Five days after clinching their spot in the Interior Conference semifinals, the Penticton Vees now know who their opponent will be in the next round.
Fred Harbinson’s Vees will meet the Prince George Spruce Kings on Thursday night, April 14, at the South Okanagan Events Centre for Game No. 1 of the best-of-seven, second-round clash.
The matchup wasn’t made official until Monday night when the Salmon Arm Silverbacks eliminated the Wenatchee Wild in the playoffs’ first round, setting up a series between themselves and the West Kelowna Warriors and leaving the top-seeded Vees with the Spruce Kings.
A Wenatchee win would have instead prompted a second-round series between themselves and the Vees, based on the Interior Conference’s regular-season seeding.
The Silverbacks’ win, however, ensured that the conference’s top-ranked teams would advance and each play at least four more playoff games in 2022.
It’s been 13 years since Penticton and Prince George met in the BCHL’s playoffs, a meeting that saw the Vees get the better of the Spruce Kings in five games.
In six regular-season matchups during the 2021-2022 campaign, the teams each won three games.
Prince George outscored Penticton in the season series by a margin of 19-16.
The best-of-seven series will start with two games in the South Okanagan on April 14 and 16, respectively, before shifting to Prince George for games three and four on April 18 and 19.
If necessary, the two cities will alternate hosting from there on, with Game No.7 currently scheduled for April 25 at the SOEC.
Tickets for the series’ first game on Thursday are now on sale at valleyfirsttix.com.
Puck drop for all the second-round games will be at 7 p.m.
READ MORE: Penticton Vees clinch spot in 2nd round of BCHL Playoffs
@lgllockhart
logan.lockhart@pentictonwesternnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.