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2022-23 BCHL champion Penticton Vees (Photo credit: Chaisson Creative)
By Pete McIntyre
Fred Page cup

Vees win second straight BCHL championship

May 18, 2023 | 10:00 AM

The Penticton Vees won their second straight BC Hockey League championship with an almost perfect playoff season.

The Vees posted a 16-1 record, including a sweep of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in the league final, to win the Fred Page Cup. Their only loss was to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in overtime in game 4 of the Interior Final.

Penticton won game 4 Wednesday night 4-1 in Port Alberni.

The champs got goals from Josh Nadeau, Brett Moravec, Mason Poolman and Dovar Tinling, while Owen Desilets scored for the Bulldogs.

Luca Di Pasquo stopped 26 of 27 shots for the Vees and, in his first start of the playoffs, Callum Tung made 38 saves on 41 shots for Alberni Valley.

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It was the Vees league-record 14th title in franchise history and their fourth in the last seven BCHL seasons.

Penticton forward Bradly Nadeau was named the winner of the Jeff Tambellini Trophy as playoff Most Valuable Player. The 18-year-old led the BCHL Playoffs with 17 goals and had 35 points in 17 games.

“It was all a team effort,” Nadeau said. “They gave me MVP, but everyone deserved it. Everyone gave everything they had and now we get to go enjoy it as a team.”

The Vees win caps off a historic year that saw the team lose just four games in the regular season and only one in the playoffs. Over the last two postseasons, Penticton is a combined 32-2.

“It’s an unbelievable group of guys,” Vees captain Frank Djurasevic remarked. “They made coming to the rink so fun every day. It’s the closest group I’ve ever been a part of. Having so many guys back from last year made it so special for us.”

As for the Bulldogs, their season comes to an end after making the Fred Page Cup Final for the first time in franchise history.

Penticton forward Josh Nadeau was the postseason’s leading scorer with 36 points on 16 goals and a league-high 20 assists.

by Pete McIntyre
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