Chilliwack Chiefs vs Penticton Vees
Friday November 25th 7pm
Prospera Centre Chilliwack
The BCHL celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend with all teams in the league facing a conference rival in a home and home set beginning Friday night.
The Chiefs have drawn the Penticton Vees, the team that sits atop the league standings with a record of 18-3-0-2. The series starts in Chilliwack Friday night.
The race for playoff spots in the interior conference continues to be a tight one. The Vees, averaging more than five goals per game, have an eleven point cushion over the second place Merritt Centennials (27 points) but after that only two points separate teams two through five.
The Vernon Vipers who sat alone in second place a week ago showed just how quickly the standings can change when they dropped consecutive games to Chilliwack, Surrey and Langley last weekend. The Vipers are now in third with 26 points, one more than both the Chiefs and Prince George Spruce Kings. Westside’s nine game losing streak has them nine points back of the Chiefs and Spruce Kings. The Chiefs still have a minimum of one game in hand on all other teams in the conference.
The Chiefs made their first appearance of the season on the Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings this week. They didn’t crack the top 20 but they did garner an honorable mention. . Two BCHL teams made the top twenty. Penticton is third while the Surrey Eagles came in at number nineteen.
As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, the BCHL will be announcing the results of the BCHL All-Time Player Fan Poll which has been running on the league’s site for the last number of weeks. Several players who played in Chilliwack were on the ballot including Ron Greschner, Shawn Horcoff, Joey Potskin, Jeff Tambellini and current Chiefs assistant coach Doug Ast. The three 50 vote getters will be announced.
At Friday’s game, KidSport, an organization that provides support to children in order to remove financial barriers that prevent them from playing organized sport will be on site selling BCHL themed T Shirts to raise money for their great cause. There will also be some Chiefs signed items available for purchase and each of the first 400 fans through the door will receive a free BCHL 50th Anniversary commemorative magazine.
The Chiefs will also be recognizing local community sports organizations at Friday's game.
Chilliwack FC, Chilliwack Minor Football, Chilliwack Minor Baseball, Cheam Vaulting/Freedom Acrobatics, and the Sardis Fliers will all be on hand with displays on the south concourse.
The game is sponsored by Fraser Valley Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Centre.
Chilliwack FC will be raffling off one spring registration as well as a pair of tickets and dinner to the Vancouver Whitecaps 2012 Home Opener.
Cheam Vaulting/Freedom Acrobatics will be handing out coupons and also hosting a draw. You must be at the game to participate in both draws. Each organization is using Friday's game as a fundraiser. Contact them directly to find out more.
