Vipers Edge Silverbacks:

Vipers Edge Silverbacks

by Don Klepp - Sep 12, 2009

On a night when the Vernon Vipers lifted their 2009 National Championship banner, Salmon Arm goaltender Tony Ierfino tried to spoil the party. However, late in the third period Cole Ikkala’s goal sealed a 3-2 Viper win. Vernon’s well-balanced attack dominated play for long stretches in all three periods, and the Vipers out shot their visitors 42-23 in the game. Overall, they had 25 quality scoring chances compared to Salmon Arm’s 12. Those chances included two penalty shots, 40 seconds apart in the second period. First, Vernon’s Graeme Gordon stoned rookie Matt Cassidy after Adam Thompson had been forced to haul down Cassidy. Then, a Salmon Arm defender closed his hand on the puck in the crease and Bryce Kakoske’s attempt was foiled by Ierfino. That drama continued in the third period as the play opened up. Ierfino was brilliant on three Viper odd-man rushes. Also, the Quebec netminder robbed Connor Jones on several close-in chances. At the other end, Graeme Gordon had to react to deflections and screened shots as the Silverbacks stormed the net on several occasions. In the period, the ‘Backs directed 11 shots at Gordon while Ierfino handled 16 Viper shots. The winning goal came 30 seconds after the end of a strong Viper power play that had controlled play in the Silverback zone, only to be stymied time after time by Ierfino. Dylan Walchuk bodied a Salmon Arm defender off the puck and directed it toward the goal where Rob Short took a whack at it. Cole Ikkala finished the net minderplay at 17.23 while being hammered into the Silverback goal. Earlier, Mike Collins had staked the Vipers to a 1-0 lead in the first period and a 2-1 lead in the second. Each time, Braden Pimm set up Collins with precise passes from behind the net. But before each period finished the ‘Backs equalized. In the first, Greg Noyes picked up a loose puck between the Viper faceoff circles, moved to his left and whistled a high shot past a screened Graeme Gordon. In the second, Charlie Vasaturo got credit for a goal when Jagger Dirk’s point shot pinballed around and trickled into the Viper goal. Collins’s two goals earned him the game’s first star and Ierfino was named second star for his heroics he might have been given all three stars if the Silverbacks had pulled out a win. Cole Ikkala’s strong two-way play resulted in a third star. The two teams resume their rivalry Saturday night in Salmon Arm.

Game Notes: •Mike Collins continues to kill the Silverbacks. Last year he led Viper scorers with 8 goals and 6 assists in 10 games against them. •Three players, Dylan Walchuk, Charlie Vasaturo,pin balled and Jagger Dirk, recorded their first BCHL point in their first BCHL game. Dirk, the 16-year-old son of former NHL defenceman Robert Dirk, looked comfortable on the Salmon Arm blue line. Viper rookies Walchuk, Drew George, and Garrett Noonan also showed that they belong in this league.