Head Coach Colin Birkas has helped steady the ship after Darren Naylor was suspended earlier in the year, helping the team to a 22-4-2 record since, including playoffs. (Gary Dorlund)

By Alex Rawnsley

FINAL COUNTDOWN

Clippers primed for Penticton showdown as BCHL Final begins

May 13, 2022 | 5:22 AM

NANAIMO — They’ve been head and shoulders above anyone else in the BCHL Playoffs to date, and finally they’ll meet head to head.

The 12-0 Nanaimo Clippers open the Fred Page Cup final in Penticton against the 12-1 Vees on Friday, May 13. Game two is the following night before the series shifts to Nanaimo for games three and four on Tuesday May 17 and Wednesday, May 18.

Colin Birkas, Clippers Head Coach, told NanaimoNewsNOW the perfect record through series against Surrey, Chilliwack and Langley never felt like sweeps until the buzzer went.

“Never during the sweep have we really let ourselves go and think ‘if we get the sweep we’re going to get the rest.’ In the moment, they’ve all felt like really tough battles to get through and I point to Chilliwack specifically, that still does not feel like a sweep.”

Nanaimo comfortably dispatched the Eagles to open their playoff run, before more tightly contested series against the Chiefs and Rivermen.

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Birkas added their series against Chilliwack, featuring three one-goal games including one in overtime, will hold them in good stead ahead of the final against Penticton.

“(The Vees are) similar to Chilliwack maybe in terms of style and roster composition, that would be the closest comparison. They’re a different animal, a cut above most teams in this league and it’s going to be a showdown.”

The teams met once in the regular season, a 7-3 Penticton win at Frank Crane Arena.

The Clippers swarm Keighan Gerrie following an overtime winner in game three against the Chilliwack Chiefs at Frank Crane Arena on April 18. (Gary Dorlund)

Third year BCHL veteran and Clippers leading scorer Sean Donaldson is relishing the opportunity to suit up in a league final once more.

He was a member of the 2019 Prince George Spruce Kings who won the Fred Page Cup in similarly dominating fashion, going 16-1.

Donaldson said the key is cliche, taking things shift by shift.

“Just getting better every game as a team and yourself. Obviously playoff hockey is a lot different so the biggest thing is you’ve got to have the mind of a goldfish, short term memory when you have a bad shift or whatever it is you just have to turn the page and focus what’s in front of you.”

The team travelled to Penticton on Thursday, May 12 and will have the opportunity to skate at the South Okanagan Events Centre prior to Friday night’s opener.

It will be one of the last chances to fine tune a game plan tailored for the Vees.

“Preparation is really big, the team best prepared usually has the advantage,” Donaldson said. “We’re definitely working as a team looking into them a lot as I’m sure they are to us. I’m doing some work with the coaches, looking at the goalies and some of their tendencies.”

Sean Donaldson (left) and Tristan Fraser (right) celebrate after the handshakes following Nanaimo’s first round win over the Surrey Eagles. (Gary Dorlund)

The Vees, a perennial powerhouse in the BCHL, are also riding a 12-game win streak. Following an opening night loss to Trail in late March, the Vees have run the table against the Smoke Eaters, Prince George Spruce Kings and West Kelowna Warriors.

Friday’s puck drop will also mark the start of the seventh BCHL final matchup between Nanaimo and Penticton, with each team winning three each.

The Clippers won three in a row in the 1970’s, however Penticton have the last three wins including the most recent one in 2015.

In support of their respective teams, Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog and his Penticton counterpart John Vassilaki have agreed to a friendly wager.

The loser must don the opposing team’s jersey for a day, including a council meeting, donate $100 to a charity of the winner’s choice and send a treat to their office to toast the win.

Krog has agreed to a plate of Nanaimo bars, while Vassilaki offered up a bottle of local wine.

CLIP NOTES:

• Sean Donaldson co-leads the BCHL in playoff points with 19, along side Josh Nadeau and Luc Wilson from the Vees. Donaldson’s 12 goals in as many games is a league-high.
• Penticton boasts the league’s top powerplay of teams which made it out of the first round. They’ve scored 18 goals on 58 attempts, or 31 per cent of the time. Nanaimo has just five goals on 34 opportunities for a 14.7 per cent efficiency.
• The Vees’ penalty kill is first in the BCHL, conceding just four goals against. Penalty killers have scored four times shorthanded over the 13 games played to date. Nanaimo ranks third with six goals against and three shorthanded markers.

— with files from Dan Marshall

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