The Vernon Vipers are off to the Royal Bank Cup junior A national championship.
Led by McBride minor hockey product Dylan Walchuk, the Vipers came from behind to defeat the Spruce Grove Saints 4-3 in the best-of-seven Doyle Cup to earn the right to represent the Pacific region in the RBC tournament, which starts Saturday in Camrose, Alta.
The Vipers fought back from a 2-1 Doyle Cup series deficit. Walchuk scored two goals in the Vipers' 3-2 overtime win on April 21, and also scored in Vernon's series-clinching 4-2 victory on Sunday. He finished the series with four goals and two assists and was named the BCHL's player of the week.
The Northern Michigan University recruit leads all Vipers in playoff points with 21 in 23 games. He was the teams' top point-producer in the regular season with 56 in 55 games, including 24 goals.
The Vipers are going for their third-straight Royal Bank Cup title. They won it in 2009 in Victoria and again last year in Dauphin, Man. In that tournament, Walchuk scored the championship-winning goal and had the stick he used sent to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Vernon opens the RBC with the only game of the day Saturday, against the host Camrose Kodiaks. The other teams involved are the Pembroke (Ont.) Lumber Kings, Wellington (Ont.) Dukes, and the Portage (Man.) Terriers.
