Four teams are left in the BCHL playoffs and in the Interior, and the Penticton Vees and Salmon Arm Silverbacks are facing off to see who will compete for the league championship.
The Vees were getting in some practice Thursday ahead of the first game of the BCHL Interior Finals.
“Our guys are ready for this, this piece of the season and we’ve been looking forward all year,” said Vees head coach Fred Harbinson.
So far, Penticton has been strong in the playoffs, but the team isn’t letting that get to their heads.
“It’d be easy to kind of get ahead of ourselves. I think the biggest reason we have grown as a team and our individual players have got better from day one is just that we never do look too far ahead. Every day is a new challenge,” Harbinson said.
In just under a week, the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm will be filled with fans, as the Silverbacks take on their biggest test of the post-season so far.
“We’re just excited for the opportunity and the challenge — been telling our players to embrace the challenge,” said Silverbacks head coach Tyler Shattock.
Shattock says the team has grown a lot throughout the season and is ready to take on the number one seed.
“I think we really found our game from Christmas on. We had some injuries and stuff at the beginning, but here in the playoffs to go 8-1, we’ve been playing some really good hockey,” he said.
The Vees are looking to win back-to-back championships. The team is undefeated in the playoffs so far, which their bench boss says adds a bit of pressure.
“The last time Penticton did that was ’85, ’86, so that kind of tells you how hard it is to do it,” Harbinson said.
“I have a lot of faith in our guys and regardless of what happens, I’m going to be proud of them. I think they put a heck of a year together and they’ve been great for the City of Penticton in a lot of different ways.”
The Silverbacks haven’t reached the BCHL conference finals since the 2008-09 season and Shattock says the team is proud they’re competing at such a high level.
“I think this is something we have kind of been building towards here in Salmon Arm the past few years. The organization has obliviously put a lot of time and effort into getting to this point and it’s a good thing for the community,” he said.
Although Salmon Arm is the underdog in this series, their head coach says they shouldn’t be counted out.
“You would hear them say that they already have the Vees in the final, so our group’s gotta go out there and play free, have some fun and embrace the challenge that’s obviously in front of us,” Shattock said.
Games 1 and 2 are in Penticton on Friday, April 28, and Saturday, April 29, with puck drop at 7 p.m. on both days.
The series switches to Salmon Arm for Games 3 and 4 on May 2-3.
In the Coastal Conference final, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs will face the Chilliwack Chiefs.
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