Vees Ready For Vernon Showdown:

This is in yesterdays Pentcton Herald Newspaper:

Vees ready for Vernon showdown

By David Crompton

Thursday, December 3, 2009

There is no question the B.C. Hockey League has a soft underbelly this season, but the Penticton Vees won‘t get the chance to feast on it for the next month or so.
The Vees will be facing the league‘s heavyweights for the next nine games, with that run of difficult opposition taking Penticton right into the first week of 2010.
It starts with a bang, as the Vees visit Wesbild Centre on Friday to play the only team with a superior won-loss record than them – the Vernon Vipers. Penticton travels to Sunwave Centre on Saturday to face Mark Zengerle and the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
“Whenever you play the top teams in the league of course you‘re excited,” said Vees general manager and head coach Fred Harbinson. “It‘s going to be a fun and challenging stretch ahead for our club.”
Harbinson said the buzz around the team this week isn‘t necessarily more noticeable than in previous weeks.
“It‘s a very motivated group and it‘s rare that they have any ’off‘ days in practice,” said Harbinson. “It‘s hard to say if they‘re more up for Vernon than they are against anyone else. We‘ll definitely be ready.”
The Vees are trying to track down the Vipers for the top rung in the Interior Conference and the best record in the BCHL overall.
Vernon (28-1-0-1) had their 19-game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 overtime loss to visiting Westside on Friday. The Vees (25-4-0-2) won three straight on the weekend and have claimed six successive wins overall.
The Vees handed the Vipers their only regulation-time defeat of the season 2-0 in their only other visit to Vernon Oct. 3. Vernon beat the Vees 2-1 in overtime Oct. 9 in Penticton.
It could well be another low-scoring chess match on Friday with the normally free-flowing Vees determined to play a patient game against Vernon.
“You have to be patient when you play Vernon because that‘s what they do so well,” said Harbinson. “You take a risk, make a mistake and they pounce on it. We‘ve got to capitalize on our chances, especially early in the game, because if they get the lead they‘re awfully tough to overcome.”
The Vees visit a Salmon Arm team that has struggled with consistency in recent games. They got blitzed 6-1 in their recent visit to Penticton on Nov. 18 and have been unable to solve the top teams – Vernon, Penticton and Westside.
Vees captain Denver Manderson caught Zengerle for the BCHL scoring lead on the weekend. Each player has 67 points, but Manderson is technically in first by virtue of more goals.
“Salmon Arm is fighting to get better and they always play very well at home,” said Harbinson. “When you‘re up against one of the most dangerous players (Zengerle) in the country, you have to be ready.”
The Vees didn‘t make any moves at the Dec. 1 roster deadline, leaving themselves five cards and a 20-year-old spot to fortify the squad before the trade deadline on Jan. 10. In the meantime, the Vees are operating with just 20 healthy players, though they do have junior B affiliated players they can draw on in the event of injuries.
Harbinson has suggested the Vees will make two moves at the very most before Jan. 10 and insisted he won‘t be coerced into a “panic” move even if the team struggles in the upcoming nine-game stretch.
“We‘ll be fine,” said Harbinson. “It‘s a very focused and coachable group and we‘ll learn from any adversity we face. We‘re very happy with the talent, intensity and chemistry we have. There won‘t be any overhaul.”
The Vees visit Westside next Friday and then it‘s the rematch with Vernon for their next home game Dec. 12 at the SOEC. The Vees play Nanaimo and then a home-and-home with Surrey Dec. 18-19 before breaking for the Christmas holidays.