BCHL Team-By-Team Reports:

This is in the November Issue of the BC Hockey Now Newspaper:

BCHL Team-By-Team Reports

November 08, 2012

Posted in BC Edition, Junior A

By / Brent Mutis

With the World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) going on in Yarmouth, N.S., several BCHL teams are making do without some of their top players. Penticton Vees forward Wade Murphy is one of 15 BCHLers on Team Canada West (TCW) and his absence means there could be a change atop the scoring race. Will Langley’s Mario Puskarich overtake him? Or maybe West Kelowna’s Marcus Basara? It’s going to be fun to watch.

INTERIOR DIVISION

Merritt Centennials

The Cents remain in striking distance of first-place Penticton thanks partly to offseason acquisitions Sebastian Pare and Derek Huisman who are second and third in team scoring. Goalie Tyler Steel narrowly missed making TCW but that’s helpful for the Cents as the Vernon-native is having a great season.

Penticton Vees

Losing Wade Murphy, Mike Rebry, Troy Stecher and James De Haas to the WJAC will present a challenge to Penticton but it will give opportunities to youngsters Ryan Gropp, Cody DePourcq, Louie Nanne and Alex Jewell. Vets Sam Mellor and Chad Katunar will help steady the ship as well.

Salmon Arm SilverBacks

If they could play Vernon all the time, this team might be at the top of the division. The Gorillas have defeated the rival Snakes three times in overtime already. A recent road win over West Kelowna provides a confidence boost and an improving powerplay is a good sign.

Trail Smoke Eaters

They’re holding down the final playoff spot despite the fact they’ve surrendered the most goals in the league and are last in powerplay and penalty kill. Forward Brent Baltus is having a breakout campaign and has been piling up the points while goalie Lyndon Stanwood remains the frontrunner for team MVP.

Vernon Vipers

The Snakes have struggled to find real momentum and wins on Oct. 27 and Nov. 2 were their first consecutive victories this season. Aaron Hadley made TCW for the second straight year but Adam Tambellini did not so the team retains its top scorer. More production from their 14th-ranked power play would help.

West Kelowna Warriors

A four-game losing streak in late October and early November allowed Merritt to overtake them for second place and now Seb Lloyd will be away for three games since he made TCW. Getting captain Max French back from injury will be a big boost; he’s second in team goal-scoring despite just nine games played.

ISLAND DIVISION

Alberni Valley Bulldogs

No longer the league’s top-scoring team, the ‘Dogs will also be without leading scorer Evan Tironese due to TCW commitments. The blockbuster deal that sent Evan Anderson and Turner Popoff to Langley for defenceman Bo Pellah was a surprise but a six-game losing streak prompted a shakeup by ‘Dogs management.

Cowichan Valley Capitals

The BCHL’s second-best powerplay is detracted from by the fact the Caps also have the third-worst penalty killing in the league. Four players – Ryan Hanes, Teal Burns, Jordan Grant and Steen Cooper – are at a point per game or better but the team is still on the wrong side of the goals for/against category.

Nanaimo Clippers

It’s tight from second to fourth in the Island standings but the Clips lead the group that’s chasing Victoria and have games in hand on both Alberni Valley and Powell River. Nanaimo has the fewest powerplay goals in the league and has just an average PK – sharpening up the special teams will go a long way.

Powell River Kings

Probably no team is more challenged by losing players to the WJAC than the Kings as they’re losing their starting goalie in Jonah Imoo plus forward Evan Richardson and defenceman Luke Ripley. No Kings are even near a point-a-game and the loss of Matt Scarth with a shoulder injury is not helping.

Victoria Grizzlies

Safe to say they are the real deal. After a tragic finish last season, the Grizz are tops on the Island and boast one of the best goalie tandems with Brady Rouleau and Michael Stiliadis. The Fitzgerald triplets are 1-2-3 in team scoring and D-men DJ Jones and Nolan De Jong have been contributing though De Jong is with TCW from Nov. 5 to 11.

MAINLAND DIVISION

Chilliwack Chiefs

With three scorers – Austin Plevy, Josh Hansen and Luke Esposito – in the top six in league scoring, the Chiefs are a consistent offensive threat each night out. Couple that with rugged defensive work by captain David Thompson, Shay Laurent and Alexandre Perron-Fontaine and it’s not a leap to suggest the Chiefs could overtake Prince George for first place in the division.

Coquitlam Express

The Express have also been pilfered by TCW as Alex Kerfoot, Brandon Morley and Zach Pryzbek are all missing time for the WJAC. But goalies Cole Huggins and Daniel Urbani continue to put up microscopic goals-against averages and big save percentages. Express penalty killing has been lights-out as well.

Langley Rivermen

In a division where all the teams are above .500, somebody’s got to be last and lately it’s been Langley. But trading Bo Pellah brings in talented young forward Evan Anderson and with the way Mario Puskarich has been playing, the opposition will be on their toes. Production from the back is questionable now though without Pellah.

Prince George Spruce Kings

It looks like another successful season in PG and the home fans are taking note with attendance up almost 200 fans a night. Mitch Eden is one of two defencemen in the league leading his team in scoring (Shane Hanna in Salmon Arm is the other) and Coltyn Hansen and Cam Lawson have made up for the loss of the Fitzgerald triplets.

Surrey Eagles

Brady Shaw made an immediate impact after arriving in a deal from Coquitlam that sent Brandon Morley the other way. Shaw scored four times in his first two games and has kept Surrey in the picture in the tightest division in the league. There’s another good goalie tandem here with Michael Santaguida and Glenn Ferguson.