Vees Smother Vipers:

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Vees smother Vipers

By Kevin Mitchell - Vernon Morning Star

Published: December 04, 2009

Even Betty Crocker burns a brownie once in a while.Heck, even Tiger Woods has shanked the odd drive. And Sidney Crosby just ended a five-game pointless streak.

The Vernon Vipers took a turn at doing the unthinkable Friday night at Wesbild Centre, losing 4-1 to the Penticton Vees in a B.C. Hockey League showdown which lacked the intensity expected from two of the top-five teams in the country. The Vipers were even outshot for the first time this season as they lost two straight, also a first.

And while the loss wasn’t pretty, neither was all-star forward Kellen Jones’ face after he ate a third-period slapshot from teammate Dan Nycholat. Jones left the rink holding an icepack to his face with a suspected broken jaw. He was likely a no-show for the Vipers’ Saturday night game in Trail against the Smoke Eaters.

“They were a heck of a lot better than we were,” said Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner. “We didn’t win any races, didn’t win any battles. It looked like some of our guys didn’t want to play. We weren’t going there (to the net). In this game, sometimes you’ve got get your nose dirty. That’s a good hockey team we played. We knew they were going to be good, and they came in here, and they were just better than us, plain and simple.”

The Vees outshot the Vipers 36-25, including a 17-8 margin in the second period. Just seconds after Vernon’s Patrick McGillis put Ryan Viselli out of the game with a hip check deep in the Penticton zone, the Vees pumped in first-period goals by Alex Szcechura and Denver Manderson, 24 seconds apart, on basic broken plays with the Vipers showing sloppy checking all over their end.

“I think it was a good road win,” said Manderson, Penticton’s captain, and the first star. “Sometimes it’s easier to play on the road because you can keep it real simple. They came out really hard and we were kind of lucky to weather the storm there at the start and we scored two goals on one shift so that helped.

“We’re OK with it being a greasy win. It still feels like both teams are feeling each other out. I think it will get pretty rowdy coming up.”

The Vipers dropped to 28-2-0-1, suffering their second regulation loss two months after losing their first, a 2-0 home-ice tilt against the Vees. The two clubs meet again next Saturday in Penticton.

Garrett Milan, on a doorstop defection off a Joey Laleggia powerplay point shot, and Joey Holka, on a powerplay eight minutes later, completed the 26-4-0-2 Vees’ offence.

Bryce Kakoske wired a snapshot from the left face-off circle past all-star goalie Sean Bonar late in the first period to pull the Snakes within a goal. The Vipers hardly showed any desperation in the third, missing numerous passes and lacking any consistent energy.

“Once these kids move on to the next level, it’s just gonna to get harder, and that’s the way it’s going to be from here on in,” added Ferner. “There’s not going to be any freebies.”

The Vees, who have one spot left for a 20-year-old, seemed jacked about facing the nation’s No. 1 ranked club.

“It’s always awesome coming here, the rivalry with Vernon, this is by far the funnest place to play on the road and it’s always awesome to come in here and get the win,” said Laleggia, who anchored a solid defensive core which kept the speedy Vipers to the perimeter most of the night. “We get ourselves pumped up just by coming here. They were exactly what we expected, exactly what we prepared for, and that’s why we were successful.”

Said Vees’ head coach Fred Harbinson: “I just thought we played a real smart hockey game. We put a game-plan together and I think our guys executed it very well and kept things simple for most of the game. We wanted to get pucks to the net early and we were able to do that, and it’s not an easy thing ever to do on Vernon.”

The Vipers, who struck iron three or four times, also lacked success on the powerplay, going 0-for-4 in front of 2,182 fans.

“We’re not unbeatable by any means,” added Ferner. “We have success because we play a certain way and we didn’t play that way tonight which is disappointing.”

The Vipers went into Trail sporting a three-point lead on the Vees atop the Interior Conference. Vernon hosts the Merritt Centennials Tuesday night and entertain the Salmon Arm SilverBacks on Teddy Bear Toss Night Friday.

“We pretty much just got outworked in every area,” said Viper captain Kevin Kraus. “They were the better team by far. I don’t know if we underestimated them or what. We definitely didn’t have our No. 1 stuff tonight. It’s a learning curve for us. It’s adversity and we’re going to face it throughout the year. It’s better we do it now and we can learn from this. We can go into Trail tomorrow and have a complete turnaround.”