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.
