The B.C. Hockey League playoff countdown clock is ticking.
The Penticton Vees get set to host the Cowichan Valley Capitals Thursday in the opening round of the Fred Page Cup playoffs at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Fresh off the team’s eighth consecutive Interior Division pennant win, the Vees are taking on the Island Division cross over team that finished with 39 fewer points in the regular season.
But Penticton head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson isn’t about to take the Caps lightly, saying early any team that makes the playoffs in the tight-knit league is a force to reckon with.
He added that’s especially true with his squad just finishing up with a five-win, five-loss record in its last 10 games of the season.
The one thing fans can expect in the series is plenty of physical hockey.
The Caps were the most penalized team in the league with 942 penalty minutes and only squad to be shorthanded more than 300 times.
Capitals veteran head coach Mike Vandekamp was ejected during the third period of their first meeting with the Vees won by Penticton 4-2 in Cowichan.
In the rematch a month later in Penticton Caps Dimitri Mikrogiannakis was thrown out of the game for a checking from behind major and suspended four games.
Kolten Cousins was ejected for a one-man fight, Andrew Troy was also ejected during the scrum while Cole Broadhurst and Preston Broadziak were ejected in the final minute of the game.
The Vees clinched the division title with a 4-0 win over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Saturday, coming off a 5-2 win the previous night against the Silverbacks.
Saturday’s win was also a milestone for Harbinson who joined the 500-win club, joining Harvey Smyl, Kent Lewis and Bill Bestwick.
Game two is Saturday at the SOEC at 6 p.m. and the series shifts to Cowichan Tuesday and Wednesday.
Meanwhile, accolades for Penticton Vees James Miller and Jack LaFontaine continue to pour in with the two named to the B.C. Hockey League’s first all star team.
Chosen by the league’s broadcasters, Miller, 21, was recently named the BCHL’s regular season top defenceman and LaFontaine, 21, the top goalie.
Related: Double win for Okanagan Junior A team in season finalé
LaFontaine and Vees backup netminder shared the Wally Forslund Trophy as top goalie tandem with the lowest combined goals against average.
Miller played all 58 games for the Vees and finished his junior career as the club’s leading scorer with 18 goals and 44 assists, more than he had his previous four seasons of junior hockey combined.
Related: Okanagan junior teammates win BCHL regular season hardware
Miller received an NCAA scholarship to Northern Michigan University for next season, where he will be joined by current teammate Andre Ghantous.
LaFontaine, from Toronto, returned to junior hockey from the NCAA ranks after two years at the University of Michigan. He received a scholarship to the University of Minnesota for next season.
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