Vipers Fall One Shy Of Record:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:
Vipers fall one shy of record

By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning Star
Published: November 29, 2009

If records are meant to be broken, then so are win streaks. The Vernon Vipers had theirs snapped at 21 games, one shy of the club record, as they bowed 2-1 to the Westside Warriors in double overtime Friday night at Wesbild Centre.

Kyle Singleton (12th goal) collected the winner for the Warriors, unbeaten in their last seven B.C. Hockey League games, stripping Vipers’ newcomer Curtis Gedig at the blueline and rushing in alone to bury one past netminder Graeme Gordon.

"It was probably the biggest goal of the year, and the biggest game of the year for our team,” said Singleton, first star. “This is the second time we played and the first time we let them walk away with a win (Mike Collins scored with two seconds remaining to give Vernon a 4-3 win on Oct. 2). This time we got to pay them back."

The Warriors weathered some serious penalty trouble early in the third frame, and Singleton says they were able to rally off that.

"Killing off the 5-on-3 and then the four-minute penalty (Matthew Maher clipped Cole Ikkala with his stick, drawing blood), we felt a little down but once we killed it off we had all the momentum in the world and just kept getting shots and the tying goal and we knew were in the right position."

Regarding the streak, Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner says it was never a discussion point in the dressing room.

“Our guys just go out and play. We never once talked about it and I don’t think our guys thought about it. The people that bring it up are the media and fans.

“They’re kids, so maybe there was a bit of pressure but it certainly didn’t come from us. We’re not going to be perfect, ever. If we were going to go 59-1, I would have been shocked.”

Ferner also had nothing but praise for Gedig, and for Vernon’s overall effort.

“Missed assignment in the offensive zone as far as our alignment is concerned, and it’s unfortunate for Curtis he bobbled the puck. But I thought he was very good and just what the doctor ordered.

“We talked before the game about staying as close to our systems as possible for as long as possible, and I thought we did that tonight.”

Added Vipers’ captain Kevin Kraus: “He (Gedig) played a heckuva game tonight. He’s pretty down on himself right now, but he’ll be fine. We’ve all done it before. He’s going to be a great acquisition for us.”

It was the first game in a while where the Vipers have been pushed for a full 60 minutes, and the 2,200 fans at Wesbild were treated to a hard-hitting contest between two hungry teams.

The Warriors (20-9-1) were able to hem the Vipers (28-1-0-1) in the own end on occasion, forcing them into handling errors with constant pressure.

"We've been working on our forecheck, just two guys hard and trying to keep our third guy high so if we do get caught we still have a backchecker,” said Singleton.

Added Kraus: “It was real back and forth, a playoff-style hockey game and it was exciting to play tonight. We haven’t seen a hard forechecking team in a while, so it kind of caught us by surprise at points, but we managed to figure it out and picked up the pace.

“It’s great to play teams like this. We can play teams like Quesnel, Merritt and Prince George as much as we want, but these are the games that are going to prepare us for the playoffs and a long run.”

Kevin Jebson was the story in the early going. The Westside keeper could easily have earned a star for his mohawk and handlebar mustache, a touching homage to former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell. Instead, he turned aside all 12 Viper shots in the first period, and 34 overall, to claim second star.

He even earned a hearty round of Wesbild boos after he perhaps embellished a goalie interference call in a minor collision with Robbie Short in the first period, then proceeded to give a bow to Section B after his theatrics.

"He's been playing well for probably 10 games now,” said Singleton, of Jebson. “He's been getting 40 shots a night and saving probably 38 of them.”

Added Westside head coach Darren Yopyk: “Any great team has a great goaltender and I think he’s the best in the league. That’s an advantage that keeps us in games and it allows us to get where we need to be.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys that haven’t had a lot of experience in junior hockey, but they’re starting to figure it out little bit. The biggest difference between us and them (Vernon) is their consistency. It doesn’t matter who they play, they play hard and compete every night and we haven’t been able to do that on a consistent basis yet.”

The Vipers kept pressing in the second frame, as Dylan Walchuk rang iron on an early powerplay, and Adam Thompson maintained a physical presence as he sent Alex Grieve for a ride, standing him up at the blueline.

Gordon (28 saves) was thoroughly tested in the second. The Warriors’ Max French took a rebound off end boards and tried to sneak puck in, but Gordon came across to cover up. Cole Wilson then broke up right wing and drilled a hard, low shot that Gordon flashed a right pad on.

The Vipers’ Connor Jones (20th) broke the stalemate on a late second-period powerplay, beating a screened Jebson with a wrister from the point. Kellen Jones and Gedig, with his first point as a Viper, drew assists.

“We just need to keep firing pucks, but one of the things we weren’t as good at was getting guys in front of him (Jebson). He saw pretty much everything and goalie can’t stop what he can’t see.”

Like Kraus, and perhaps all the Vipers, Connor thrives under big-game pressure.

“I loved it. It was an intense game, playoff atmosphere. I’d like it if it was that way every night. Our team has to be that determined and work that way every single game.”

After surviving their penalty woes early in the third – Westside handed Vernon nine powerplays – French worked the puck deep and connected with Dru Morrison (2nd), who was left alone on Gordon’s doorstep.

Vernon swarmed Westside in OT. Late in the first session, Gedig’s hard point shot dropped just behind Jebson at side of net, but no one was there to tap the rebound. In the second OT, Jebson denied Dan Nycholat point blank, then back the other way, Gordon stopped Wilson with his right pad off a faceoff.

The Vipers now get a six-day rest before hosting the Penticton Vees (23-4-0-2) Friday night at Wesbild. On Saturday, they journey to Trail to tangle with the Smoke Eaters (10-19-1-1) at Cominco Arena.