Vipers Demolish Capitals:

Vipers demolish Capitals

by Don Klepp -Oct 11, 2009

Saturday night in Vernon, Connor Jones scored five times as his Vipers over matched the Cowichan Valley Capitals by a score of 14-0. Jones, who had notched just one goal in 10 previous Viper games, broke out of his slump with a vengeance against a young Island team that could not match the Vipers’ quickness and experience. His brother Kellen set up the first of eight first-period markers at 6:56. After accepting a pass from Cory Kane in the neutral zone, Kellen made a good play to evade a Capital defenceman and get the puck to Connor in the slot. Connor faked a shot to get 15-year old goalie Laurent Broissant to commit, and showed good patience before firing the disk high over the sprawling Broissant. Four minutes later, Connor was set up again by Kellen. The short handed goal confirmed the pattern that had been developing in the period. That pattern included a series of turnovers in the neutral zone and in the Cowichan zone, caused by Viper quickness and Capital miscues. Then, the floodgates really opened starting at 11:33, the Vipers scored four goals in a minute. Cole Ikkala, Mike Collins, Braden Pimm, and Sawyer Mick found the net in an explosion not seen at the Wesbild Centre in many years. Before the period ended, Kellen and Connor Jones each added goals to complete a period where each of the twins recorded four points. The onslaught continued in the second period: Cole Ikkala notched his second Rob Short scored on a slap shot from outside the blue line Connor Jones recorded his fourth on another nice feed from Kellen and Boston native Garrett Noonan potted his first BCHL goal with his father in attendance. Connor’s fifth goal at 3:54 of the third period was his best of the night. After being set up by Kellen and Sawyer Mick, Connor ripped a wrist shot over Broissant’s shoulder. Rob Short completed the debacle with another unstoppable shot over Broissant’s right shoulder. Possibly in an attempt to reduce the scoring, Viper Coach Mark Ferner constantly juggled his lines, so that nearly every possible combination of the 11 Viper forwards skated together in the contest. One of the resulting revelations was how well Sawyer Mick played with the Jones twins. Not surprisingly, nine different Vipers had two or more points in the game and 16 Vipers got at least one point. After the Vipers’ third goal in the first period, Coach Scott Robinson replaced Laurent Broissant with Alexandre Peck, who promptly was burned by Mike Collins on a breakaway. Then, after reassuring his young goalie, Robinson sent Broissant back into the fray. Lost in the offensive story was the Viper debut of big Nils-Erik Soderlund, a blueliner who has been practicing with the Vipers while awaiting playing clearance. The 6’ 5” Soderlund looked comfortable, providing good defensive coverage and distributing the puck well. Rookie Viper goalie, Blake Voth, managed to stay alert even though he faced only 6 shots in the first two periods. That alertness came in handy in the third period, particularly during a two-man Capitals advantage. Cowichan Valley has a decent power play – the team came into Vernon with a power play percentage of 18:46 – but Voth made four big saves to preserve his first BCHL shutout. He now has allowed just one goal in two starts. When the dust cleared, the Vipers had scored two power play markers in eight tries, while Cowichan Valley went 0 for 6 with the man advantage. Continuing their fine penalty killing at home, the Vipers have now conceded just one goal in 32 opposition power plays at the Wesbild. Cowichan Valley continues a tough road trip in Westside Sunday afternoon, while Vernon will welcome another Island team, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.