The B.C. Hockey League is taking a look at each of its 18-member teams, how the premature end-of-season affected them, and how they’re looking forward to the future.
The forced shutdown of the league playoffs in March affected the entire league, but the teams that were impacted the most were obviously the ones still contending for a Fred Page Cup.
With the completion of Round 1 of the playoffs, eight teams were coming off a series win and feeling great about their chances of winning a championship.
One of these teams was the Vernon Vipers.
They were coming off the 2018-19 season where they made it to the Fred Page Cup Finals and were preparing for a second-round date with their rivals the Penticton Vees after dispatching the Wenatchee Wild in the first round. According to the team’s head coach and general manager Jason McKee, the team was just starting to fire on all cylinders after a season that saw steady improvement from month to month.
“Teams talk about playing their best hockey when it matters the most,” said McKee. “For anybody that followed our team from September to March, I think it was pretty obvious that we were playing our best hockey in the playoffs. We felt like we were in a really good spot going into Round 2. We were a confident group playing extremely well, so it was really disheartening for our group, knowing that we were at our best. Not being able to continue that was difficult.”
The story continues with McKee talking about the recruits coming to the Snakes’ Den for the 2020-21 season.
To view the entire story, click here.
READ MORE: Vernon Vipers score 8, advance to second round of playoffs
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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