It was twenty years ago today, May 9th 1999 the Vernon Vipers won their second Royal Bank Cup/fourth National Championship (Centennial Cup/Royal Bank Cup).
The 1999 Royal Bank Cup Champion Vernon Vipers were inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame July 22nd 2016 in Penticton, BC at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Here is a tribute video on the 1999 Vernon Vipers,
Former Vernon Vipers owner Duncan Wray and former Head Coach/GM Troy Mick talk about the 1999 Vernon Vipers and their run to the Royal Bank Cup on the eve of the team being inducted into the BC Hockey Hall Of Fame.
1999 Royal Bank Cup Recap:
Three years after winning the inaugural Royal Bank Cup in 1996, Vernon once again claimed a National Title in 1999. The Vipers did this by capping a season of 52 wins and 6 loses 2 ties, breaking just about every record in league history, with a win over the Chilliwack Chiefs for the league title, Fred Page Cup. The Mowat Cup was a mixed blessing as Vernon won but, not without controversy. The Kimberley Dynamiters (Rocky Mountain JHL) won one game of the 4 played. It was the first time a team from the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League defeated a team from the BCHL. It should be noted however, that Vernon played with a Junior "B" backup goaltender in the loss, (7-6) due to injury of their regular goaltenders. Kimberley was only able to muster 13 shots in that game. The Doyle Cup was easily won by Vernon, 4 games to 1, over the Calgary Canucks (AJHL). The Vipers did it all the hard-way in the Royal Bank Cup Tournament winning only once during round-robin play. That one win was enough though, to claim the Abbott Cup by defeating the Estevan Bruins (SJHL), 3-2. After that dismal showing in the round-robin Vernon still managed to advance to the semi-finals. In that semi, the Bramalea Blues (OPJHL) went down to defeat by a score of 3-2. The Royal Bank Cup was an absolute blow-out as the Vipers hammered the Charlottetown Abbies (Maritime Junior A Hockey League), 9-3, claiming the franchises 4th National Championship in 10 years. The 1999 Viper team is considered by many the greatest team in BCHL history.
The 1999 Vernon Vipers finished with its best season in club history. Finishing top spots in the Interior Division & #1 overall in the BCHL as the leagues best team with a record of 50-6-2 wich was good for 106 pts. The Vipers would lose their first three games before defeating Estevan in the final game of the Round Robin to advance to the semifinals. A 3-2 win over Bramalea got Vernon back into another RBC Cup final where they destroyed Charlottetown in the Cup final. Here’s a rundown on how the Vipers did through the BCHL’s Playoffs to advance to the teams record sixth National Championship & 2nd in the last four years.
Interior Semifinals: Vernon defeated Merritt 4-1
Interior Conference Finals: Vernon defeated Prince George 4-0
BCHL League Finals: Vernon defeated Chilliwack 4-1
Mowat Cup: Vernon defeated Kimberly (RMJHL) 3-1
Doyle Cup: Vernon defated Calgary (AJHL) 4-1
The 1999 Royal Bank Cup is the Tier II Junior "A" 1999 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.
The Royal Bank Cup was be competed for by the winners of the Doyle Cup, Anavet Cup, Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Fred Page Cup and a host city.
The tournament was be hosted by the Yorkton Terriers and Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
The Playoffs: Round Robin
Rank Team League Ticket W-L GF GA
1 x-Bramalea Blues OPJHL Dudley Hewitt Cup 3-1 14 11
2 x-Yorkton Terriers SJHL Host 3-1 12 8
3 x-Charlottetown Abbies MJAHL Fred Page Cup 2-2 16 13
4 x-Vernon Vipers BCHL Doyle Cup 1-3 11 15
5 Estevan Bruins SJHL Anavet Cup 1-3 11 17
Note: x- denotes teams who have advanced to the semi-final.
Results
Yorkton Terries defeat Estevan Bruins 6-1
Bramalea Blues defeat Vernon Vipers 4-2
Yorkton Terries defeat Charlottetown Abbies 2-1
Bramalea Blues defeat Estevan Bruins 4-3
Charlottetown Abbies defeat Vernon Vipers 6-5
Yorkton Terriers defeat Vernon Vipers 3-1
Estevan Bruins defeat Charlottetown Abbies 5-4
Bramalea Blues defeat Yorkton Terriers 5-1
Charlottetown Abbies defeat Bramalea Blues 5-1
Vernon Vipers defeat Estevan Bruins 3-2 for the Abbott Cup
Semifinals:
Vernon Vipers 3
Bramalea Blues 2
Charlottetown Abbies 6
Yorkton Terriers 5
Royal Bank Cup Final: (Live On TSN)
Vernon Vipers 9
Charlottetown Abbies 3
Note: Charlottetown defeated Yorkton in Double Overtime.
Awards
Most Valuable Player: Dennis Bassett (Yorkton Terriers)
Top Scorer: William Hubloo (Charlottetown Abbies)
Most Sportsmanlike Player: Anthony Aquino (Bramalea Blues)
Top Goalie: Dennis Bassett (Yorkton Terriers)
Top Forward: Kyle Amyotte (Bramalea Blues)
Top Defenceman: John Bradley (Vernon Vipers)
Role of League Champions
AJHL: Calgary Canucks
BCHL: Vernon Vipers
CJHL: Hawkesbury Hawks
MJHL: OCN Blizzard
MJAHL: Charlottetown Abbies
NOJHL: Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats
OPJHL: Bramalea Blues
QJAAAHL: Valleyfield Braves
RMJHL: Kimberley Dynamiters
SJHL: Estevan Bruins
Vernon Vipers Roster:
Lanny Gare
Ryan Bayda
Petr Chytka
Tyler Knight
Nick Ringstad
Scott Krahn
Mike Bussoli
Kori Davison
Josh Reed
Kenny Magowan
Joel Bresciani
Kelly Sickavish
Lennie Rampone (Captain)
John Bradley
John Duggan
Jace Digel
Spence Gilchrist
Jeff Filewich
Tito Kamel
Tyler Valin
Danny Williams
Domenic La’Casse
Chris King
Derek Gustafson
Wade Dubielewicz
Owner & President Duncan Wray
GM & Head Coach Troy Mick
Assistant Coach Joe Oliver
Trainer Tim Cooper
Assistant Trainer Trevor McEachnie
Please visit Paul's Vernon Junior Hockey History website,
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