The start of this year鈥檚 B.C. Hockey League Finals are upon us and the mayors of the respective cities involved have made a friendly bet to mark the occasion.

Game No. 1 of the Fred Page Cup Finals between the Penticton Vees and Alberni Valley Bulldogs goes tonight, May 12, at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

Penticton鈥檚 Julius Bloomfield and Port Alberni鈥檚 Sharie Minions have agreed to a bet that would see the losing mayor wear the opposing team鈥檚 jersey at an upcoming council meeting.

According to officials in Penticton, the losing side will ship a jersey to the winning city following the series.

After the Vees defeated the Nanaimo Clippers in the 2022 Fred Page Cup Finals, Mayor Leonard Krog wore a Vees jersey at a council meeting and sent then-Penticton Mayor John Vassilaki some Nanaimo bars.

Bloomfield and Penticton council won a bet last week, following the Vees鈥� series-clinching win against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in Game No. 5 of the Interior Conference Finals.

Salmon Arm Mayor Alan Harrison is expected to wear a Penticton jersey at an upcoming council meeting, amid the Silverbacks鈥� series loss.

Before this year, the Vees and Bulldogs have never met in the Fred Page Cup Finals.

While Penticton is aiming to win back-to-back championships in sixth in the last 15 years, Alberni Valley will be making its first-ever finals appearance.

Following Games No. 1 and 2 in Penticton this weekend, the series will shift to Vancouver Island for Games No. 3 and 4 next week, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

logan.lockhart@pentictonwesternnews.com