Vipers Do It Up For Playoffs:

This is in todays Morning Star website:

Vipers do it up for playoffs

Nothing screams team unity like a bunch of blond mohawks. And the peroxide was flowing freely as the Vernon Vipers trimmed up for another run at the B.C. Hockey League’s Fred Page Cup.
Game 1 of the best-of-seven Interior Conference semifinal against the Penticton Vees goes tonight at Wesbild Centre. The Vees shaded the Prince George Spruce Kings 6-4 to win their best-of-five elimination round 3-2 Wednesday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Game 2 goes Saturday at Wesbild, with the series heading to Penticton for games 3 and 4, Tuesday and Wednesday.
If necessary, game 5 goes Friday at Wesbild, with game 6 Saturday in Penticton, and game 7 Tuesday, Mar. 17 in Vernon.
The Vipers’ new hairdos range from hilarious – Kyle Bigos, Kory Roy and Mike Collins – to surprisingly stylish.
“Kory Roy’s is the funniest by far, but Nick Amies’ and Cam Brodie’s look the most professional,” grinned Bigos. “I think he (Amies) loves going to school looking like that, showing that he’s part of the team.
“I’m going to be wearing it for a while. I even bought an extra box (of dye) or two to touch it up in case it starts fading.”
Added Vipers’ captain Chris Crowell: “I had to do mine twice, and some guys had to do their’s three times. It does burn after while, like when you leave it in for twice the recommended time.
“We actually voted on it and for some reason blond mohawks won by a landslide.”
Asked if he considered adopting the new hairstyle, Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner chuckled: “If Todd (Miller) would get one, I would get one. Then again...no.”
Despite the lighthearted demeanour around the dressing room, the Vipers have been all business on the ice. Ferner has put the players through intense practice to ensure they stay focussed.
“It’s been a long 10 days here, but our guys are still pretty upbeat and they’re chomping at the bit,” said Ferner. “They need to play a hockey game here real soon.
“For the most part we’re healthy. They’ve worked hard this week, they’ve battled, and believe it or not, we got banged up in practice. We feel they’re game-ready.”
Despite losing veteran playmaker Denver Manderson to season-ending surgery, the Vees rolled into the postseason having won eight of their last 10 games.
Vernon owned the season series with Penticton at 6-2, and the returning Vipers will remember bowing to the Vees in a heartbreaking seven-game series last year.
“Losing to them in Game 7 was tough, and that’s still pretty fresh in the mind of a lot of the returning guys,” said Crowell. “But we’re not worrying as much about the other team. We’re making sure that we’re ready to go. We feel that if we play at our best, that’s all that matters.”
Bigos is as excited as a kid on Christmas morning for the playoffs to start.
“We’ve been waiting for so long. We’ve been counting down the sleeps.”
The Vees realize they’re going up against a deeper Vipers team than the one they met last year.
“That’s an uphill battle,” said Vees’ head coach Fred Harbinson. “You’ve got probably the best team in the entire BCHL. You’ve got a great coach there who won coach-of-the-year. They are definitely a team that’s had our number all year long.”
Added Vees’ d-man Devon Krogh: “Our season record isn’t the strongest against them. I think it’s going to take a lot of hard work and I think we have a way better team than we did at the beginning of the season.”
There will be a tailgate party tonight, starting at 5:00 in the Wesbild parking lot. There will be rally towels for the first 1,000 fans. The Vipers are also offering a discount on tickets – buy a Game 1 ticket at regular price, and get Game 2 for $6.