Clippers Battle, But Vipers Win:

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Clippers battle, but Vipers win

by Don Klepp | Added 2010-01-16

A breakaway goal by Connor Jones at 19:27 of the third period gave the Vernon Vipers a 5-4 win in Nanaimo Friday night.

In a seesaw contest that saw plenty of physical play, the Clippers played with desperation in order to avoid their seventh consecutive defeat (and the ninth consecutive loss on home ice). Also, Nanaimo goalie Loic Boivin played his heart out, especially in the first period when the Vipers outshot the Clippers, 13-2.

In the opening frame, the Vipers had six excellent scoring chances and the Clippers had none. The first 20 minutes also saw 25 solid hits, 13 by the home side. The play was often scrambly because of the fierce checking.

Despite their clear supremacy, the Vipers scored only once in the period. After failing to convert a 5 on 3 power play, they did succeed in getting a puck past Boivin at 14:09, toward the end of the 5 on 4 portion. Sahir Gill set up Dylan Walchuk in the slot. Boivin got a piece of Walchuk’s shot, but not enough.

After the game, Walchuk said “I’ve been working hard, struggling to put the puck in the net, so it felt good to pot that one.”

The Clippers came out for the second period feeling that they had a chance because of Boivin’s heroics and they ratcheted up a notch while the Vipers did not. As a result, Nanaimo took the lead with a pair of power play goals. At 7:27, Graeme Gordon thought he had trapped a shot against his chest, but the disk fell just outside the goal line. While sitting on the ice, Teal Burns accepted the gift.

At 15:11, Nicolas McIntyre’s point deflected off a Viper skate past Gordon for a 2-1 Clipper lead. However, at 19:24 David Robinson tipped in a Kellen Jones point shot just as a Clipper penalty expired. On the play, Connor Jones retrieved the puck at the Clipper line after Curtis Gedig’s stick exploded and Connor flipped over to Kellen at the line.

Robinson, who now has four goals in his four games since joining the Vipers, also engaged in a spirited fight with Tyler Mah after Mah had ridden Connor Jones hard into the cross bar of the Clipper net.

That fight seemed inevitable because the second period featured a bunch of big hits. Led by Adam Thompson (four hits) and Kevin Kraus (three hits) the Vipers registered a season high 17 hits in the period while the Clippers dished out 9 of their own. Teal Burns was particularly combative for the Clippers.

The middle frame also featured two all-world saves, one by Loic Boivin on Kellen Jones and the other by Graeme Gordon on Luc-Olivier Blain.

Tied at 2-2 going into the third, the two teams continued to play hard in the third. The Vipers took the lead at 1:16 when Steve Weinstein’s point shot bounced in off Cole Ikkala, but a minute later a determined forecheck by Nanaimo’s fourth line led to Kiefer McNaughton bouncing a puck off Gordon to tie the score at 3-3.

Vernon once again took the lead at 7:41 on a pretty goal engineered by the Jones twins. Playing shorthanded, Steve Weinstein cleared the Viper zone. Connor scooped up the free puck and raced down the ice with Kellen, with one Nanaimo defender back. At high speed, Kellen one-timed Connor’s perfect pass. Boivin had no chance on the rocket that went over his left shoulder.

After the Kellen Jones marker, both teams survived five on three power plays. Buoyed by their kill, the Clippers renewed their efforts, which paid off with an Andrew Gladiuk goal at 15:58 after Kevin Kraus’s broken stick essentially left the Vipers a man short.

And so the stage was set for Connor Jones. He stole the puck from 16-year old Victor Newell at the Viper blue line and had a breakaway from the red line. He tucked the puck under Boivin for his 28th goal of the year.

Although this game was exciting and dramatic, for long stretches in the last two periods neither team could string together series of passes because the checking was so intense.

The Vipers went one for six on the power play, with one short handed goal, while the Clippers converted two of their eight man advantage situations.