Was at todays Royal Bank Cup Game as Vernon defeated Kingston 8-5 in front of 1,678 fans at the Bear Mountain Arena.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Graeme Gordon
Kingston: Shawn Sirman
1st Period: The Vipers would win the draw, Adam Thompson with a good quick hard shot from the point just about handcuffed Shawn Sirman who had to be focused to make the tough save. Off the draw Kingston would get the play deep in the Vernon zone, Adam Thompson was dumped into the corner boards, as Viper fans got a bit of a scare as Thompson went hard into the boards. Thompson would slowly head to the bench and seemed to be alright. Vernon would get the games first powerplay on the play, the Vipers would move the puck well, Sahir Gill would wire a shot from the circle wich beat Sirman at 2:10 putting the Vipers up 1-0. Kyle Bigos & Steven Weinstein would pick up the assists. Kingston would battle back just 22 seconds later as Dustin Walsh beat Graeme Gordon at 2:32 on the Voyageurs first shot on net, to tie the game 1-1. Adam McAllister & Jacob Chiblow would collect the assists. Two minutes later Connor Jones beat Sirman at 4:39 to re-give Vernon the 2-1 lead. Sahir Gill & Kellen Jones would get the assists. Not even a minute later Jeff Blackburn would beat Gordon at 5:43 to tie the game once again, Jacob Chiblow & Jarrett Burton would get the assists. A wild start to todays game wich was being played for pride as both teams were waiting to face off against each other in tomorrow afternoons semifinal. Four goals were scored on just eight shots. Some good back and forth play as the speed and tempo picked up but with no shots on net. Just as a Viper powerplay was coming to an end, Adam Thompson got caught on a bad pinch as the Voyageurs went in three on one, but couldnt get a quality shot on a blowen opportunity. Brock Higgs with a tip in front on a shot from the point, come very close to deflecting his shot past Gordon. Kingston played a fairly physical 1st laying the body on the Vipers. The Voyageurs were in the Vipers face all period, trying to intimidate Vernon. Vernon on the other hand, wasnt very physical. Late in the period Kory Roy who was getting his first game in the RBC would snap a shot from the circle wich went off Voyageurs d-man, Anthony Geldart, as Roy scored his first goal of the tournament at 16:07 putting the Vipers up 3-2. Rob Short with the lone assist. A tough period for both goaltenders after giving up five goals after 20 minutes of play. A fairly even played period. Vernon was up 3-2 after 20 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Voyageurs 10-5.
2nd Period: Kingston with some good presure early to start the 2nd moved the puck well in the Vipers zone. Dustin Walsh tied the game at 4:18 with Kevin Christmas & Adam McAllister picking up the assists. Off the next draw, Kingston kept up the presure and would take their first lead of the hockey game after Craig Laliberte beat Gordon at 4:46 down low with Justin Levac & Stephane Chabot getting the assists. Vernon's defence looked very soft early in this afternoons game, Gordon was getting no help from his d-men after they allowed guys to be left all alone. The Voyageurs kept plugging away and just over five minutes later Adam McAllister beat Gordon at 9:42 as Kingston grabbed a 5-3 lead and in full control. Ben Power & Kevin Christmas would collect the assists. Vernon didnt get off to a good start, having troubles defensively in their own end. But just over a minute later Kellen Jones & Sahir Gill went in two on one, Jones decided to keep and shoot, wich beat Sirman at 10:52 with Cory Kane & Cody Ikkala getting the assists. The Vipers were back in the game cutting the lead to 5-4. Vernon didnt quit their, Kingston would run into some penalty trouble as Steven Weinstein who was seeing his first action of the RBC would get his first goal of the RBC Cup at 12:41 tying the game 5-5. Mike Collins & Braden Pimm would get the assists. Just over a minute later with the Vipers on another man advantage Cory Kane would re-give Vernon the lead, going ahead 6-5. Kyle Bigos & Steven Weinstein would collect the assists. Kingston was now back on their heels as Vernon really picked up the play, taking it to the Voyageurs. Vernon really turned up the heat in the second half of the period and carried the edge in play after Kingston owned the first half of the 2nd. Vipers were up 6-5 after 40 minutes of play.
3rd Period: In the first few minutes Ben Power with a shot from the slot was turned away from Graeme Gordon who started to settle down as the game went on. As the game went on Kingston backed off from the physical play, wich seemed to be in favor of the Vipers. Connor Jones had Vernons best chance of the period with a low quick shot from the slot wich just missed the far corner. Kingston would once again get into penalty trouble, with the Vipers on a two man advantage Kyle Bigos wired a shot from the point wich found the back of the net at 8:10 giving Vernon its first two goal lead of the afternoon. Ryan Santana & James Kerr would get the assists. With Vernon still on the man advantage the Vipers moved the puck around well, but would run out of time as the Voyageurs would kill off the 2nd powerplay. Kingston couldnt seem to generate much offence in the final period as the Vipers defence and goaltending settled down looking solid. The Vipers would put this game away with Rob Short beating Sirman at 13:44 putting Vernon up 8-5. Ryan Santana & Cody Ikkala picked up the assists. Ryan Santana who looked very good with the puck all afternoon, worked hard down low, and drove to the net, getting a shot off from in close but couldnt beat Sirman. In the final minute of play Chris Crowell took two shots after the whistle, wich resulted with Crowell giving a shot back. This resulted in some pushing and shoving as both teams tempers started to heat up with some playoff like hockey. Crowell and Adam McAllister were having words, pushing and shoving at one another. In the end Vernon would defeat Kingston 8-5 in the final game of the round robin finishing at 4-0. Kingston would finish at 1-3. Vernon is now the eighth team in RBC history to finish the round robin at 4-0. The Vipers outshot the Voageurs 11-6. With the win the Vernon Vipers-Lakers now hold the RBC record with 23 wins in the round robin. The AJHL Camrose Kodiaks held the previous record with 22 wins. Both these teams will now face off against one another tomorrow afternoon (2pm) for the semifinal.
Top Players: (Vernon)
Kyle Bigos (1 goal & 2 assists) Played one of his best games of the season. Bigos looked very solid on the Vipers blueline. Ive actually been very surprised with the play from Kyle during the RBC, Bigos has really stepped up his play in the RBC. Rushed the puck a few times this afternoon, was very good with and without the puck. Saw alot of icetime on the powerplay.
Ryan Santana (2 assists) Was very good with the puck down low, Santana is very hard to knock off the puck. Played very well all afternoon.
Steven Weinstein (1 goal & 2 assists) Weinstein played his first game at the RBC today and looked very solid. On one of the Voyageur goals Weinstein was caught out of position but really settled down as the game went on. Very impressed with Steven's play this afternoon. Was skating hard, moved the puck well, saw alot of icetime today.
Adam Thompson was very good on the backend. Thompson played very well defensively, moved the puck well, cleared his zone. Played big and tall in front of his net.
The line of Connor Jones (1 goal), Sahir Gill (1 goal & 1 assist) & Kellen Jones (1 goal & 1 assist) played well up front. The Vipers #1 unit didnt have their cycle going, but seemed to really know where one another was at all times.
Top Players: (Kingston)
Dustin Walsh (2 goals) Looked very dangerous all afternoon. Walsh has soft hands and is always buzzing around the net.
Adam McAllister (1 goal & 2 assists) Another kid who looked very dangerous in and around the net. McAllister I thought was the Voyageurs best player. The Vipers will have to keep their eye on him tomorrow.
Stephane Chabot (1 assist) Is very solid defensively. A bigger kid who see's alot of icetime. Good skater who plays the puck.
Ben Power (1 assist) Looked very good up front. Had a few chanes this afternoon.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
Vernon got off to quick start but couldnt keep the puck out of their own net. The game was just six minutes old but yet it was tied 2-2. Vernon couldnt seem to hold the lead. The Vipers would score but then would allow the Voyageurs to tie the game shortly after. I dont think you could blame Graeme Gordon this afternoon, Gordon hasnt played since the end of the regular season. The defence in front of him didnt help him out much, leaving guys wide open in front. Gordon was left to defend for himself on the Voyageurs first three goals. Kingston really played Vernon physical especially in the 1st, the Vipers should have given it right back. Vernon was having trouble with Kingstons speed and skill up front, giving them way too much time and space. Give Vernon credit, for the second straight game they battled back down two goals. As the game went on Vernon improved and looked much stronger. The Vipers seemed to really step up their play halfway through the 2nd period, as they seemed to take over the play for most of the remainder of the game. With this being a mean njothing game, other then team pride give the boys credit. They could have easily folded the tents and lost, but they come back, played strong midway through the 2nd and into the 3rd period. As the game went on, Vernons defence tightened up, Gordon seemed to settle down and made a few nice saves to keep the Vipers in the game. The Vipers didnt give the Voyageurs much time or space in the 2nd half of the game, wich really limited their scoring chances. Congrats to the Vipers who are just the eighth team in RBC history to go 4-0 in round robin play. Also congrats to the boys for now holding the RBC record with 23 wins in the round robin.
Game Thoughts: (Kingston)
I wasnt very impressed with the Voyageurs in their first game but as the RBC went along this team has improved and gotten better. Heres a team that can score alot of goals and minutes apart. In todays game and vs Summerside this team likes to score right after the opposition. Their only problem is keeping pucks out of the net. Sirman looked soft on atleast three Vernon goals. Kingston has a quick puck moving team, that can skate and score goals. The Voyageurs can also play physical, they like to get in your face and try to get you off your game. Overall I dont think the Voyageurs can match or roll four solid lines vs Vernon. I can bet Kingston will be ready to go tomorrow as both teams season will be on the line.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Cameron Brodie
Kevin Kraus
Trent Dorias (AP)
Bryce Kakoske
Players of the game:
Vernon:
Kyle Bigos (1 goal & 2 assists)
Kingston:
Adam McAllister (1 goal & 2 assists)
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