Storm Livin’ On The Edge:

This is in the Grande Prairie Newspaper:

Storm livin’ on the edge

TERRY FARRELL – Sports Editor

The Vernon Vipers took control of the game in the second period.
Now they have total control of the Doyle Cup series.
The Vipers are in Grande Prairie for the conclusion of the annual best-of-seven series between Alberta and B.C. junior A champions to determine a western representative at the RBC Royal Bank Cup.
Having won the first two games in Vernon, the series shifted to Grande Prairie Tuesday night, where the remainder of the games will be played, regardless of how long it lasts.
It may not last much longer.
Vernon won last night, 2-1. The Vipers took the lead for good midway through the second period and now hold a three games to none advantage.
The score was tied 1-1 after one.
“We were a little tentative (to start the game), no question,” said Vipers coach Mark Ferner. “We haven’t played here before, obviously, and I thought we were on our heels a little bit. But our goal was to come out of that first period OK, try to slow it down to our pace, try to dictate the pace. That’s something you try to do on the road. Coming out of (the first) period even was a bonus to us.
“We created a lot more offence than we did in the first two games. Now we just have to find a way to get the puck into their net,” said Storm coach Mike Vandekamp, who saw his team play its best game of the series last night, but without reward.
For the first time in the Doyle Cup series, the Vernon Vipers scored first.
Connor Jones picked off a pass at centre while killing a penalty and went in alone on Chad Carder. Jones went to Carder’s glove side for his second goal and fifth point of the Doyle Cup.
The Storm tied it on the same power play, as Carter Rowney redirected a perfect slap pass from Morgan MacLean into the net, low to Andrew Hammond’s glove side.
It was the AJHL playoff MVP’s first goal of the Doyle Cup.
Special teams continued to play a role in the second period.
Viper forward Sahir Gill, who turned 17 last night, scored his second goal – and also fifth point – of the series, getting three whacks at the puck before finally tapping home a rebound with Storm forward off for cross-checking.
Vernon held onto the lead for the remainder of the game – no big surprise there.
The Vipers have not lost a game in regulation all year, when leading going into the third.
They needed an all-world save from Hammond on Raubenheimer with five minutes remaining to keep that streak intact.
Raubenheimer took a pass on a two-on-one, shot for what looked like an open net, until Hammond came across, threw his left pad in the air, to deny the Storm forward.
It was the best of half a dozen good scoring chances in the third.
The Storm had momentum late in the game, but a slashing call on Morgan MacLean with two minutes to play effectively ended the contest.
“That was the toughest one to take,” Vandekamp said. “You have a pretty good plan of what you want to do at the end of the game, getting the goaltender out, then you get a penalty like that and… yeah, it was tough to take.”
“We asked by a show of hands after the game tonight, who thought they had at least one good scoring chance, and there were a lot of hands. So we’ll try to build on that for tomorrow (Game 5, tonight),” said Vandekamp.
“They’re a good hockey team, no question about it,” said Vipers coach Mark Ferner. “We just had to trust our systems an trust each other. It worked out well.”
Hammond stopped 32 shots for the win. Carder made 35 saves in a losing cause.
The Storm have no more room for error.
“We are going to take this as if we are starting a whole new series (today),” said Vandekamp. “The games that are done are done. We still have four more games to play. We’ve won four games in a row before. We just won four in a row against a good team just one series ago (swept Spruce Grove in the Alberta Junior Hockey League finals) and we won two of them in their barn. In my estimation, we’re in better shape than when that series started. We’ve got none in their rink, all four here, so let’s go out, take it one period at a time and build on it.
“I think you’ll see a looser team tomorrow. You’ll see a team that plays with more confidence and you’ll see a better team because of it.”
If not, the season ends.