Friday, April 12, 2019

Game 1 Preview: Fred Page Cup Finals: Vernon @ Prince George:

Vernon (12-5) @ Prince George (12-1) 7pm

Tonight is the third meeting of the season between the Vernon Vipers & Prince George Spruce Kings. The Spruce Kings went 2-0 vs Vernon during the regular season

Last Game:

Friday, April 5th Game 5 Vernon defeated Wenatchee 3-1 to win the series 4-1

Tuesday, April 2nd Game 4 Prince George defeated Victoria 3-2 overtime to win the series 4-0

Next Game:

Saturday, April 13th Game 2 Vernon @ Prince George

For the eighth time in franchise history the Vernon Vipers & Prince George Spruce Kings will meet in the RMJHL/BCHL playoffs. 

The last time these two teams met in the playoffs the Vipers eliminated the Spruce Kings in five games in the 1st round of the playoffs during the 2005-06 season. Vernon has never lost a playoff series to Prince George.

Here's a look at the previous playoff matchup's vs Prince George

1990-91 Mowat Cup Vernon defeated Prince George 3-0
1991-92 Mowat Cup Vernon defeated Prince George 3-0
1994-95 Mowat Cup Vernon defeated Prince George 4-0
1998-99 2nd Round Vernon defeated Prince George 4-0
1999-00 1st Round Vernon defeated Prince George 4-2
2004-05 2nd Round Vernon defeated Prince George 4-1
2005-06 1st Round Vernon defeated Prince George 4-1

The Prince George Spruce Kings lost in five games in the league finals last year to the eventual Fred Page Cup champion Wenatchee Wild. The Spruce Kings are looking for their first league title. The Vernon Vipers last trip to the league finals was in 2014 when they fell in four games to the Coquitlam Express. Vernon is looking for it's 13th league championship in franchise history. The Vipers last Fred Page Cup championship was in 2011. Vernon has gone to the league finals nineteen times winning the league championship twelve times. 

Here is a look at Vernon's league championship previous matchup's 

1969-70 Vernon defeated Victoria 4-2 
1971-72 Vernon defeated Penticton 4-3 
1987-88 Vernon defeated Richmond 4-1 
1988-89 Vernon defeated New Westminister 4-1 
1989-90 New Westminister defeated Vernon 4-2 
1990-91 Vernon defeated Chilliwack 4-2 
1991-92 Vernon defeated Bellingham 4-0 
1995-96 Vernon defeated Langley 4-1 
1996-97 Surrey defeated Vernon 4-1 
1998-99 Vernon defeated Chilliwack 4-1 
1999-00 Chilliwack defeated Vernon 4-1 
2001-02 Chilliwack defeated Vernon 4-2 
2002-03 Vernon defeated Chilliwack 4-0 
2004-05 Surrey defeated Vernon 4-1 
2006-07 Nanaimo defeated Vernon 4-2 
2008-09 Vernon defeated Powell River 4-2 
2009-10 Vernon defeated Powell River 4-3 
2010-11 Vernon defeated Powell River 4-0 
2013-14 Coquitlam defeated Vernon 4-0

Vernon Vipers Playoff Schedule:

1st Round: Vernon defeated Salmon Arm 4-1
Interior division semi finals: Vernon defeated Trail 4-3
Interior division finals: Vernon defeated Wenatchee 4-1 Vipers win their 17th Interior division championship in franchise history

Prince George Spruce Kings Playoff Schedule:

1st Round: Prince George defeated Coquitlam 4-1
Mainland division finals: Prince George defeated Chilliwack 4-0
Coastal Conference finals: Prince George defeated Victoria 4-0

Here's a look at this years regular season series vs Prince George:

December 5th Vernon @ Prince George: Spruce Kings won 2-1
January 19th Prince George @ Vernon: Spruce Kings won 4-1

Vernon's record & stats vs the Spruce Kings since 2002

Since the 2002-03 regular season Vernon is 42-24-2-4 vs Prince George

Since the 2002-03 regular season Vernon has outscored Prince George 278-204

Since the 2003-04 regular season Vernon is 16-8-2-4 at home vs. Prince George

Since the 2003-04 regular season Vernon is 18-13-0-1 in Prince George

The Vipers are 4-5-1-0 in their last ten games vs Prince George

The Vipers are 4-5-1-0 in their last ten home games vs Prince George

The Vipers are 7-3-0-0 in their last ten games in Prince George

The Vipers last regular season win at home vs. Prince George was a 5-4 double overtime win on Sunday, January 29th 2017

The Spruce Kings last regular season win in Vernon was a 4-1 victory on Saturday, January 19th 2019

The Vipers last regular season win in Prince George was a 5-3 victory on Wednesday, January 11th 2017

The Spruce Kings last regular season win at home vs. Vernon was a 2-1 victory on Wednesday, December 5th 2018


Let's take a look at the Vernon Vipers:

The 12-5 Interior Division Champion Vernon Vipers make their second visit of the season to the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena are coming off a 3-1 victory April 5th in Wenatchee to eliminate the Wild in five games to win their 17th Interior division championship in franchise history. The Vipers last visit to Prince George was December 5th a 2-1 Spruce Kings win. The last time these two teams met was January 19th in Vernon with the Spruce Kings coming away with the 4-1 victory winning the regular season series 2-0. The Vipers have lost four straight regular season games to Prince George. The last time Vernon defeated the Spruce Kings, was a 5-4 double overtime victory at home January 29th 2017. The Snakes come into tonight have won six of their eight playoff games on the road. Vernon has won fifteen of their last twenty games away from home. 

Vernon Vipers Roster:


Michael Young (6-7-13), Matt Kowalski (6-6-12) & Josh Latta (6-6-12) share the team lead in playoff goals with six each, while Jagger Williamson (5-11-16) & Jesse Lansdell (4-12-16 share the team lead in playoff points with sixteen points each

Bradley Cooper played 23 games with the (2017-2018) Prince George Spruce Kings was traded to Vernon November 27th 2018 for Garrett Worth

Vernon Vipers 2018-19 playoff stats:

Games Played: 17
Wins: 12
Losses: 5
Overtime Wins: 4
Overtime Losses: 1
Home Record: 6-3
Road Record: 6-2
Overtime Record: 4-1
When the Vipers score first: 7-1
When the opponents score first: 5-4
Leading after the 1st period: 5-1
Tied after the 1st period: 5-2
Trailing after the 1st period: 2-2
Leading after the 2nd period: 8-0
Tied after the 2nd period: 1-2
Trailing after the 2nd period: 3-3
Out shooting opponents: 8-4
Out shot by opponents: 3-1
One goal games: 7-1
Goals for: 54
Goals against: 40
Win-loss Streak: Three game winning streak
Longest winning streak: Four games
Longest losing streak: Two games

Vernon Vipers Returning Players:

Jagger Williamson (98)
Connor Marritt (99)
Jesse Lansdell (98)
Coleton Bilodeau (00)
Josh Latta (98)
Michael Young (98)
Jack Judson (00)

Vernon Vipers departed & traded players from last years team:

Brett Stapley (99)
Derek Brown (97)
Keyvan Mokhtari (98)
Josh Prokop (00)
Alex Swetlikoff (01)
Mitch Andres (98)
Jordan Sandhu (99)
Niko Karamanis (98)
Jimmy Lambert (97)
Michael Ufberg (97)
Cameron Trott (97)
Shane Kelly (97)
Chris Jandric (98)
Anthony Yamnitsky (97)
Ty Taylor (99)

Vernon's home record vs Prince George this year:

0-1-0-0

Vernon's road record vs Prince George this year:

0-1-0-0

Vernon's scoring leaders vs Prince George this year:

Teddy Wooding (2-0-2)
Matt Kowalski (0-2-2)
Jagger Williamson (0-1-1)
Connor Marritt (0-1-1)

Bradley Cooper (0-2 Record)


Let's take a look at the Prince George Spruce Kings:

The 12-1 Coastal Conference Champion Prince George Spruce Kings are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Victoria Grizzlies April 2nd in Victoria. The Spruce Kings return to the Fred Page Cup Finals for a second year in a row. Last year the Spruce Kings fell in five games to the Wenatchee Wild. The Spruce Kings have won nine straight and eleven of their twelve playoff games this post season. PG has won all seven home games in the post season, has won fifteen straight on home ice. The Spruce Kings last loss at home was a 2-1 loss to the visiting Surrey Eagles December 15th 2018. Prince George has only lost twice in their last twenty home games. The Spruce Kings haven't played since April 2nd having the past nine days off. 

Prince George Spruce Kings Roster:


Ben Poisson (10-6-16) leads the team in playoff goals with ten and in playoff points with sixteen

Prince George Spruce Kings 2018-19 playoff stats:

Games Played: 13
Wins: 12
Losses: 1
Home Record: 7-0
Road Record: 5-1
Goals for: 51
Goals against: 21

Prince George Spruce Kings Returning Players:

Corey Cunningham (01)
Patrick Cozzi (98)
Ben Poisson (99)
Nolan Welsh (99)
Ben Brar (98)
Chong Ming Lee (99)
Layton Ahac (01)
Jay Keranen (98)
Liam Watson-Brawn (99)

Prince George Spruce Kings departed and traded players from last years team:

Dustin Manz (99)
Ethan De Jong (99)
Jarod Hovde (97)
Kyle Johnson (98)
Blake Hayward (98)
Brady Bjork (99)
Spencer Chapman (99)
Sam Anzai (98)
Tyson Slater (97)
Chays Ruddy (97)
Dylan Anhorn (99)
Oliver Lester (97)
Evan DeBrouwer (97)
Bradley Cooper (99)

Prince George's home record vs Vernon this year:

1-0-0-0

Prince George's road record vs Vernon this year:

1-0-0-0

Prince George's scoring leaders vs Vernon this year:

Dustin Manz (2-1-3)
Patrick Cozzie (1-2-3)
Max Coyle (1-2-3)
Ben Brar (2-1-3)
Liam Watson-Brawn (0-1-1)
Ben Poisson (0-1-1)
Nick Bochen (0-1-1)
Lucas Vanroboys (0-1-1)

Logan Neaton (2-0 Record)

1 comment:

  1. Why hasn't a local business/pub or sports bar in Vernon taken advantage of some marketing and teamed up with the Vernon Vipers and agree to show the away games during the playoffs or even regular season on their tv's for fans to come down and watch?

    During the playoffs Kelly O'Bryans in West Kelowna puts the Warriors away games on the tvs and advertises for fans to come down, grab a bite to eat and watch the games. I have noticed over the last few years, a few teams in the league are doing this.

    I thought for sure a place like Boston Pizza would jump on board with this idea, heck there the home for the Vipers post game hang out after all Vipers home games through out the season. What about the Village Green Hotel/Green Pub or Don Cherry Sports Bar get on board with something like this?

    I think this would be a great idea for Viper fans to get together, have a few cold ones and cheer on the Vipers watching the games live on tv.

    Someone's missing out on a great marketing opportunity!

    ReplyDelete