The 2024 Fred Page Cup Final is set to begin tomorrow night with a matchup between the top two teams in the league, the Surrey Eagles taking on the Penticton Vees. We get you set with a full preview of the BCHL championship series.
#1 Surrey Eagles (Coastal Conference) vs. #1 Penticton Vees (Interior Conference)
Head to Head:
The Vees won the only meeting between the teams by a 4-1 final on Jan. 27 in Penticton.
Top Playoff Performers:
Surrey – F Micah Berger (20 points), F Caden Cranston (18 points), F Aaron Schwartz (18 points), D Ty Brassington (13 points), G Jaiden Sharma (.944 save percentage)
Penticton – F Callum Arnott (14 points), F Billy Renfrew (11 points), D Larry Keenan (9 points), G Will Ingemann (.945 save percentage)
Road to the Finals:
Surrey:
Round 1: Defeated Cowichan Valley Capitals 4-1
Round 2: Defeated Victoria Grizzlies 4-2
Round 3: Defeated Alberni Valley Bulldogs 4-3
Penticton:
Round 1: Defeated Prince George Spruce Kings 4-0
Round 2: Defeated Vernon Vipers 4-1
Round 3: Defeated Salmon Arm Silverbacks 4-3
Playoff History:
This is the second time in playoff history that the two teams will meet in the Finals. The South Surrey Eagles beat the Penticton Panthers in five games in 1998 and, most recently, the Eagles beat the Vees in six games to capture the 2013 championship.
Breakdown:
This is a matchup of the top two regular-season teams with the Eagles finishing first overall with a record of 44-8-2-0 and the Vees ending their season in second place overall ,and first in the Interior Conference, with a 38-10-3-3 record. Each team is also coming off of a Game 7 win in their respective Conference Finals as Surrey beat the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 3-2 in the deciding game, while Penticton scored twice in the final 30 seconds of the third period to win 4-3.
The championship series is also a matchup of the best offensive team in the league going up against the best defensive group.
The Eagles led the regular season in goals scored, averaging 4.17 per game. They also have the top-two regular season scorers in Caden Cranston, who was also named the BCHL’s Most Valuable Player, as well as Aaron Schwartz, who finished with 86 and 81 points respectively. In the playoffs, Surrey’s top scorer has been late-season acquisition Micah Berger, who has 20 points in 18 games, including eight goals, followed closely by Cranston and Schwartz who have 18 points each. The Eagles are also a very strong defensive team with elite goaltending and finished second in the league in goals against during the regular season. Surrey’s number-one goaltender Ajeet Gundarah led the BCHL with a .931 save percentage in the regular season and was voted as the winner of the Michael Garteig Trophy for the league’s Top Goaltender. In the playoffs, he has split time fairly evenly with fellow netminder Jaiden Sharma, who owns a .944 save percentage in the postseason. They have also received plenty of production from their blueline in the playoffs with captain Ty Brassington leading all BCHL defencemen with 13 points, followed closely by Nathan Oickle with 12 points and Rylan Bonkowski with 11.
The Vees were the best defensive team in the league in the regular season, averaging 2.15 goals against per game. This was in large part due to their stellar goaltending duo in Will Ingemann and Andrew Ness. The goaltenders shared the Wally Forslund Trophy for the top goaltending duo in the regular season based on goals-against average. The two netminders split games evenly to start the playoffs, but Ingemann has taken the starter’s role and run with it in recent games, starting six straight to finish their Interior Conference Final series with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Ingemann now owns a league-best .945 save percentage in the playoffs, as well as a 1.23 goals-against average, also tops among goalies. The defence corps is led by Detroit Red Wings draft pick Larry Keenan who has nine points to lead all Vees defenders, as well as Second-Team All-Star and member of the All-Rookie Team Francesco Dell’Elce. This is on top of Game 7 hero Nolan Stevenson who scored his first two goals of the postseason in the third period of the deciding game against Salmon Arm, including the game-winner with just 14 seconds remaining. At the forward position, team co-captain Callum Arnott has led the charge for Penticton and has a team-high seven goals and 14 points.
Fast Facts:
- Penticton has won a league-high 14 Fred Page Cup titles
- The Vees are looking to become the first team to win three straight championships since the Vernon Vipers accomplished the feat from 2009 to 2011
- Surrey is trying to become the first Lower Mainland team to win the Fred Page Cup since the Coquitlam Express won in 2014
Series Schedule:
Game 1: Friday, May 17 – 7:30 p.m. PT at South Surrey Arena (Surrey)
Game 2: Saturday, May 18 – 7 p.m. PT at South Surrey Arena (Surrey)
Game 3: Tuesday, May 21 – 7 p.m. PT at South Okanagan Events Centre (Penticton)
Game 4: Wednesday, May 22 – 7 p.m. PT at South Okanagan Events Centre (Penticton)
Game 5: Friday, May 24 – 7:30 p.m. PT at South Surrey Arena (Surrey)*
Game 6: Sunday, May 26 – 5 p.m. PT at South Okanagan Events Centre (Penticton)*
Game 7: Tuesday, May 28 – 7:15 p.m. PT at South Surrey Arena (Surrey)*
*If necessary
