The Penticton Vees now know who they’re set to face off against in the first round of the BCHL Playoffs, as they look to become the first team in 13 years to win three straight league titles.
Fred Harbinson’s squad will battle the Prince George Spruce Kings in the playoffs’ opening series, set to begin on April 5.
The Vees, who clinched top spot in the Interior Conference on March 15 in West Kelowna, still have four games to play before the end of the regular season. Prince George has solidified its place at the bottom of the standings but with the Wenatchee Wild no longer members of the BCHL, all eight teams in the division will make the playoffs this season.
Penticton on Tuesday announced the schedule for the first-round series:
• Game 1- Friday, April 5, South Okanagan Events Centre, 7 p.m.
• Game 2- Saturday, April 6, South Okanagan Events Centre, 7 p.m.
• Game 3- Tuesday, April 9, in Prince George, 7 p.m.
• Game 4- Wednesday, April 10, in Prince George, 7 p.m.
• Game 5- Friday, April 12, South Okanagan Events Centre, 7 p.m.*
• Game 6- Sunday, April 14, in Prince George, 6 p.m.*
• Game 7- Tuesday, April 16, South Okanagan Events Centre, 6 p.m.*
*If necessary
Single-game playoff tickets will go on sale March 25, at 10 a.m., the team said.
Penticton, who captured the Fred Page Cup in 2022 and 2023, won five out of six games against Prince George this season while outscoring their northern B.C. foes 32-11.
The feat of winning three straight BCHL titles hasn’t happened since the Vernon Vipers’ championship run from 2009 to 2011.
Penticton continues its end-of-regular-season stretch on Friday, March 22, when they host the Merritt Centennials on the annual “Feed the Valley Night.”
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