Vipers Take Series Lead North:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

Vipers take series lead north

GRANDE PRAIRIE – The Vernon Vipers were a pretty relaxed group heading into Game 3 of the Doyle Cup Pacific regional championship Tuesday night at the Canada Games Arena against the host Storm.
With the exception of maybe captain Chris Crowell.
While sitting at a pancake breakfast Tuesday morning at their hotel just across from the rink, Crowell and education consultant/radio colour man Don Klepp pored over an assignment for Crowell’s college philosophy class. It was some tedious essay on the Cartesian Theatre and the nature of being.
“Is there anything in there on backchecking?” quipped Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner, earning chuckles from everyone in earshot.
It was Viper rookie Sahir Gill’s 17th birthday Tuesday, and one of the Vipers joked at breakfast: “Awww, our little guy is all grown up.”
Added Crowell, who was at the head of the breakfast queue with the other veterans: “Come on up Giller and get some breakfast... at the back of the line,” pausing for a few laughs before making room for Gill at the front.
It’s scenarios like that – a good-natured jibe followed by an act of support – that show the Vipers are more than just teammates.
“We’re really a tight-knit group, we’re a family here and that’s something we pride ourselves on,” said Vipers’ defenceman Kyle Bigos.
Having grounded the Alberta champion Storm in Games 1 and 2 last weekend at Vernon’s Civic Arena, there’s a sense of quiet confidence amongst the Vipers, but they realize there’s work to be done before they can punch their ticket to the Royal Bank Cup in Victoria, May 2-10.
“I brought six or seven dress shirts,” grinned Ferner. “We’re here for the long haul, and if it takes us five games, it takes us five games. We can’t look too far ahead, we’ve got to take it one step at a time.”
The Vipers overnighted Sunday in Hinton, Alta., before pushing the remaining four hours to Grande Prairie to arrive in time for a noon skate Monday at the impressive Coca-Cola Centre. With twin sheets, and plenty of seating and space, Grande Prarie’s secondary rink would be the envy of many junior teams in B.C., and shows the prosperity of this blue-collar city. Tuesday morning, the Vipers nestled into their dressing rooms at Canada Games Arena, and soaked up their new surroundings.
“We haven’t seen this rink, and it was important that we come over at the very least and poke around and get some kind of feel for it,” said Ferner. “We weren’t supposed to be here until 2 (p.m.), but we kind of forced our way in... and just got set up so the guys can feel comfortable so the guys don’t need to worry too much about that.”
The Storm’s Josh Juell will miss the remainder of the season after he was handed two match penalties for a combined six-game suspension – with no chance of an appeal – for his part in trying to start a brawl at the end of Game 2. Storm enforcer Elias Grossmann, who was also an instigator, earned an automatic three-game match penalty, and could possibly face further disciplinarian action by Hockey Canada for his abuse of linesman Brandon Liefke during the altercation.
For the Vipers, that’s already old news.
“We’ve got a little bit of a different group here,” said Ferner. “They know what’s important and they know that stuff like that happens in the game. We’re not too concerned about it, we’re a pretty focussed group on what we have to do to be successful.”
Added Vipers’ no-frills defenceman Mike Leidl: “Every game’s different. I don’t think it’ll carry over too much. Obviously, it’s going to be physical and chippy out there, but if we just stay disciplined and keep playing the way we have the first two games, we’ll be alright.
“You’ve got to put the team first, and maybe take a punch in the face and shrug it off. It’s a little different with the (Hockey Canada) one-fight rule in the Doyle. You’ve got to be a little more disciplined. When we fight, we’ve got to pick our spots. We want to finish this up as soon as we can, but we’re ready to play five games if we have to. It’s a new environment for us, no one’s ever played out here before. We’re just trying to take it all in and be ready for the games.”