Vernon 8 Victoria 2

I was at tonights BCHL game as Vernon defeated Victoria 8-2 in front of 1,728 fans at the Wesbild Centre.

Starting Goaltenders:

Vernon: Graeme Gordon
Victoria: Colin Fernandes

1st Period: Both teams got off to a bit of a slow start with some scrambly play early as it looked like one another were trying to feel each other out. Once the play got going both teams went back and forth with very little scoring chances as both teams were playing a tight checking game. Dylan Nowakowski with the games first great chance in the slot was stopped by Graeme Gordon. Colin Fernandes just about got caught outside of his net after clearing the zone right to Braden Pimm, Pimm wasnt able to get off a quality shot as Fernandes was able to get back into his net on time. Former Victoria Grizzly Jonathan Milhouse would open the scoring at 6:09 after getting a nice crease pass from Dan Nycholat. Nycholat and Connor Jones with the assists. Just over two minutes later Curtis Gedig coughed up the puck in his own end, Gedig couldnt clear the zone wich resulted in the turnover inwich Derek Bacon with the wrap around bounced the puck off Gedig in front and into the net past Gordon at 8:41 as the Grizzlies tied the game 1-1. Bacon's goal was unassisted. Off the draw and seconds later Cory Kane & Connor Jones went in two on one, Jones beat Fernandes at 9:17 putting Vernon ahead 2-1 with Kane collecting the lone assist. As the period went along the some good flow at both ends as both teams were fairly even before the Vipers carried the better of the play in the second half of the period. Cole Ikkala with a big blast from the circle, Fernandes kicked out the huge rebound right to Dylan Walchuk who was stopped on the rebound. Vernon had several odd man rushes looking good on the fly. Mike Collins was stopped in close, as was Connor Jones. The Vipers with some nice three way passing on a three on two were stopped by Fernandes. Vernon would get the first powerplay of the night, Bryce Kakoske setup Curtis Gedig who wired his shot high over Fernandes putting Vernon up 3-1 at 16:09, Kakoske and Mike Collins picked up the assists. Colton Schell with some hard work down low had a good scoring chance but was stopped by Gordon. Victoria struggled offensively in the second half of the period as Vernon carried the better of the play taking a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Grizzlies 13-8.

2nd Period: The Vipers come out firing in the first two minutes getting three real good scoring chances from in close. Cole Ikkala with some hard work in behind the Grizz net, over worked the Grizzly d-man, stealing the puck, setting up Dan Nycholat who fed Curtis Gedig who beat Fernandes from the side of the net putting Vernon up 4-1 at 3:09 Nycholat and Ikkala with the assists. Shortly after Victoria would get its first man advantage of the night, but it was all Vipers on the penalty kill. Vernon has scored a league high 16 shorthanded goals and showed tonight why they have one of the league best penalty kill. Mike Collins stole and then kept the puck, fighting off three Victoria players ragging valuable time off the clock. The Grizzlies couldnt generate any offensive attack recording just a single shot on the powerplay. Just as the powerplay expired Connor Jones setup Cory Kane who just got out of the penalty box, Kane went in two on one with Jonathan Milhouse who waited and waited before setting up Kane with a nice pace, Kane then beat Fernandes at 7:02 putting Vernon up 5-1 and in full control. Braden Pimm come very close hitting the post on a wicked shot from the slot. Mike Collins with a very nice pass through the slot setup Pimm who once again had a great chance but was stopped by Fernandes. Vernon was all over Victoria who recorded just two shots in the first half of the period. Fernandes once again wondering outside of his crease was just about caught out of position for the second time tonight as the Vipers come close to hitting the empty net. Late in the period Bryce Kakoske made a nice long pass up to Curtis Gedig who went in for the breakaway beating Colin Fernandes at 19:56 giving him his third goal of the night. Kakoske and Mike Collins with the helpers. Vernon was up 6-1 after 40 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Grizzlies 12-6.

3rd Period: With the Vipers on just their second powerplay, they once again made the Grizzlies pay as Dylan Walchuk beat Fernandes at 2:01 giving the Vipers the 7-1 lead. Cole Ikkala and Steve Weinstein collected the assists. Victoria had a glorious chance as a Grizzly was left all alone in front, but couldnt beat Gordon. The Vipers took their foot off the gas and played a dump and chase style of game for most of the remainder of the 3rd, just getting the puck in deep and then changing lines. About five minutes into the period Kevin Kraus laid out a huge check in the neutral zone, Dustin Mowrey went after Kraus asking him to dance, Kraus and Mowrey decided to drop the gloves. If the Grizzlies were looking for a fight to get the team going, they should have dropped the mits way sooner then the 3rd period. A pretty dull non entertaining period as both teams just wanted to end tonights contest. Connor Jones with a wicked blast from just across the blueline just missed the far corner. Bradndon Fagerheim with a wrap around couldnt beat Gordon. Madison Dias didnt give up showing good hustle, getting a few decent chances in the final period. The Vipers had two, two on ones but couldnt find the back of the net. Spencer Copp setup Joel Lowry who caught Graeme Gordon out of position putting the Grizz on the board at 12:53 Copp & Nick Buchanan picked up the assists. Colin Fernandes who was having troubles all night handling the puck, coughed the puck up to Patrick McGillis who couldnt beat Fernandes as he tried to hustle back into his crease. Fernandes was having all kinds of trouble handling the puck tonight, along with giving up huge rebounds. Victoria with a chance late in the period couldnt beat Gordon at the side of the net, Steve Weinsten then drove towards the goal, but couldnt beat Fernandes who kicked out the rebound to Connor Jones who scored at 18:49 putting Vernon up 8-2. In the end the Vipers would snap their one game losing streak with a 8-2 victory as the Grizzlies snapped their two game winning streak. The Vipers outshot the Grizzlies 16-7.

Top Players: (Vernon)

Mike Collins (2 assists) Played very well at both ends of the rink. Collins played very well on the penalty kill as well. Made some real smart heads up plays.

Dan Nycholat (2 assists) I thought Nycholat played a heck of a game on the Vipers blueline. Nycholat looked very solid on the backend. Setup two Viper goals.

Curtis Gedig (3 goals) Looked very dangerous with the puck offensively but I thought he struggled with the puck defensively coughing up the puck a few times in his own end, one wich led to Victorias first goal. Nice to see Curtis find the back of the net. Overall had a good game.

Connor Jones (2 goals & 2 assists) Connor played and looked very solid up front, even without his brother Kellen. Jones was really skating hard tonight, didnt seem to have the same drive he does when going to the net, but really read the ice well, making some nice heads up plays.

Steve Weinstein (1 assist) I was very impressed with Steve's play tonight, at both ends of the rink. Weinstein who has been playing his best hockey as a Viper over the last two months or so, looked very solid tonight.

Patrick McGillis didnt see a ton of icetime but when he was out their, I was impressed with Patty's hard work and determination. This kid never quits, battled hard all game. Had a great chance in the 3rd after Colin Fernandes shot the puck right at him, but couldnt find the back of the net.

Jonathan Milhouse (1 goal & 1 assist) Milhouse who played his former team for the first time since the off season trade, scored once and setup another playing very well up front.

Top Players: (Victoria)

Nick Buchanan (1 assist) I was fairly impressed with the defensive play from Buchanan. A solid d-man who dosnt give you an inch to move out their. Played very well for the Grizz.

Dylan Nowakowski isnt the biggest kid but worked extremely hard, battled hard and didnt quit, was skating hard, played with lots of emotion. Very strong skater with a good work ethic.

Madison Dias I thought was Victoria's best player tonight, had several decent chances, carried the puck alot. Good with and without the puck.

Colton Schell I thought didnt get much icetime but looked pretty good when given the chance. Had lots of jump and another kid that battled hard in front of the net.

Game Thoughts: (Vernon)

Both teams started out a little slow, looking fairly even in the first half of the opening period before the Vipers took over and didnt look back outplaying and outchancing the Grizzlies all night. Vernon was by far the better team, won most of the battles in the 1st and 2nd periods, won most of the races and were by far the more skilled team. Vernon's passing was a bit off tonight at times, I really liked the teams breakout, looked very smooth. Nice to see the powerplay clicking again, going 2-2. Tonight was one of if not the smallest crowd of the season (1,728) I heard Kellen is doing well and may return sometime after Christmas. I also heard several rumors that Vernon product and former Chilliwack Bruin David Robinson will be in the Vipers lineup tomorrow night vs Nanaimo. Former Vipers Aaron Volpatti and Ryan Kakoske were at tonights game, along with former coaches Bernie Pimm and Shawn Bourgeous.

Game Thoughts: (Victoria)

I was a little dissapointed in the Victoria Grizzlies tonight. I was expecting much more and a much closer hockey game. This was the Grizz third game in four nights, so maybe the team was tired? The Grizzlies had troubles offensively most of the night, getting under 10 shots a period, not much traffic in front of Graeme Gordon and very little second or third chances. I thought Victoria lacked the jump, emotion and didnt have much overall energy. I was surprised to see the Grizz go with Colin Fernandes tonight, after Ryan Holfeld came into tonight with back to back shutouts. Fernandes looked very shaky at times, had troubles handling the puck, was caught several times wandering outside of his crease, gave up some pretty big rebounds. I was surprised they left him in for all eight goals. I dont think the Grizz can be to happy with tonights ending and performance.

Scratches:

Vernon:

Darrin Robak
Kellen Jones (Injured)

Victoria:

Brad Pawlowski
Sean Robertson
Wesley Myron

3 Stars:

1st Star: Curtis Gedig (3 goals)
2nd Star: Jonathan Milhouse (1 goal & 1 assist)
3rd Star: Connor Jones (2 goals & 2 assists)