The Fred Page Cup Finals begin Friday night at South Surrey Arena as the Coastal Conference champion Surrey Eagles host the Interior Conference Champion Penticton Vees.
The series winner earns the right to go to the inaugural Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup in Nanaimo. The top two clubs at that event will go to the RBC Cup national championship in Summerside, PEI.
This marks the first time a Finals game has been played in a Mainland location since 2006 when the Burnaby Express were on their way to a national championship.
It's the second-straight year and third time in six years that the Vees have been in the BCHL Finals. They swept the Nanaimo Clippers in 2008 and of course won it last year on their way to a national championship.
The last time the Eagles were in the Finals was 2005 when the defeated the Vernon Vipers four game to one to advance to the Doyle Cup.
To bring you close up to this year's matchup, make sure you check out the team's respective play-by-play broadcasters and their blogs. Eagles voice Brendan Batchelor is in his first season in the BCHL while Vees voice Fraser Rodgers is in his second with Penticton but is in his fifth-straight Finals after three with the Powell River Kings:
While Brendan and Fraser will keep you right up to date, here's a few other angles to watch out for in the Fred Page Cup Finals.
– Future teammates face off: Vees forward Wade Murphy and defenceman Troy Stecher go up against Eagles forward Adam Tambellini. All three have scholarships University of North Dakota for next season.
– Former teammates collide: Murphy, Stecher, Vees forward Mike Rebry and defenceman James De Haas played on Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge in November along with Eagles defenceman Devon Toews.
– NHL Bloodlines: Penticton Vees forward Louie Nanne is the grandson of former Minnesota North Stars general manager and 1980 USA Olympic team architect Lou Nanne. Surrey's Tambellini is the son of Edmonton Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini. Eagles forward Brady Shaw is the son of St. Louis Blues assistant coach Brad Shaw. Eagles assistant coach is former NHLer Peter Schaefer.
– Tale of the ‘tenders: Vees goalie Chad Katunar, at 6-foot-6, is the tallest goalie in the BCHL while Eagles netminder Michael Santaguida is listed at 5-foot-9. Santaguida leads playoff netminders with a .956 save percentage and. 1.61 goals-against average.
– NHL Prospects: Nanne is a draft pick of the Minnesota Wild and De Haas is a Detroit Red Wings draft pick.
– NHL Draft hopefuls: Tambellini and Katunar were listed by NHL Central Scouting in the most recent list of the top North American players. Tambellini is the highest-rated Junior A player in Canada. Vees playmaking forward Murphy is in his last season of draft eligibility and an NHL team could take a flier on him. Eagles defenceman Toews and Vees defenceman Stecher have an outside chance to be selected as well.
