Play-By-Play Voices Miller And Merrick Sound Off On Fred Page Cup Final:

Play-by-play voices Miller and Merrick sound off on Fred Page Cup Final

Thursday, April 1, 2010 - Submitted by Chad Klassen

The Vernon Vipers and Powell River Kings renew hostilities in the 2010 Fred Page Cup starting Friday night and few around the league can accurately predict how the championship rematch will play out.

After Vernon opened the 2009 Finals with two surprising shutouts in Powell River en route to the six-game series win, leave the guesswork to no one -- not even Todd Miller and Dean Merrick who will be calling all the action from high above ice level. The two teams were dead even in their two meetings late in the year, essentially splitting the season series after each won on their home ice. The Kings scored a 3-2 overtime victory at Powell River Recreational Complex in their last battle on February 4th.

As the defending champions, some would give the slight advantage to the Vipers, who eagerly await the opportunity to defend their 2009 BCHL championship after taking down Penticton in the Interior Conference Finals. There are 13 players returning for another taste in 2010 and that plethora of playoff experience could very well key another league title.

“More than anything else the guys don’t seem to panic,” says Miller, the Vipers’ play-by-play voice. “You get into some situations and face some adversity, whether it is within a game or within a series, and there’s a calming effect with having a veteran presence. Nothing seems to faze them.”

Yet the Kings were in this exact spot last year and are back to challenge the Vipers after overcoming a 3-1 deficit against Alberni Valley in the Coastal Finals.

“The guys came together as a group and when you pull together as a group, great things can happen,” says Merrick, the voice of Kings Hockey. “Alberni didn’t have an answer to the way we played. We drove them into the ground and got the wins we needed to move on. It goes to show what you’re capable of when your backs are against the wall. It only makes our group more resilient heading into what will obviously be the toughest challenge of our entire season.”

Powell River does not have as many returnees in the Finals -- with only nine players back in 2010 -- but Merrick believes the group knows what it takes to steal the crown away.

“We have a balanced attack. It’s going to be about no turnovers and just being strong in our own zone and getting pucks deep,” he says. “It’s not a complicated game plan for the Powell River Kings. You just have to match what they bring. Vernon’s got the depth up front with all four lines and we just got to match their intensity.”

Miller agrees: “Vernon’s going to have to find a way -- much like they did last year -- to shut down Powell River’s offensive guys like Daniel Carr and Matt Garbowsky. There are some guys that have had very good seasons and very good postseasons. That being said, Powell River’s got to find a way to deal with Vernon’s depth and match up the best that they can.”

The Vipers’ scoring punch is undoubtedly their greatest strength that is renown around the BCHL.

“You look at lines one through four and in most cases the fourth line -- if you can even call them that -- would probably be a top two line on another hockey club,” explains Miller. “It makes it really hard for line matching and to match up certain defensive pairings. I know a lot of the teams will key in on the Jones twins and Sahir Gill, but then you look down and one of the guys that jumps out is Jonathan Milhouse, who’s essentially playing a fourth-line role. So the forward depth is definitely something that sticks out.”

With so much talent on each team’s top two lines, Miller predicts that the depth players will play a big role in determining the outcome of the series.

“I can’t see this series being decided by the top-line guys,” he says. “I think it’s really going to be your third and fourth-line guys and Powell River’s going to have to get some offence from those types of players throughout the series.”

The Kings struggled to receive that secondary scoring in last season’s battle and their ability to fix that problem will be the recipe for success in 2010, Merrick says.

“It’s about doing anything it takes in order to win. I think it was a learning process last year for a lot of our guys. Some of our big guns weren’t there when we needed them as far as scoring,” he says. “But we also learned to be a better defensive team overall; worry about your own end and the offence should come.”

The much-anticipated Fred Page Cup Finals rematch begins Friday night at the Wesbild Centre. Will the Vipers defend their BCHL title or will the Kings take the crown? Tune in as Miller and Merrick brings all the Fred Page Cup action to fans on BCHL WebTV.