The Penticton Vees will be getting their reps in ahead of the 2016-17 BCHL regular season.
Tuesday the team announced their six-game exhibition schedule, which includes three games at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
The Vees will play a pair of games against Trail, Vernon and West Kelowna from Aug. 24 to Sept. 3. Penticton’s three exhibition home games are Aug. 24 against the Warriors, Aug. 30 versus Vernon and Sept. 2 against the Smoke Eaters. They’re in Vernon on Aug. 25 and then make visits to West Kelowna and Trail on Aug. 31 and Sept. 3. All three Vees’ exhibition home games are 7 p.m. starts.
Exhibition tickets are on sale now and are just $5 for adults and seniors. Students and children 18 and under are free, courtesy of Peter’s Bros. Construction. Fans can pick up their exhibition tickets at the Valley First Box Office (at the SOEC).
The Penticton Vees open their 2016-17 BCHL season on Sept. 10.
Penticton begins the regular season in Prince George against Spruce Kings. It’s the first of a seven-game stretch that takes them to the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island the following weekend, making stops in Powell River, Alberni Valley and Cowichan Valley, Sept. 16 to 18. Then it’s a trip to the Fraser Valley for the annual BCHL Bauer Showcase in Chilliwack, where the Vees play Langley and Prince George, on Sept. 22 and 23. The road odyssey ends against the RBC Cup champion West Kelowna Warriors at Royal LePage Place on Sept. 30.
Penticton opens the doors at the SOEC on
Oct. 1 when they face the Trail Smoke Eaters. The Vees have 18 prime nights at home this season, six Friday games, 12 on Saturdays and nine “Wicked Wednesday” games, and they have one Sunday matinee. Friday and Wednesday games will be at 7 p.m. and Saturdays will once again be 6 p.m. faceoffs.
The Vees wrap up the regular season Feb. 24 in Chilliwack.
Vees add coaching staff
The Penticton Vees, hosts of the 2017 Western Canada Cup, finalized their coaching staff ahead of the 2016-17 season
The organization announced the hiring of assistant coach Matt Fraser and video coach Adam West.
Fraser hails from Ontario, but isn’t unfamiliar to the Okanagan and Penticton. The 24-year-old attended the Okanagan Hockey Academy, before playing various levels of junior hockey in Canada and the United States from 2009-2012. He then attended Georgian College in his hometown, where he played for their men’s hockey team in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association.
West, a Calgary native, comes to Penticton from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Vierumaki, Finland. West is currently enrolled in their Bachelor of Sports and Leisure Management program. While at school, West served as an assistant coach for the past two years with Vierumaki United in the Finnish Mestis Under-20 junior league. He has also served as a goalie coach for the Northwest Calgary Athletic Association and Southern Alberta Selects, and was an goalie instructor with Hockey Canada.
