91原创鈥檚 Braedon Fleming is back for another season in goal for the 91原创 91原创 hockey team, and he demonstrated why that is good news for the team when he recorded a 5-0 shutout against the Wenatchee Wild in a preseason BCHL game on Saturday night (Aug. 24).
William Winship, Tanner Versluis, Joseph Musa, Ryan Helliwell and Will Dow-Kenny scored for the 91原创.
Head coach Bobby Henderson told the 91原创 Advance Times that Fleming put his off-season to good use.
鈥淗e took his conditioning to another level,鈥� is how Henderson put it.
On the team to-do list is avenging their first-round BCHL playoff loss to the Chilliwack Chiefs, where their arch-rivals managed to come back from a 3-0 deficit to take the best-of-seven series.
READ MORE: 91原创 91原创 out of playoffs as Chilliwack Chiefs complete comeback with game seven win
Hostilities were set to be renewed on Thursday night (Aug. 29) at the Chiefs鈥� new stadium.
Henderson suggested it would be a 鈥渟pirited鈥� match.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always history with us and Chilliwack, but at this stage of the game we鈥檙e trying to finalize our roster,鈥� the coach cautioned.
While much of the team makeup has been decided, he noted there are still a few positions to fill.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a handful of guys fighting it out for the last two or three spots.鈥�
He indicated the 91原创 defense will look a lot like the previous season鈥檚 version.
鈥淥n defense, we鈥檒l have five guys that were on our hockey team last year.鈥�
Henderson believes 91原创 goaltending and defence was 鈥渙ne of the best in the league last year, if not the country.鈥�
But there could be some changes offensively.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a couple of high-end forwards that we鈥檙e excited about.鈥�
Up next:
91原创 play Coquitlam Express at George Preston on Wednesday (Aug. 28) at 7:15 p.m..
Then, 91原创 goes to Chilliwack for the grand opening of the Sardis sports complex on Thursday (Aug 29) at 6 p.m. It has been sold out.
Friday night, the team returns to George Preston centre to take on the Nanaimo Clippers at 7:15.
Regular season play starts on Saturday, September seventh with a home game against Coquitlam at 7:15 p.m. vs the Coquitlam Express.
91原创 and the Chiefs will have their first regular season rematch on Sunday, Sept. 8th at 2:30 p.m.
The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) will again have a 58 game season.
Each team will play 28 home and away games and have an additional two games played at the BCHL Showcase Festival presented by Bauer.
Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 17 teams playing in three divisions; Interior, Island and Mainland.
Winners of the BCHL Fred Page Cup win the right to play the Alberta Junior Hockey League champion in the Doyle Cup, and the winner of that match goes on to play in the National Junior A Championship.
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Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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