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Vees look to strengthen bond on road

Among the rookie initiations planned during the Penticton Vees’ upcoming five-game road swing through the coast is discovering who has a great voice.
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Among the rookie initiations planned during the Penticton Vees’ upcoming five-game road swing through the coast is discovering who has a great voice.

However, Vees captain Derik Johnson has made no secret about who he believes is good.

“My guess is (Chad) Bannor,” said Johnson. “I have had the pleasure of hearing Chad Bannor sing before and pretty excited to hear it on the ferry. He’s very good. He could win American Idol. He has deep country roots.”

When asked about his vocal talents, Bannor smiled and downplayed it.

“The boys tell me I do, I don’t know if I’d agree with that,” said Bannor, who hails from Hermantown, Minn. and loves country music. “I’ve always been kind of a singer. Every time I get in the car. Always just singing a long. I get it going in the locker room sometimes too. The boys give me some trouble with that.”

Bannor, who has seen action in just 17 games during his rookie season, is looking forward to the road trip, which they will head for on Monday.

“We’ll see what the vets have in store for us rookies,” said Bannor, who is a fan of George Strait and Eric Church.

The Vees captain revealed that defenceman Joey Laleggia will be making it interesting for a lot of players.

“Hallsy (Mark Hall) and I have been discussing our plans for a couple of little rookie initiations,” said Johnson, who wouldn’t reveal what the tricks will be. “Some of them get pretty gutless. I just wouldn’t want anyone else to find out.”

Last year the Vees went on their coastal trip earlier in the season helping them forge a bond sooner. However, Johnson still likes the timing of this one.

“This year our team has been a bit different,” he said. “We have been a pretty close knit group. Right from the beginning we have had a lot of older guys reaching out to younger guys and we have been hanging out and being together as a team for quite a few different functions. We have a big opportunity to go on the road and bond as a team and get even closer.”

As much as the Vees will have fun on the bus, they are also focused on taking care of business. Both Laleggia and Johnson said having success against Coquitlam and Powell River Friday and Saturday would provide momentum for the road.

“We have already seen Coquitlam before,” said Laleggia of their 7-5 win against the Express. “It came right down to the wire actually. We’re not going to take them lightly. Then we have Powell River on Saturday. A couple of us went and watched them in Westside last night (Tuesday, Powell River won 3-2) and they are a pretty good hockey team. We’re pretty excited.”

The Vees learned that the Powell River Kings have a large D-core that is mobile with solid players up front. The Kings’ smallest defenceman is six-foot, 160 pound Braden Pears, while their biggest is Justin Dasilva, who stands six-foot-five and weighs 215 pounds.

“They really buy into their coaches style,” said Laleggia.

Vees assistant coach Steve Cawley said during practice they have focused on getting stronger on the wall and working with wingers to get pucks out of the zone.

“A lot of battle drills for that,” said Cawley, who along with assistant coach Michael Hengen, lectured the players and put them through a small bag skate for a poor practice effort Wednesday while coach Fred Harbinson was away. “We have worked on some special teams. That has been a strength of our team up until now. We hope to continue building from that.”

In the last five games, the Vees power play has been efficient 40 per cent in the last five games.

Cawley added that strong goaltending and special teams will be key as they expect to have battles with Powell River (34-6-3-2), Cowichan Valley (18-23-1-5), Nanaimo (21-19-1-5), Victoria (25-19-0-3) and Alberni Valley (19-21-4-3). Alberni Valley has the best power play at 23 per cent. Cowichan Valley has the worst at 16 per cent.

“They are always looking to beat us,” he said. “Everybody wants to beat the Penticton Vees, especially at home. I don’t really think we’re satisfied not getting two points every night at this point in the season.”

Ice chips: Penticton Vees fans showed their generosity and community spirit at last Friday’s game by donating one tonne of food to the Feed the Valley initiative.

Logan Johnston tries to find a hole in Joel Rumpel’s pads with defenceman Chad Bannor trying to stop him during practice on Wednesday. The Vees host Coquitlam Friday and Powell River Saturday. The Vees have called affiliate player Carter Rigby of Penticton to join them on their Coastal road trip. In 25 games with the Osoyoos Coyotes in the KIJHL, Rigby has 22 goals and 41 points.