BCHL Report:

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DAILY DISH: BCHL REPORT - Junior Hockey News

Published: Tuesday, 10 Oct 2017

By: Stephen Heisler  |  Web site: JuniorHockey.com

The BCHL Report is a weekly look at Canada’s British Columbia Hockey League. The BCHL Insider is exactly that...a coach, or employee, with incredible insight into the league.

ISLAND

Powell River (7-1-1-0) – Head Coach Kent Lewis’ Kings took both games at the Hap over the weekend; upending both Trail and Wenatchee. Powell River will take their three-game streak on the road with stops in Chilliwack, Vernon, and Trail this week. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: The road is a bit less favorable for the Kings but they’ll still win two of the three games.

Victoria (7-3-0-0) – Craig Didmon’s Grizzlies got a pair of wins last week; the first at home against Cowichan Valley and then again at Nanaimo. Victoria busses to Trail, Penticton, and Surrey this weekend.  BCHL INSIDER SAYS:  Coming home with anything more than two points on this trip should feel pretty good.

Nanaimo (5-4-0-1) – Head Coach Mike Vandekamp’s Clippers split the weekend home set, beating Alberni Valley and losing to Victoria. The bus rolls to Vernon, Salmon Arm, and West Kelowna this week. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: The Clip Show will represent the Island well this week, and stand a decent chance at clipping 4 points from the Interior.

Alberni Valley (3-5-1-1) – Matt Hughes’ Bulldogs dropped both games last week and will be hungry to get a positive result from this weekend’s home-and-home set with Cowichan Valley. BCHL INSIDER SAYS:  The Bulldogs are a team that will always work hard, but is it enough? Against the struggling Capitals, probably.

Cowichan Valley (1-8-1-0) – Despite going winless in the previous six straight games, the Caps forced Wenatchee to overtime Sunday only to fall. OTL points are better than no points. This weekend’s pair with Alberni Valley will be a test. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: The test is open book. The Capitals should earn at least a split but it won’t be handed to them.

INTERIOR

Vernon (7-2-0-2) – Vipers’ Head Coach Mark Ferner’s does not like to lose, nobody does really. For Ferner, nothing could be worse than losing to Penticton…well maybe tying the Vees after double overtime could come close. The Vipers visit Wenatchee tomorrow before hosting Nanaimo and Powell River Friday and Saturday. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: Vernon has positioned themselves to go for the hardware this season. Division games can be a coin toss in the Interior but the home games should go their way.

Trail (7-3-1-0) – Head Coach Cam Keith’s Smokies will not give up, even on the road. Taking just one of three away games in a week is generally not thought of as a positive until one sees the effort Trail put forth Sunday at Chilliwack. Impressive. Victoria and Powell River visit Friday and Sunday. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: The scoring punch the Smokies pack is considerable, especially at home. Expect a minimum of three points.

West Kelowna (7-3-0-0) – Coach Rylan Ferster’s Warriors keep finding ways to get the wins. The boys are off to Surrey tonight before hosting Wenatchee and Nanaimo Friday and Sunday. BCHL INSIDER SAYS:  Spreading the games out benefits the Warriors. Hard to pick against them when they keep getting wins.

Penticton (6-0-0-1) – Head Coach Fred Harbinson’s Vees earned something different than a win on Saturday night at Vernon. A tie is a tie and a point, still not as bad as a loss. Penticton has two opportunities to get things back on track this week; they visit Merritt Friday before hosting Victoria Saturday. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: The best chance to knock the Vees off track settled on a tie. This week, the Vees roll on.

Wenatchee (5-3-0-1) – Wild Head Coach Bliss Littler is never going to be happy with just a single win in three games, what coach would? Look for a big week from Wenatchee with visits from Vernon tomorrow night and Merritt on Saturday. The Wild are at West Kelowna Friday to complicate matters a bit. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: The Wild may not be the juggernaut that dominated last season, but they have plenty of speed and can get up and down the ice with anyone. A tough week, but two home games lighten the load.

Salmon Arm (4-6-0-0) – Head Coach Scott Atkinson’s Silverbacks managed to get past Merritt at home on Friday before losing at West Kelowna Saturday. That’s life in the BCHL. The next three games are at home starting tonight when Langley visits. Nanaimo is in town Saturday. BCHL INSIDER SAYS:  If the Silverbacks can stay away from getting drawn in to the rough stuff behind the play, they should be able to outlast opponents on home ice.

Merritt (3-7-0-0) – Head Coach Joe Martin’s Cents are a MUCH better team than what their record indicates. Tomorrow’s one game trip to Prince George won’t be much fun considering that Penticton visits Friday before moving down to Wenatchee for Saturday. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: This will be a very tough week for the Cents. Three uphill climbs for Merritt and getting 2 or 3 points might be all there is to gather.

MAINLAND

Prince George (6-3-1-1) – Head Coach Adam Maglio’s Spruce Kings earned three-points in the home set with Surrey. Tomorrow’s visit from Merritt should produce some fireworks before the weekend trip to Surrey and Langley. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: PG will strengthen their position in the division this week. To think “sweep” may not be out of the question.

Langley (4-2-4-0) – Head Coach Bobby Henderson’s Rivermen just slipped past Coquitlam on back-2-back nights leaving more questions than answers. Langley is at Salmon Arm tonight before visiting Coquitlam again on Friday. Prince George visits George Preston Arena Saturday. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: When Langley runs out of Coquitlam games on their schedule, things will really start to get tough. Home ice could help, but probably won’t.

Chilliwack (3-5-1-1) – Head Coach Jason Tatarnic made some serious roster moves last week and has his Royal Bank Cup hosting Chiefs back to playing Tatarnic hockey. Chilliwack is at Coquitlam tomorrow night before hosting Powell River and the Express Friday and Saturday. Look for the Chiefs to be back up and over the .500 mark before the end of the weekend. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: Seem to recall predicting a bunch of roster moves in the Wack. In an RBC hosting year, getting embarrassed just isn’t an option. Luckily for the Chiefs, the Express are showing up just in time to artificially spike their confidence.

Surrey (3-5-1-1) – Brandon West’s Eagles are proving themselves to have the ability to compete with any team on the schedule, just ask Prince George. The problem continues to be those other days. Luckily, West has been able to install his brand of play into the mix and it’s starting to set. This is going to be a good hockey team. BCHL INSIDER SAYS:  They’ll be a good hockey team. But the BCHL has a handful of really good ones, and some great ones. Good isn’t always good enough, but if Coach West can help get some guys in school (and he will), then all’s well. 

Coquitlam (2-7-1-1) – By all indications, Barry Wolf’s Express are a better team than last year. Losing three games in a row by a single goal tends to wear on a group so I’m really interested to see how they respond this week. Chilliwack visits tomorrow, Langley again on Thursday. The Express visit the Chiefs Friday. BCHL INSIDER SAYS: This is about where the Express were last year, showing a hint of competitive fire. Then the injuries came. Would be nice to see what Barry Wolff can do with an actual roster of healthy bodies.