Nicole’s Page 'o' Hockey FunBCHL Hockey InfoSurrey and Chilliwack just finished the second round of play-offs, and they were fighting for the Coastal Division Title. The winner of that series, Chilliwack, will play the winner of the Interior Division series. The two teams that fought fo the title were the Vernon Vipers and the Prince George Spruce Kings. The winner of that series was Vernon. The South Surrey Eagles won the National Junior "A" Championship (Royal Bank Cup) last year, which makes that seven out of the last thirteen years that a BCHL team has won that title. The following are some local teams and some of the top teams in the league. Check out all of their pages and you'll find out a lot of cool information.
These are the three top scorers for the BCHL this regular season. In order they are, Brian Maloney - Chilliwack Chiefs, John McNabb - South Surrey Eagles,Lanny Gare - Vernon Vipers. John McNabb was the lead scorer followed by Brian Maloney and Lanny Gare, respectively.
The first game played in the BCHL was on October 31,1961. This game was played in Vernon where the Canadians played the Kelowna Buckaroos. Kelowna no longer has a team in the BCHL, but Vernon is still around, and they've changed their name to the Vipers. Fans are the most important part of maintaining a team in this league, because they bring in all of the money! Without the fans, teams have to close down. In the 1996/1997 season, the 13 teams joined forces and drew in a combined crowd of half a million fans! Sounds like there are a lot of hockey fans out there. The fans are also there to support the players in their trek to the Royal Bank Cup Title. The teams cover all of the room and board costs through billets, and they also pay for the players' uniforms, equipment and travel expenses. Lucky guys! I know you're probably wondering if any of these so-called hockey stars ever make it to the NHL. Well, here's a few names that you might recognize: Paul Kariya, Brett Hull and Andy Moog. These three guys started playing as peewees in this lovely province. One huge difference between Junior hockey and the NHL is that these players play the game because they love it; they are not playing because of their salary. Also, in Junior level hockey, the players are playing towards receiving a scholarship. The Junior hockey teams are like families. They see each other every day, in practice or in weight training, they take trips together almost every weekend, and they know each other well. When you can see two players on the ice who have played together for a consecutive number of years, you can see the way they know each other's every move. It's neat to watch that magic on the ice.
The All-Star Game was held in Powell River this year. January 13,1999 was the day that the Coastal and Interior Divisions met. The lack of fans was noticeable by both fans and players. You can see this in the pictures above. This was a disappointing factor in the excitement of the All-Star game. Powell River fans weren't filling the seats; it was mostly family and friends of other all-star players.The night before, the players and coaches met for a banquet in Powell River. The teams had one practice together on the morning of the game night. The game was very close with all the goals looking very nice. It looked as if some of these players had played together before. The ref called no fouls, because he wanted the game to keep moving, and he wanted to keep it fun. There were a few scouts out at the game, but I only saw one, from the Vancouver Canucks. That team needs all the help it can get. Ha Ha! There was also a skills competition after the second period which consisted of the fastest skater, and who could score the most goals in thirty seconds. All in all, it was a fun time, and after the game in the pub everyone talked about the night. Here is my Media Studies teacher's home page; he taught me how to do all of this stuff:Go Marsh Soules' Home Page. Questions about the BCHL? e-mail me! To go to the top of the page, click Top |
