This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:
Jaw surgery sidelines Jones
Published: December 08, 2009
Kellen Jones will begrudgingly start his Christmas break a few weeks earlier than his Vernon Viper teammates. With his jaw wired and plated after taking a Dan Nycholat point shot to the face in the Snakes’ 4-1 loss the Penticton Vees Friday night at Wesbild, Jones will likely be out of B.C. Hockey League action until at least January.
“People complain about these two (Kellen and twin brother Connor) diving all the time,” said Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner. “Here’s a kid who just took a slap shot to the face, knows he’s got a broken jaw, but still bounces up and skates to the bench.”
Jones pulled out his mouthguard and threw it across the ice in frustration as he skated to the bench, realizing he’d miss games as a result of his injury.
Ferner says Kellen, 19, could be back on the ice practising sooner than expected.
“The doctor said he could probably start skating next week. It’s going to be more of an issue for me to keep him off the ice. Hopefully next month he’ll be good to go, but you never want to rush these things.”
Meanwhile, David Robinson, who played on a clutch playoff line with the Jones twins as a 16-year-old, announced his decision to leave the Western Hockey League’s Chilliwack Bruins Monday at practice. The 19-year-old Vernon product toiled for three years with the Bruins, compiling 43 points in 169 games.
Robinson, who owns the Bruins’ penalty minute record with 265, is returning to Vernon to ponder his future.
“We own his (BCHL) rights, but we’ll have to see where he’s at...but certainly we’d be interested, no question,” said Ferner.
Despite the adversity of playing without Kellen, and having lost back-to-back games for the first time all season, the Vipers rebounded Saturday night by shading the Trail Smoke Eaters 3-2 in overtime at Cominco Arena.
“I thought we competed a lot harder than we did the night before (against Penticton),” said Ferner. “It was a tough night going into Trail after what wasn’t a great effort.”
First star netminder Garrett Beckwith kept Trail (10-21-1-2) competitive with a 39-save showing, while Blake Voth made 23 stops for the win.
Scott Jacklin (11th goal) gave the Smokies an early lead with a first-period powerplay, but Vernon (29-2-0-1) equalized in the second frame when Mike Collins recovered a puck from the corner and fed it back to Kevin Kraus on the powerplay. The Viper captain (3rd) fired a rising shot through traffic, beating Beckwith gloveside.
Kellen Jones will begrudgingly start his Christmas break a few weeks earlier than his Vernon Viper teammates. With his jaw wired and plated after taking a Dan Nycholat point shot to the face in the Snakes’ 4-1 loss the Penticton Vees Friday night at Wesbild, Jones will likely be out of B.C. Hockey League action until at least January.
“People complain about these two (Kellen and twin brother Connor) diving all the time,” said Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner. “Here’s a kid who just took a slap shot to the face, knows he’s got a broken jaw, but still bounces up and skates to the bench.”
Jones pulled out his mouthguard and threw it across the ice in frustration as he skated to the bench, realizing he’d miss games as a result of his injury.
Ferner says Kellen, 19, could be back on the ice practising sooner than expected.
“The doctor said he could probably start skating next week. It’s going to be more of an issue for me to keep him off the ice. Hopefully next month he’ll be good to go, but you never want to rush these things.”
Meanwhile, David Robinson, who played on a clutch playoff line with the Jones twins as a 16-year-old, announced his decision to leave the Western Hockey League’s Chilliwack Bruins Monday at practice. The 19-year-old Vernon product toiled for three years with the Bruins, compiling 43 points in 169 games.
Robinson, who owns the Bruins’ penalty minute record with 265, is returning to Vernon to ponder his future.
“We own his (BCHL) rights, but we’ll have to see where he’s at...but certainly we’d be interested, no question,” said Ferner.
Despite the adversity of playing without Kellen, and having lost back-to-back games for the first time all season, the Vipers rebounded Saturday night by shading the Trail Smoke Eaters 3-2 in overtime at Cominco Arena.
“I thought we competed a lot harder than we did the night before (against Penticton),” said Ferner. “It was a tough night going into Trail after what wasn’t a great effort.”
First star netminder Garrett Beckwith kept Trail (10-21-1-2) competitive with a 39-save showing, while Blake Voth made 23 stops for the win.
Scott Jacklin (11th goal) gave the Smokies an early lead with a first-period powerplay, but Vernon (29-2-0-1) equalized in the second frame when Mike Collins recovered a puck from the corner and fed it back to Kevin Kraus on the powerplay. The Viper captain (3rd) fired a rising shot through traffic, beating Beckwith gloveside.
Bryce Kakoske (8th) gave the Vipers the lead at 17:45 of the second when Collins collected a loose puck in a scramble and fed Kakoske for a one-timer from the slot.
Matt Wilkins (2nd) pulled Trail even 18 seconds later to force OT.
In the first OT period, the Vipers’ Robbie Short set up the winner with some hustle in the corner, sending the puck around the boards to Connor. The Montrose product (21st) was stopped on his wraparound attempt, but buried the rebound.
Throughout the game, Ferner tinkered with his lines, trying to find combinations that might work in Kellen’s absence. He started by putting Jonathan Milhouse on a line with Connor and Cory Kane, and bumping up Kakoske to skate with Collins and Braden Pimm.
“It gives us an opportunity to put some of our other guys in different situations and see how they respond. The main thing is I want to see them compete,” said Ferner.
The Snakes hosted the Merritt Centennials (10-21-0-2) Tuesday night at Wesbild. They entertain the Salmon Arm SilverBacks (19-11-2-1) Friday night for Teddy Bear Night, and then visit the Vees (26-5-0-2) Saturday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
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