Friday brings the curtain-raiser on this year's Doyle Cup and for the first time in three years, the Vernon Vipers are not involved.
The Penticton Vees finished first in the Interior Conference and first in the BCHL and are trying to make good on their record-setting season. The Brooks Bandits finished first in the South Division and first in the AJHL and are trying to build on what has been the best season in their club's history.
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Here are some numbers to crunch on:
Records:
Penticton regular season: 54-4-0-1 Home: 29-0-0-1 Away: 25-4-0-1
Penticton playoffs: 12-3 Home: 6-2 Away: 6-1
Brooks regular season: 47-7-0-6 Home: 25-3-0-2 Away: 22-4-0-4
Brooks playoffs: 12-2 Home: 6-1 Away: 6-1
Scoring:
Penticton regular season: Joey Benik (30G, 66A), Mario Lucia (42G, 52A), Wade Murphy (36G, 55A)
Penticton playoffs: Murphy (9G, 9A), Benik (8G, 10A), Lucia (6G, 10A)
Brooks regular season: Matt Wilkins (34G, 65A), Cam MacLise (32G, 50A), Mark Reners (41G, 36A)
Brooks playoffs: MacLise (6G, 10A), Wilkins (7G, 8A), RJ Reed (7G, 5A)
Goaltending:
Penticton regular season: Michael Garteig (41-4, 1.93 GAA, .927 sv%), Chad Katunar (13-2, 2.87 GAA, .887 sv%)
Penticton playoffs: Garteig (0-0, 0, 0), Katunar (12-3, 1.73 GAA, .938 sv%)
Brooks regular season: Jan Obernesser (36-6-6, 2.07 GAA, .908 sv%), Michael Fredrick (11-1, 2.24 GAA, .898 sv%)
Brooks playoffs: Obernesser (12-2, 2.16 GAA, .915 sv%), Fredrick (0-0, 4.98 GAA, .800 sv%)
Coaching:
Penticton: Fred Harbinson, 5th year in Penticton, 2nd Doyle Cup appearance
Brooks: Ryan Papaioannou, 3rd year in Brooks, 1st Doyle Cup
Of note:
Vees assistant coach Michael Hengen led Vees defencemen in scoring in the 2008 playoffs, the last season Penticton was in the Doyle Cup
Brooks forward Dylan Nowakowski began this season with the BCHL's Alberni Valley Bulldogs and played 124 games in the league before being moved to Brooks Jan. 9. He has eight goals and 25 assists in 29 regular season and playoff games with the Bandits.
