The Penticton Vees and the Nanaimo Clippers will fight for the BCHL Championship as the last two teams standing in the playoffs. The two powerhouse teams have been nothing short of dominant and assertive in their journey to the Fred Page Cup Finals.
The Penticton Vees have only lost once in these playoffs and won the Interior Conference Championship on Wednesday, May 4th, against the West Kelowna Warriors. The Vees swept the Warriors in four games, winning in front of their opponent’s home crowd at the Royal LePage Place with a 6-1 victory and clinching their ticket to the BCHL championships.
Penticton doesn’t mess around on the offensive end, as they had the best offence during the regular season, and it showed against West Kelowna, outscoring them 25-4 over the four-game sweep.
Not only can they score, but they can also defend, as the Vees allowed the fewest number of goals during the regular season, only allowing 123 goals, in 54 games, with a goal differential of 133 on the season. That shows how relentless this team is on both ends of the ice.
A pair of 6-1 games on Wednesday completed sweeps in both conference finals, which means Penticton and Nanaimo will battle for the 2022 Fred Page Cup. Here are the highlights in #BCHLTonight!#BCHL | #BCHLPlayoffs | @ChevroletCanada pic.twitter.com/9nAy5ESpwN
— BCHL (@BCHockeyLeague) May 5, 2022
On the other side, Nanaimo hasn’t lost a single game this postseason, winning all 12 games to clinch their spot in the finals. They played the Langley Rivermen on Wednesday, May 4th, for the Coastal Conference Championship and defeated them in four games, winning 6-1 in their final matchup. They also shut out Langley in two of their four games played in the series.
These two teams were much better than their previous opponents, so it’ll be interesting to see how they match up in their first game of the finals. Both teams haven’t been put to the test this postseason, so it will come down to how well each team prepares mentally for what’s to come in the final stage of their quest for the cup. There can only be one team in the end, and I think it’ll take more than four games to decide who’s the last one standing.
We have a major bracket update! The Fred Page Cup Final matchup is set. Stay tuned for a full series schedule.https://t.co/LwlKv23s8K#BCHL | #BCHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/hRGYzziOY5
— BCHL (@BCHockeyLeague) May 5, 2022
Game 1 of the Fred Page Cup Finals will be held at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Friday, May 13th, as Nanaimo will be visiting Penticton at their home arena. Puck drop will be at 7:00 pm.