When it comes to the B.C. Hockey League, the Penticton Vees are a perennial juggernaut.
This fall, the Vees have rolled to an 11-1 record in extended preseason action.
As such, Penticton has set itself up as the heavy favourite heading into this weekend’s Okanagan Cup.
The Okanagan Cup is a two-month tournament. It was launched in late September to keep the four Valley teams engaged during the coronavirus pandemic while waiting for league play to start in early December.
Regarding his team’s impressive win-loss record, Vees head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson said “I think we’ve been pretty fortunate, a couple of games could have gone either way.”
On Friday night, all four Valley teams will face off in two semifinal games to determine who advances to the Okanagan Cup championship game on Saturday.
One semifinal will feature the first-place Vees hosting the fourth-place Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
The other will see the second-place West Kelowna Warriors hosting the third-place Vernon Vipers at Royal Lepage Place in West Kelowna.
“It’s a one-game shot, against a team that we lost to in Salmon Arm,” Harbinson said.
The Silverbacks handed the Vees their only loss on Oct. 24th, when the Silverbacks jumped out to a 3-0 lead en route to a 4-2 victory.
According to Salmon Arm Silverbacks head coach Tyler Shattock, staying out of the penalty box against the Vees will be key.
“When you give them the opportunity to go on the power play, with that much talent, they are bound to put one in,” Shattock said.
“So, discipline. We gotta be skating and we gotta be above the pucks all night long.”
The Silverbacks will have a bit of boost in net as Cole Schwebius is on loan from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets.
Schwebius, though, will be under fire from Penticton’s offence, which averaged a league-high 4.75 goals a game during preseason play.
And one Penticton forward who’s been rolling up the points is Quinn Hutson, who’s been a one-man wrecking ball for the Vees.
“I just shoot the puck quick, like get it off my stick. I don’t think about it too much and just shoot it,” said Hutson, a Chicago product who has tallied 9 goals and 6 assists for 15 points in 12 preseason games.
The 18-year-old’s 9 goals make him the BCHL’s top goal scorer and his 15 points are second only to Vees point leader Matteo Costantini.
Costantini has 5 goals and 11 assists for 16 points in just 11 games.
Harbinson is preaching patience going into Friday’s semifinal.
“You can really see that their guys have really bought into their system.”
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