Haas' Hub
Week 10 of the BCHL season is now in the books and three teams came up with big wins over the weekend. Cowichan knocked off both Victoria and Powell River, Langley bested both Nanaimo and Powell River, and Alberni Valley defeated Salmon Arm.
The Cowichan Valley Capitals might be the best team in the league in regards to comebacks as they boast three league highs: they have eight wins when not scoring first, six victories when trailing after one period, and two wins when trailing after forty minutes of play. Head Coach and General Manager Scott Robinson summed it up by telling Don Bodger – Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial, “If we're anything, we're exciting. The games here have been unreal all year, with the exception of a Nanaimo game where we were not ourselves. It's exciting and they're torturing us as coaches.'' The full article is here.
Despite having the fourth best record in the Coastal Conference the Langley Chiefs average the fewest shots per game in the Conference at 29.1. The Chiefs are the only team to not have a loss in overtime this season with one win and one tie.
The Vernon Vipers have outshot their opponents in 17 games straight and are 12-3-1-1 in those contests. Overall the Vipers have outshot their opponent in 21 of 24 games and average the second most shots for (33.3) and the second fewest against (26.6) in the league. Kellen Jones is on a five game point streak good for eight points after not having a point in four games. The 18-year-old Kellen missed nine games earlier this season due to injury and the Montrose native is committed to Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.
Merritt Cenntennials' Assistant Coach Bill Birks commented on his team's shots on net to Ian Webster of the Merritt Herald saying, “We missed the net a lot with our shots. No question about it. We've been stressing that in practice. Get pucks on the net. In fact, we've been getting the players to do push-ups if they miss the net. Some of them have been doing hundreds.” The article can be read here.
The Powell River Kings' Erik Vos has points in seven straight games. Vos from Hamilton, Ontario is only three goals shy of his rookie season total from last year and the 20-year-old will be off to Holy Cross in Massachusetts next season.
Travis Ouellette of the Penticton Vees is on a six game point streak. From Windsor, Ontario, Ouellette is having a solid rookie campaign as a 19-year-old and will be off to Ferris State University in Michigan next season.
Cam Reid and Myles MacRae of the Victoria Grizzlies are on a five game point streaks. The 17-year-old Reid from Delta is in his BCHL sophomore season and is heading to the University of New Hampshire next season. The Grizzlies are 13-2-0-1 when they outshoot their opponents but 2-5-0-1 when they get outshot.
The Westside Warriors' Matt Betker is on a five game point streak and also has nine points in his last seven games after posting five points in his first 18 games.
Nanaimo Clippers' Head Coach and General Manager Bill Bestwick benched three veterans, including a couple of letters, in Nanaimo's loss to Langley as he told Dan Marshall of the Wolf radio station, “Their effort was questionable, suspect and selfish. . . they were playing extremely poor,” The full Nanaimo Daily News article can be read here.
Patrick Haas, the voice of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, takes a weekly look at the top news from around the BC Hockey League. Each week, Patrick will review the headlines that have fans of the league's 16 teams buzzing.
