference and it will be split into two groups called the Island Division and Mainland Division. The Island Division will include Victoria, Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, Alberni Valley and Powell River. The Mainland Division will include Coquitlam, Surrey, Langley, Chilliwack and Prince George.

Prince George will be given the option to return to the Interior Conference after the conclusion of the 2013 playoffs. With Prince George and Chilliwack set to join the Coastal Conference, the new Interior Conference will include the remaining teams: Merritt, Trail, Penticton, Vernon, Salmon Arm and Westside.

“These decisions were not made in haste and came only after lengthy debate by our governors,” said BCHL commissioner John Grisdale. “The BCHL considers itself an innovator and model for Junior A hockey in Canada and these decisions, not all of them unanimous, have been made with the intention of ensuring the long-term viability of our league.”

Each club has been asked to submit new playoff format ideas to the BCHL office by Feb. 1, 2012. After that, a decision will be made and announced.

BCHL can justify these changes any way they want but to most people they reek of one thing - cut costs! Funny how they want to cut every cost possible, but want to push out the red-headed step-child of the league, Prince George, when by all accounts they are one of the most solid, financially stable, well-run franchises in the league.

Not that I respected the individual Governers of the BCHL because I don't know them, but I used to truly think the BCHL was one of the premier hockey leagues in all of NA. When they allow owners like Salmon Arm and Victoria to operate the way they do and then treat community owned teams like PG this way, I lost respect for their league and the way it is run.

On a related side note, I've been spending a LOT of time in PG lately for work and it has been a pleasure to be able to watch Paul DeJersey absolutely tear up the scoring in this league. He has been a real surprise this year IMO, but deserves his credit. He's showing those guys in Pentiction that there are other people worth watching in this league.

I'm certain Pentiction will have the last laugh in the end though, if they don't win the National Championship I will be shocked, they are a true powerhouse indeed.

[MikeBossy]

Just to add my own thoughts on the Spruce Kings - I think it is admirable what they have done for being a community owned franchise. One only has to look up the street at the Cougars to see how not to run a franchise. Its frustrating to me that the Kings can barely by a line of ink in the newspaper up here yet the Prince George Citizen shamelessly promotes the Cougars on an almost daily basis even though the Kings are in third place in their division and the Cougars are outside looking in on a playoff spot with an embarassing sub .500 record.

I have been working nights straight for since the season started and just now have some time off and am looking forward to watching the Kings play Feb 3rd - my daughter's class choir will be singing the National anthem that night too

As for the cheap tickets someone mentioned before - here at Save-on-Foods a family of I believe up to 6 member can buy a pass to see the Kings play for $20 - hows that for family entertainment value.

Here's hoping the Kings can keep it up and a big thumbs up for community owned sports franchises

[ahf149]

Vees win 29th in a row!! Ties New West Ministers 23 year old record!! WHEW WEE! I have been watching this team since I was 8. Seen the The Knights, the Panthers and now the Vees.

Love watching guys like Karyia, Morrison, Kobesew just to name a few do so well in the NHL. I can see a few guys on this years team making the NHL. Love this team. Its too bad that next year it will be a totally different makeup. 90 percent of these guys have earned a scholarship for next year. This record wont mean anything unless they win the National Championship.

To answer the Vernon question "why are they good every year" They aint good this year! HA HA HA! Its nice to see other teams succeed for once! :D

I cant wait to see the 30th win in a row on Tuesday!! SAWEET! GO VEES GO!

[Sidney Crosby.]

Will the Chiefs be able to pull off an upset over the Vees? I know its a long shot, but from watching the Chiefs all year Harvey Smyl has the boys playing some of their best hockey as of late. The Penticton powerhouse did lose their last game of the season making them seem somewhat human. Also Chilliwack beat the Vees once this year (I know it was at the beginning of the season). Again I know it's very, very unlikely but just some food for thought.

[ahf149]

Highly doubt it. The Vees are too good. They lost to PG because they had 4 affilates playing and sat out their best players. Played their back up goalie. So dont get hung up over the ONE lost over 43 games. The Chiefs are a great hockey team, and they always play well vs the Vees. I love going to the games (Im a Pentictonite that is living in Surrey right now, so it was THRILLED when Penticton lost to Prince George- so we get Chilliwack).

But upset? Im sorry, but that wont happen. You can dream what you want...but if you were actually watching the Vees this year, this team is too good.