The Drive For Five Starts Today:

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The Drive For Five starts today

By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning Star
Published: May 03, 2009

Hockey mullets were just going out of style when the Vernon Lakers made their first-ever appearance at the Centennial Cup. That was 1989.
Two decades later, blond mohawks are all the rage and the Vernon Vipers are at it again as they kickstart their quest for the Royal Bank Cup today (2 p.m.) against the Summerside Western Capitals of P.E.I. at Bear Mountain Arena in Victoria.
Coincidentally, Summerside is the very team that hosted the Centennial Cup 20 years ago.
Morning Star crime reporter Roger Knox, then the play-by-play announcer for CJIB radio (now KISS-FM), had a bird’s eye view of the Lakers’ first-ever run at junior A hockey’s holy grail.
“They dominated the Interior,” recalled Knox. However, he remembers the Lakers getting blown out 11-2 by the Coastal champion New Westminster Royals in Game 1 of the BCJHL championship, and thinking, “Uh oh.”
It turned out to be a minor blip on the radar, as the Lakers recovered to take the next four games and the league title.
The Lakers then bounced the Williams Lake Mustangs (PCJHL) in two straight to pocket the Mowat Cup.
Vernon then dumped the Alberta champion Red Deer Rustlers in six games to win the Doyle Cup, setting the stage for an Abbott Cup showdown with the Humboldt Broncos, who were led by former Vipers’ coach Mark Holick.
“I remember thinking they were the biggest junior team I had ever seen,” said Knox, of the Broncos. “But they were no match for Vernon’s speed.”
The ‘89 Lakers were led offensively by American Tony Szabo, Maritimer Rob Atkinson, Courtenay’s Dave Oliver and local boy Duane Dennis.
Vernon GM Mel Lis plucked netminder Chris Fairlie from the Prince George Spruce Kings at the trade deadline, which added some serious stopping power to the Lakers’ defence.
“He was phenomenal throughout the playoffs,” said Knox, of Fairlie. “Kind of like Andrew Hammond is now.”
Having played considerably more playoff hockey than the other contenders, the Lakers simply ran out of gas at the Centennial Cup. The Lakers were blown out in their first two games, but still had a chance to advance to the playoff round with a win over Summerside.
They bowed 5-4 in double-overtime as the Caps’ Trent Laird hammered a hard one-timer past Fairlie from the faceoff circle.
“That team (Lakers) had easily played 10 more games than every other team there,” said Knox. “They had a long trek to get there.
“It was fun to be around them, and they were very talented. They had everything... guys who could score, great defence and outstanding goaltending.”
The Eastern champion Thunder Bay Flyers grounded the Caps in the championship game.
Of course, the Lakers won the Cup when they hosted the event the very next year. Now, two decades later, the Vipers are eager to place a fifth championship banner in the rafters at Wesbild Centre.
Meanwhile, the Capitals are itching to get into RBC action.
“It’s excitement,” Capitals forward Nathan DesRoches told the Summerside Journal Pioneer. “For me personally, I don’t think it’s going to set in until we are on that plane. Everything’s been just a blur. . . It’s a big opportunity.
Added Capitals forward Bradley Smith: “The room’s buzzing and everyone is talking about the trip and how good the hockey is going to be.”
The Caps punched their ticket to the RBC when Mike MacIsaac netted the winner in double-overtime of the Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian final last Sunday in Moncton.
“It’s an exciting time of the year and it’s just good to be playing hockey,” said Smith.
In the regular season, Smith led the Caps with 38-46-84 in 52 games.
Summerside boasts five players – Brett Gallant, Mike MacIsaac, Spencer Corcoran, Will Johnston and Daniel Whelan – who earned more than 200 penalty minutes each.

SNAKE BITES: Humboldt all-star defenceman Brady Wacker was named the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Top Defenceman. The 5-foot-7, 155-pound blueliner racked up 82 points, third best in the SJHL... The Broncos, who face the Vipers Monday (7 p.m.), are trying to be the first team to repeat as champions since Vernon recorded back-to-back titles in 1990 and 1991.

Visit www.vernonmorningstar.com for WEB FIRST recaps of all the Vipers’ RBC Cup games.