I found these press releases off team websites, twitter accounts, blogs or online. All Vipers news-trades are posted on this blog as soon as released-announced.
BCHL News & Trades:
Chong Min Lee Out For The Season:
The Prince George Spruce Kings will be without forward Chong Min Lee for the rest of the season. The 20-year-old forward will require season ending shoulder surgery. “Unfortunately, after an MRI and consultation with an orthopaedic surgeon, it has been determined that Chong requires season ending shoulder surgery” says GM Mike Hawes. “It is important that he gets the surgery soon as the recovery time is 5 to 6 months and he needs to be healed and ready to play next fall as a freshman at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Chong and his family are currently arranging and planning for the surgery to occur back in South Korea as soon as possible”. Lee finishes with 62 points in 134 regular season games and 22 points in 53 playoff games as a Prince George Spruce King. He also had 5 points in 6 games at the National Jr A Championship last season. Chong Mine Lee finishes with 24 points in 24 games this season. “Chong has been with us for three years and has been a terrific player and person as a Spruce King. We wish him a successful surgery and a speedy recovery so that he can be ready to represent the Spruce Kings well when he moves on to the next chapter playing NCAA Division 1 Hockey next season” added Hawes
Head Returns To Warriors:
The West Kelowna Warriors Junior ‘A’ Hockey Club announce Monday that D Wyatt Head (’99) will be returning to the team’s roster. Head, 20, spent the past two seasons with the West Kelowna Warriors where he tallied 71 points in 136 total games played with the Warriors. During the 2018-19 season, Head finished tied for 6th in defensive scoring with 42 points. The Kelowna, B.C. native spent the beginning of this season with Quinnipiac Bobcats(NCAA) but has decided to return to the Warriors. “I really enjoyed my time at Quinnipiac”, stated Head. “It was an unbelievable group of guys but it just wasn’t the right fit for me hockey wise so I’ve decided to return to West Kelowna as I feel it’s the best choice for my hockey future. I’m excited to get things going again on the ice”. The Warriors would like to welcome back Wyatt to the City of West Kelowna and the Warriors organization.
Cowichan Capitals Release Bridgewater & Verbicky:
Cowichan Valley reduced its roster by two players on Saturday, releasing forwards Andy Bridgewater and Kobe Verbicky. Bridgewater, 19, had 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 22 games with the Capitals this season while Verbicky, 16, had one goal in 14 games. Bridgewater had 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 51 games for the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs last season. He became a free agent this past summer when the Mustangs franchise went on hiatus. Verbicky spent 2018-19 with the North Island Silvertips of the BC Major Midget League where he posted 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists) in 35 games. He also got into two WHL games with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
30 Years of Chiefs Hockey: The Move To Langley And A Return To The Wack:
For the start of the 2006-07 season, the Chilliwack Chiefs packed up their bags and headed down the road to the George Preston Arena to become the Langley Chiefs. They arrived with the same owners, head coach and players. The only modification to the jersey was the removal of Chilliwack from the tomahawk shoulder patch. Langley finished its first year with a 29-27-1-3 record, fifth in the Coastal Division. In the playoffs, the Chiefs faced the Burnaby Express and lost the first round series 4-3. In the fall of 2007, the Chiefs looked to improve on their first season with the additions of future NHLer Derek Grant, plus Milos Gordic and the return of tough guy Necco Belanger from the NAHL. They wound up with a 33-21-0-6 record for second in the Coastal Conference. In the post-season, Langley played Victoria in the conference quarterfinals and won the series 4-2. The Chiefs advanced to play the first place Nanaimo Clippers to see which team would move on to the league final, but fell in six games. For 2008-09, the Chiefs unveiled a new logo to represent the City of Langley. The new logo removed the “C” from the headdress and replaced it with an “L” with war paint stripes above it. The new jersey incorporated one of the team’s original colors – blue with the black and yellow. Langley finished the year with a 30-25-2-3 record and fourth in the Coastal Division. In the playoffs, the Chiefs lost in the Coastal Conference quarterfinals to the Surrey Eagles 3-1 in the best-of-five series. 2009-10 saw the team move to the newly built Langley Events Centre and the Chiefs continued to have successful regular seasons in Langley by amassing a 33-22-2-3 record. In the post-season, the Chiefs beat the Surrey Eagles 4-2 in the first round, but was swept by Powell River in the conference quarterfinals. In 2010-11, the Chiefs celebrated 20 years. In the first two decades, they only missed the playoffs once and won three Fred Page Cup Championships, one Doyle Cup, numerous division titles and two trips to the National Junior A Championship. The Chiefs added to their history by acquiring former stick boy Darnell Dyck from Trail. They came third in the Coastal Division with a 31-21-1-7 record. In the playoffs, the Chiefs would sweep Alberni Valley 4-0 in the first round, but ended their 20th season with a six-game quarterfinal loss to long-time rival Surrey. The 2011 off season was a very interesting one. The owners of the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins sold the team and moved them to Victoria, opening the door for the BCHL to move back in. The Chiefs Development Group sold the existing team to the Henderson family who would keep it in Langley. In the terms of the deal, the Chiefs name and history were to stay with the Chiefs Development Group as it bought the struggling Quesnel Millionaires and relocated them to Chilliwack. When the dust settled, the Chiefs were back in the ‘Wack. With the return of the Chiefs to Chilliwack, the 2011-12 roster consisted of mostly players coming over from the Millionaires. With the approval coming in late May 2011, the team was running on a very short off season. They returned with a brand new color scheme of crimson, gold and white. Their jerseys were inspired by Denver University as former Chiefs Greg Keith and Gabe Gauthier won national titles with the Pioneers. The team was placed in the Interior Division for the year and finished fourth with a 33-22-2-3 record, backstopped by goalie Mitch Gillam. In the playoffs, the Chiefs played the record-breaking and stacked Penticton Vees losing to them 4-2 in the quarterfinals. The Chiefs moved to the Mainland Division for 2012-13 along with the Prince George Spruce Kings. The team had Gillam back in goal, Jaret Babych, the son of former NHLer Dave Babych, and the additions of top scorer Austin Plevy and tough guy Tanner Cochrane. Their record was 33-21-1-1 and they finished second in the Mainland Division. In the playoffs, the Chiefs opened up against Prince George and beat the Spruce Kings 3-2 in the best-of-five. Chilliwack played Surrey in a best-of-five Coastal Conference quarterfinal series and was swept 3-0. In 2013-14, the Chiefs dropped off significantly, like they did 21 years previously, finishing with the second worse record in the league at 14-37-2-5. In the off-season, the Chiefs let go legendary head coach Harvey Smyl and hired Jason Tatarnic from the Woodstock Slammers. The bright side to the down year was the upstart of Jordan Kawaguchi’s junior career. The Chiefs of 2014-15 bounced back from missing the playoffs for the first time in 20 years by winning the Mainland Division with a 37-17-1-3-10 record. In the Playoffs, the Chiefs dumped Coquitlam in the first round 4-1 and Prince George in the Mainland Division finals 4-0. Chilliwack advanced to the BCHL round robin with Nanaimo and Penticton. The Chiefs didn’t win a game, losing to Nanaimo 7-2 and Penticton twice – 4-3 in overtime and 5-2 – ending their hopes of getting to the Fred Page Cup Finals. In 2015-16, the Chiefs looked to continue their early success under Tatarnic. With the addition of Wenatchee Wild from the NAHL, the Chiefs had another strong team to contend with for the Mainland crown. Chilliwack won its second straight division title with a 38-13-3-4 record and were led by captain Kawaguchi, goalie Aidan Pelino and current Detroit Red Wings defenceman Dennis Cholowski. In the playoffs, the Chiefs got past Coquitlam 4-0 in the first round and Wenatchee 4-1 in the second round. The win put Chilliwack back in the BCHL round robin for the second straight year, where they faced the West Kelowna Warriors and the Nanaimo Clippers. The three teams split all of the games, which set up a tiebreaker. The Chiefs were the first team through, beating West Kelowna 4-3 to advance to the Fred Page Cup. Chilliwack played the Warriors in the finals and lost in six games to the eventual National Junior A champions. Chilliwack looked to get over the hump in 2016-17 and win its fourth Fred Page Cup. The team finished second in the Mainland Division to the regular season champion Wenatchee Wild with a 41-11-0-6 record. In the playoffs, the Chiefs beat Langley 4-2 in the first round and swept the Wild 4-0 in the Mainland Division final. In the Coastal Conference final, the Chiefs faced Victoria. Oddly, the Grizzlies forgot their jerseys for game one and had to wear Chilliwack minor hockey jerseys. The Chiefs beat Victoria 4-2 to advance to the Fred Page Cup for the second consecutive year. Chilliwack fell in seven games against Penticton, but still advanced to the Western Canada Cup because the Vees were hosting. The Chiefs played the Brooks Bandits, Portage Terriers and the Battleford North Stars in the tournament. The Chiefs finished second in the round robin portion and played for the Western Canada Cup against the Brooks Bandits. The Chiefs lost 6-1 to the Bandits, but with the page playoff format, the Chiefs had another opportunity to advance to the National Junior A Championship. The Chiefs faced host Penticton in the second play in-game and fell 3-2. 2017-18 was a big year for the Chiefs as they hosted the National Junior A Championship. With most of the team returning from the year previous, the Chiefs added a couple pieces to prep for a run to the title. Before the season, the Chiefs announced the retirement of mascot Chief Wannawin and introduced a new ascot – Belle the Cow. The Chiefs record was 26-26-3-3 and they finished fourth in the Mainland Division. In the playoffs, Chilliwack played the division champion Prince George Spruce Kings and lost in seven games. A week before the city of Chilliwack and the Chilliwack Chiefs were set to host four of the best teams in junior A hockey in Canada and the United States, they fired Head Coach Jason Tatarnic. In his place, they appointed assistant coach and former Chiefs captain Brian Maloney as head coach and general manager. In the championship tournament, the Chiefs met the Wenatchee Wild, Wellington Dukes, Ottawa Jr. Senators and Steinbach Pistons. Chilliwack opened the Tournament against its BCHL rival from Wenatchee and the Wild took the opener 2-1 in overtime. The Chiefs played Ottawa next and beat the Sens 4-3 in extra time. Wellington was the next opponent for the Chiefs and Daniel Chenard shutout the Dukes 2-0 and Chilliwack was into the semifinals for the third time in team history. The final round robin game for the Chiefs was against the Steinbach Pistons and the home squad came out on top 4-1 with Mathieu Caron getting the win in his only action of the tournament. In the semifinals, history was not on the Chiefs’ side as they failed to get past this stage in the franchise’s previous two appearances. Chilliwack beat Ottawa 3-2 and advanced to the final against Wellington. In the final game, the Chiefs went down just 1:30 into the game but tied it on a goal from Kaden Pickering early in the second period. The Dukes took the lead again with a minute left in the second on the power play. It keyed up a dramatic comeback in the third for the Chiefs, starting with the tying goal by Will Calverley at 4:35. Chilliwack took the lead four minutes later on a goal by Corey Andonovski. The Chiefs sealed the game on a goal by Tommy Lee at the 12:20 mark of the third. The win gave Chilliwack its first ever National Championship and exercised the demons of the past. With the National Championship behind them, the Chiefs got right back to work in 2018-19 to try and defend their title. The team had eight players return from the previous year, including the goaltender tandem of Chenard and Caron. The Chiefs finished the season with the best record in the BCHL at 42-15-1 and faced a first-round match up with the Langley Rivermen. In the playoffs, Chilliwack went down 3-0 to the Rivermen and stormed back to win four straight and the series. The Chiefs played Prince George in the next round and were swept 4-0, ending the hopes of back-to-back national titles. That is a look at the 30 years of Chiefs hockey. I hope you enjoyed all three parts. I would also like to dedicate the series to the late Jacob Bestebroer, he was the inspiration for these articles as he was well known for his knowledge of the history of the Chilliwack Chiefs.
SOEC Deficit Tops $1.48M
While the South Okanagan Events Centre may be the “pride and joy” of the City of Penticton, it’s the Trade and Convention Centre that generates the most economic activity for the community. That was repeated several times Tuesday by Dean Clarke, general manager of the entire SOEC campus, during annual budget discussions at city hall. Clarke was under fire from some city councillors, ostensibly upset the Trade and Convention Centre is projected to lose $390,000 next year. “I struggle with the results that we are seeing,” said Coun. Katie Robinson, suggesting they would be better off shutting the whole convention centre down. She called the lack of large conventions at PTCC, six next year, "bitterly disappointing." Mayor John Vassilaki singled out the Convention Centre’s marketing budget, which expects to spend $291,000 to capture $813,000 in revenue as something that would never fly in the private sector. But the Trade and Convention Centre isn’t the private sector, responded Clarke, who pointed to an estimated $11 million in annual economic impact the facility creates for the community. For comparison, the same study pegged the much-more-expensive-to-run SOEC arena’s economic impact at $9.5 million. Thirty-thousand hotel room nights alone were booked last year as a result of activities at the PTCC. “It’s not the profitability when it comes to that facility… the reality is it’s about economic impact,” Clarke said. “It would be a catastrophe to shut that place down.” Spending $390,000 to generate $11 million in economic impact is a trade any local government would make "every day," he added. While there are just six large conventions booked for next year, the facility handles up to 170 smaller meetings or events like Fest of Ale each year. Clarke said they have been hamstrung by a lack of solid hotel rooms in the community, noting they lost out on hosting the massive Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention two years ago because of a room shortage. He suggested he’s already met with city council in private to pitch an attached hotel on the premise, something that would be a huge help to attracting conventions. Clarke and his employer, Spectra Venue Management — which manages the SOEC, PTCC, Memorial Arena and OHS Training Centre — presented council with a budget projecting a complex-wide loss $1.48 million in 2020, up from $1.43 million last year. Broken down by building, next year the SOEC arena is projected to lose $1.1 million, the PTCC lose $392,000, Memorial Arena fall short $100,000 and OHS Training Centre profit $106,000. Clarke, however, said the accounting department places larger losses than reality at the feet of the SOEC arena, at the benefit of the other facilities, because it is so expensive to run. A rising minimum wage and employer health tax was blamed for increasing costs. City council unanimously approved in principle Spectra's proposed budget.
Bulldogs Acquire Grouchy:
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are proud to announce the acquisition of Forward Matthew Grouchy from the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL. The 20 year old product of Labrador City, Newfoundland collected 12 points in 21 games with the Olympiques this season. Last season Grouchy had 47 points in 61 regular season games with the Quebec Ramparts. The 6 foot 1, 171-pound right winger is expected to add some leadership and skill to the Bulldogs forward group. “This is a good acquisition for our group” said Bulldogs head coach and general manager Joe Martin. “Matthew adds experience and leadership to our group and he will help our scoring depth for the stretch drive.” Grouchy was originally drafted in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft by the Charlottetown Islanders in the 6th round at pick number 101. In 207 career regular season games in the QMJHL, Grouchy has 121 points including 46 goals. Grouchy is expected to make his Bulldogs debut on Friday night against the Cowichan Capitals and his Dawg Pound debut on Saturday vs. Chilliwack for the club’s annual Teddy Bear Toss.
Clippers Name Campbell New General Manager:
Tali Campbell joined the Nanaimo Clippers Junior A Hockey team late December 2018 as the Marketing Manager and Director of Business Operations for the hockey club. After a year at the hockey club, Campbell has received a much deserved promotion to General Manager and Director of Business Operations. Wes Mussio, owner of the Clippers, remarked: “Late last year the business operations were struggling as we were not only seeing a lot of red ink but also, we become further disengaged from the community. The organizations was definitely heading in the wrong direction. I reached out to Tali to see if he was interested in coming back home to Nanaimo and fortunately for the Clippers, he accepted the challenge. Tali has since turned the operations around financially not to mention greatly increasing our footprint in the community. This was definitely one of my top moves as the Clippers’ owner bring Campbell back to Nanaimo.” Penny Stainton-Mussio, co-owner of the Clippers, explained “It is nice to have someone hard working from the local community step in and run the business operations. We walk around the rink and hear nothing but great things about Tali from the fans and staff. The game day operations are seamless and Wes and I are able to step back from the business somewhat and become true fans.” With the Mussio Sports Group moving into operating the Nanaimo Timbermen Senior B Lacrosse Team and running an ever expanding spring hockey program, Tali Campbell takes over as the general manager of Mussio Sports Group and the Nanaimo Clippers. Hockey Operations will remain with Darren Naylor who also received a much deserved promotion to Vice-President of Mussio Sports Group and the Nanaimo Clippers, with a focus on expanding the business.
Spruce Kings Honour Mohawks:
On January 17th, it’s Mohawks Night at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, as the Spruce Kings take on the Langley Rivermen, and honour those who wore the Mohawks jersey.The calendar will say 2020, but the Prince George Spruce Kings will throw it back to the 1970’s for one night only, and become the Prince George Mohawks. The Mohawks Alumni will be in attendance, and a first intermission ceremony will recognize the accomplishments of 5 Coy Cups (Senior AA Provincial Champions) and 1 Hardy Cup (Senior AA National Champions) that were won in 8 years between 1970 and 1978.
Penticton Vees Add Niedermayer To Roster:
Josh Niedermayer has signed with the Penticton Vees as an affiliate player and the 15-year-old made his debut in the BCHL on Friday against Powell River. His brother Jackson is a first year forward with the Vees this season. Josh is a defenceman for the Okanagan Hockey Academy Red Midget Prep team. He has 6 goals and 9 assists in 20 games with OHA so far in 2019-20.
Cardinal Commits To Surrey Eagles For 2020-21 Season:
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