The British Columbia Hockey League is pleased to pass along news that seven of our graduates will be appearing in the NCAA national semifinals - the Frozen Four - which begin April 7 in St. Paul, Minn.
“Players with a BCHL background continue to get opportunities to play on the biggest stage in the college game,” noted BCHL commissioner John Grisdale, a graduate of Michigan Tech University. “I look forward to seeing more familiar names on the rosters of Frozen Four teams in the years to come.”
Last weekend’s opening-round matchups saw 16 NCAA teams and 43 BCHL alumni go into battle and after a number of upsets, just the semifinalists remain. Of the four original #1 seeds, only North Dakota is still standing which is good news for the BCHL as they carry four league graduates on their roster. The following is a list of BCHL alumni still in the hunt.
North Dakota Fighting Sioux – Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Penticton Vees), Chay Genoway (Morden, Man./Vernon Vipers), Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska/Penticton Vees), Ryan Hill (Hermantown, Minn./Trail Smoke Eaters) * Hextall is the son of former NHL netminder and Vezina Trophy winner Ron and is a draft pick of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Michigan Wolverines – Ben Winnett (New Westminster, B.C./Salmon Arm SilverBacks).
* Winnett is a draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Shayne Taker (Surrey, B.C./Cowichan Valley Capitals)
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs – Cody Danberg (Canwood, Sask./Nanaimo Clippers)
The Frozen Four is being held at Xcel Energy Centre. Minnesota-Duluth and Notre Dame play at 3 p.m. PDT and Michigan and North Dakota follow at 6:30 p.m. PDT.
BCHL Represented In Final Four
Vipers Advance to BCHL Finals
The Salmon Arm Silverbacks battled hard in every game and put doubt in a lot of Vipers fans when they took the first two games in the series that started in Vernon. But the Vipers dug deep and would take the next four games to win the series in six. After an overtime thriller in Vernon for game five, the Vipers were leading the series 3-2 going to Salmon Arm. With there backs to the wall and Vernon coming on strong the Silverbacks put everything they had out on to the ice and fell short of a miraculous comeback.
Dylan Walchuk would get four of the five Vipers goals and was named first star and now the Vipers look to get past one more team to claim the Fred Page Cup and they will have to once again get past the Powell River Kings.
In the regular season the Vipers and Kings only met up twice, November 17th the Kings won 5-2 on home ice and on January 21st the Vipers won 3-2 in their barn. Powell River also finished first in there division giving them a first round bye and so far has played five overtime games in the playoffs, winning two of the five.
The Vipers have gone above and beyond what many would have expected back in September and the next games are only going to get better as the two top teams in the BCHL battle it out for the Fred Page Cup and a chance to go for the Doyle Cup. Be sure to get your tickets to the games and you can listen online to all the Vipers games at 107.5 Kiss FM.
Vipers Vs Salmon Arm Series
The Vipers have taken the lead on the Interior Finals Series and Game 6 will take place in Salmon Arm Friday night....expect a great hockey game!! Make sure you read the post game report by Don Kleep on the Vipers website and if you're looking for some stories to read about last nights game and all other games in the series, head to Vernon Morning Star website or read what the away team is talking about here at the Silverbacks blog.
But make sure you "LIKE" the Vernon Vipers Facebook page for the all the latest happenings in the Vipers world! Thank you fans who have already clicked "like" we hope to get A LOT more!! So make sure you tell your friends!
Long Time No Post
I know...it's been awhile since I've posted! It's been pretty busy around here as you would probably know! The Vipers moved past the Warriors and are now in a full battle with Salmon Arm. Unless you've been under a rock for the past few days you'll know that the Backs took the first two games of the series and now head to Salmon Arm tonight and tomorrow for games 3 and 4. It's a big game for the Vipers and since the Backs have been winning there fans have come back out to watch so the arena should be packed...although saying that I know alot of fans from Vernon will be making the trip as well...including a Vipers fan bus! Vernon and Salmon Arm have always seemed to bring out out the fans and Salmon Arm is looking to get their hands on the Ryan Hatfield trophy which they have only won once before and the last time they were in the Interior Finals was in 2009 when the Vipers won and went on to win the RBC Cup.
The Vipers have put in a very entertaining year and surprised a lot of people when they finished first in the interior and they may still have a few surprises left! You can listen online on 107.5 Kiss FM or call the Vipers Office if you are interested in hoping on the fan bus 250-542-6022.
Vipers Take Game One
The Vernon Vipers won 3-2 in game one of the Interior Conference Semi-Finals Tuesday night in Vernon, it was a great game for the Vipers as they came out fast and furious and showing no signs of rust after over a week off. The crowd that did show up was loud and proud the whole way though and made sure the players knew they were there for them. Unfortunately it wasn't enough fans to guarantee the $10 rate for any games after Wednesday. To hold the $10 rate the Vipers would have to completely sell out and get over 3000 fans to the game. It may have been disappointing to see less then 2500 fans but the businesses around Vernon are sure stepping up the show their support. So far Prestige Hotel & Conference Centre, Johnston Meier, Vernon Mini-Storage, Swan Lake Nurseryland, Go-Go Box, Wendy's, Boston Pizza and Affordable Auto...they're all showing their Viper Pride with painted windows and "Go Vipers Go" on their marquee and billboard signs and the Vipers thank you!!!!!!! If you have a business that is showing your Viper Pride please let us know!i
So here's to hoping the City of Vernon can get behind their team and can pack the pit to its maximum capacity ...it IS possible and if everyone who came Tuesday night came again with a friend then not only would we be sold out but tickets will stay at $10 each instead of going to $15 each!!
See you Wednesday at 7pm for game 2!!!!
Show Your Viper Pride!
The Vernon Vipers hope to see the City of Vernon and all businsess get behind their home town team. Fans can show their support by buying tickets to the first two games that will take place on March 8th & 9th, tickets are on sale now and are only $10 each. If fans want the price to stay at $10 then 2500 fans must come to each of the first two games, if not the ticket price will go to $15 each. A lot more fans need to come to get to the 2500 mark so if you already have your tickets make sure you tell everyone you know to come out and support the Vernon Vipers!!
Narrowed to Two
Full credit going to both Quesnel and Merritt for their efforts in beating both the Vees and Backs. Last night saw the Millionaires score three goals in the third period after being down 5-0, but after bringing the game within two it was just too late as the Vees scored an empty net goal and finished the game 6-3 for the series win. As for Merritt, if there was an award to hand out for team with the biggest heart they would get it hands down. This team never quit all year and battled through every game against Salmon Arm and last night saw them get within one but the Backs wouldn't allow a goal in the third to keep the lead and also win their series.
So now the both Backs and Vees will take the weekend off and face each other on Tuesday while the Vipers continue to practice and wait to see who they will face in the Interior Semi-Finals.
Quick Stats -
The Silverbacks went 3-2-1 in the regular season against the Vees but ended the season two points shy of Penticton to finished third in the standings while Penticiton finished second.
The Vipers have gone 4-1-0-1 against Trail and 4-0-1-1 against Westside in the regular season with Westside finishing five points ahead of Trail placing them fourth and fifth in the standings.
Who Will The Vipers Play?
A lot of hockey fans have asked “Who do the Vipers play?” and I thought I might try to explain who, why and what is happening now! The Vernon Vipers finished 1st in the interior which gives them a 1st round bye (meaning they don’t have to play in the first round). Once the first round is over the Vipers will play the lowest seeded team. So in the current battles the Vipers would first play the Quesnel Millionaires if they beat Penticton if Penticton wins then the Vipers would play the Merritt Centennials if they were to beat the Salmon Arm Silverbacks but if the Backs win then the Vipers would play the winner of the Trail/Westside series. It’s not as complicated as it sounds! Now to give you a heads up on all the series, Penticton and Salmon Arm will advance to the next round tonight with a win and they would play each other in round 2 and the Vipers opponent will still have to wait to be decided as Trail is up 2-1 in their series with a definite game 5 needed.
A quick re-cap of the Interior series.
What are the chances of a Penticton and Salmon Arm sweep?
Well if you asked Penticton before they headed to Quesnel they probably would have told you that Quesnel doesn’t have a chance but last night in the bottom seeded interior teams put up a fight that saw all games go into overtime and we will find out tonight if it was the cliché of “too little too late” or the “TSN turning point” of the year! After two 5-1 wins in Penticton, Quesnel took the lead in game 3 and wouldn’t let up, always keeping the 1 goal lead, they only had 11 seconds to hold on for the win but with Penticton’s net empty and the extra attacker, they managed to tie it up and take the win in overtime. Even though Penticton might claim “they had all the excuses in the world to lose”, I think Quesnel may have a little more fight left in them.
In Merritt, the Centennials managed to tie the game up twice and bring their game three into overtime after losing 7-2 in game 1 and a close 4-3 loss in game two in Salmon Arm. The Centennials are proving to be “never say die” team and with their backs up against the wall the Silverbacks cannot take tonight’s game lightly if they want to take the Cents in 4.
The 3rd and 4th seeded teams in the league, Westside and Trail, are proving to be the most even battled series of the league. Trail took game one, 4-2 in Westside and the Warriors battled back in game two, winning 4-2. Game three took place on Monday night in Trail and Westside took a 4-2 lead in the third but the Smoke Eaters tied it up with two power play goals and took the win just two minutes into overtime. Game four will take place tonight in Trail and game five will take place Thursday in Westside.
So who will the Vipers play? We could see in narrowed down to two teams tonight but we could also see Merritt and Quesnel dig deep to take their series to game five as well. Don’t count any team out just yet, this is playoffs after all!
What should Vernon fans do while they wait? BUY TICKETS!! It doesn’t matter who the Vipers will play on the 8th and 9th of March, all tickets are only $10 each and if you want to keep them at $10 then you have to come to the games! If everyone brings an extra friend or two we will have a sold out arena and VERY cheap tickets for any additional playoff games! Lots of seats are still available and without your support your next tickets could cost you $15! Book your seats NOW!!!!
