I was at tonights BCHL game as Vernon defeated Powell River 5-2 in front of 1,876 fans at the Wesbild Centre.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Blake Voth
Powell River: Josh Watson
1st Period: Powell River come out with some good jump, got the play in deep, and really moved the puck well in the Vipers zone. The Kings who are a quick skating team, controlled the edge in play early putting some good pressure deep in the Vernon zone. With the cycle going down low the Kings were unable to create any good quality scoring chances. Powell River was also playing a physical game early taking the body on any chance they had. The Kings carried the play in the opening few minutes but come up with just a single shot before the Vipers turned the play around, coming back with some pressure of their own. Cory Kane had Vernons best scoring chance getting off a quick wrist shot from the circle, as Josh Watson made the routine save. Dan Nycholats point shot was scooped up in front by Dlyan Walchuk, Walchuk with two real good chances in front was stopped by Watson who made two big saves. The Kings would get the first powerplay of the night but wouldnt register a single shot with the man advantage as Vernon would kill off the minor. Shortly after Powell River would head back to the powerplay but once again wouldnt record a shot with the man advantage as the Vipers killed off the minor. Not much action as the period went along, as both teams couldnt seem to generate much offence. Vernon would get its first powerplay of the game and take advantage. Braden Pimm setup Mike Collins in the slot who wired one past Josh Watson at 12:19 putting the Vipers up 1-0. Pimm & Dan Nycholat with the assists. Just three minutes later the Vipers would go back on the man advantage but this time the Kings penalty kill would kill off the minor. Dylan Walchuk put Vernon up 2-0 at 18:03 Jonathan Milhouse & Cory Kane collected the helpers. Powell River couldnt generate much offence as the Vipers were up 2-0 after 20 minutes of play. Vernon outshot Powell River 13-3.
2nd Period: Once again the Kings with some good early pressure got the play in deep and really moved the puck well in the Vernon zone. The Vipers back on their heels had troubles clearing the zone. Daniel Carr with Powell Rivers best scoring chance was stopped by Blake Voth. Reid Campbells point shot somehow got through a maze of players but Voth managed to make the save with traffic in front. The Kings got off to a good start just like the opening period but this period managed to create and generate some offence. Powell River controlled the edge in play for the first few minutes getting some good chances but couldnt beat Voth. Vernon finally got things moving and took over for the remainder of the 2nd period. Rob Short was all alone in front but was stopped by Josh Watson who made a big save in close. Braden Pimm with some great individual effort carried the puck from behind the goal, cut towards the net but was stopped by Watson. Adam Thompsons point shot was tipped in front by Kellen Jones but somehow Watson made the pad save. Jonathan Milhouse setup Dylan Walchuk on an odd man rush as Watson slide across to make the big save. The Vipers hardwork finally paid off, Braden Pimm setup Cole Ikkala in the slot who beat Watson low to the ice at 10:00 putting Vernon up 3-0. Pimm & Mike Collins with the assists. Just over three minutes later the Vipers would get their third powerplay of the night but couldnt capitalise. Late in the middle frame Powell River would get a long five on three powerplay. The Kings would get three good chances but for the most part Vernons penalty kill was solid killing off the two man advantage. Braden Pimm had a great chance one on one shorthanded but ran out of room and couldnt get off a shot. The Vipers played very well in the 2nd period having the edge in play up 3-0 after 40 minutes of play. Vernon outshot Powell River 13-11.
3rd Period: The Kings come out gunning, once again getting the play in deep, moving the puck well Powell River come up with plent of good quality chances early. The Vipers looked very flat, standing around watching the Kings skate circles around them. Powell River with two or three good chances in close couldnt beat Blake Voth. The Kings had the Vipers hemmed in their own end, but couldnt find the back of the net. On the Vipers first breakout Kellen Jones would drive towards the net hard beating Watson at 4:43 putting Vernon up 4-0. Connor Jones & David Robinson added the assists. The Kings control the first four and a half minutes in the Vipers zone and couldnt score, back come the Vipers with one chance and hit the back of the net. Powell River didnt back down, back come the Kings and just less then a minute later Brenden Forbes setup Chad Niddery in front who beat Blake Voth at 5:31 putting the Kings on the scoreboard. Forbes & Teagan Waugh adding the assists. The Kings kept plugging away, coming right back with more pressure deep in the Vipers zone. Vernon was caught standing around for most of the first half of the final period. Daniel Carr with a chance in front was stopped by Voth who saw his most action of the night. Chad Niddery would get his second of the night at 8:49 cutting the Vernon lead to 4-2 Mat Bodie & Ben Schmidt with the helpers. Mark Ferner then decided to call a timeout after his club was being outworked and outplayed all 3rd period. after the timeout off the draw Matt Garbowsky would be alone in the slot and wire his shot off the crossbar after having Blake Voth beat as the Kings didnt quit. Powell River looked very good getting lots of good chances. Chad Niddery then with a great chance couldnt beat Voth who played very well tonight. Andrew Pettitt with a chance was stopped by Voth. The Vipers who quit skating almost let the Kings to just skate around leaving them untouched. The Vipers would finally get the play out of their own end and generate some offence of their own after Powell River basically carried the play deep in the Vernon zone for the first 12 minutes of the 3rd. The play would go back and forth for most of the remainder of the period with both teams getting some decent chances but no real solid scoring plays. With 1:52 left Powell River would pull Watson for the extra attacker, Matt Grabowsky would get a great chance in front, but was stoned by Blake Voth, who then had to slide to the side of the net and rob Jordan Grant who also had a great chance on the rebound. Just after Rob Short would pick up the loose puck and go in for the breakaway hitting the empty net to put Vernon up 5-2 at 18:24 Shorts goal was unassisted. In the dying seconds Cody Rainaldi with a shot from the slot just missed the far corner. The Vipers got lucky and hung on for the 5-2 victory. Powell River outshot Vernon 10-5.
Top Players: (Vernon)
Dylan Walchuk (1 goal) Looked very strong for Vernon up front. Walchuk has really come along latley and played very well tonight. His speed, hustle and stick handling abbilities were very good tonight.
Cole Ikkala (1 goal) Also played and looked very good up front tonight. Ikkala was also skating well, really powered his way through the Kings zone tonight. Scored a real nice goal midway through the 2nd period.
Braden Pimm (2 assists) Pimm was usual self tonight, played very well at both ends of the rink. Showed alot of hustle, worked hard with and without the puck, was very hard to knock off the puck tonight. Was strong on the penalty kill and down low in the Kings zone. Was Vernons hardest worker tonight, thats for sure.
Steve Weinstein played a quiet but yet solid game for the Vipers on the blueline. Went for a huge check in the opening period after having a Kings player lined up, but just missed him at the last second.
Adam Thompson also played a very quiet but yet solid game on the backend. Thompson does all the little things that get unnoticed.
Blake Voth (22 saves) Didnt really have any action in the 1st period (3 shots) made a few good saves in the 2nd but really had to be sharp and play well in the 3rd when the Vipers went to sleep.
Top Players: (Powell River)
The line of Chad Niddery (2 goals), Daniel Carr & Matt Grabowsky was the Kings top offensive unit. This was the Kings go ttoo line, who did most of the damage. Niddery wasnt very noticable in the opening period but played his best hockey in the 3rd scoring 2 goals. Played well at both ends of the rink, showed alot of hustle coming back to break up an odd man rush after just getting a good scoring chance. Carr played very well and had most of the Kings scoring chances.
Reid Campbell played very well on the Kings blueline. A solid defenceman.
Darcy Huisman also played very well on the Powell River backend.
Brenden Forbes looked alright up front for the Kings. Had a few chances.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
It took the Vipers a bit to get going in the 1st period but seemed to settle down and were the better of the two teams for most of the first two periods. Vernon then fell asleep in the 3rd and managed to hang on for the big 5-2 win. This was a huge win as Penticton defeated Merritt tonight 7-2 so the Vipers are still just a single point ahead of the Vees for top spot in the Interior. Once the Vipers went up two goals and then up 3-0 its almost like they were sitting back playing a more defensive style of game, laying off the offence. Vernons penalty kill looked very good tonight, played very well on the five on three. I was very impressed with the Vipers defence in the 1st and 2nd periods, really shut down the Kings attack but sure looked flat in the 3rd. Both teams had some good scoring chances but tonights game didnt have a real good flow to it, atleast I thought. Maybe it was cause we havnt seen the Kings yet and we dont really know much about them, I just found tonights game not to be all that entertaining. The Vipers were lucky to hang on to tonights game, a bounce here or there or if Kellen Jones dosnt score that fouth goal, we got ourselfs a great finish.
Game Thoughts: (Powell River)
The Kings got off to a good start, come out strong, skating hard, moving the puck well, laying the body but couldnt generate much offensive attack. As the 1st went on the Kings couldnt seem to get much of anything going falling down 2-0. Going 0-2 on the man advantage getting no shots dosnt help either. Another good start to the 2nd period, this time creating and getting some good quality chances but couldnt beat Blake Voth. The Kings couldnt keep up the sustained pressure and then lost the 2nd period as Vernon was by far the better of the teams in the middle frame. Kent Lewis must have had a good chat with the boys between periods as Powell River come ready to play in the 3rd and basically dominated the first 12 minutes of the period getting all kinds of chances. After not being able to capitalise the Vipers come back on their first rush of the period and score, if this was a time when they needed a big save, this was it. Watson didnt have a chance on the Jones goal. Give Powell River credit they battled hard in the 3rd gettig all kinds of chances, Chad Niddery scored two huge goals giving them life and then Matt Grabowsky hits the crossbar or else we would have a one goal game with lots of time left. The Kings didnt quit and got two good chances with the goalie out but just couldnt beat Blake Voth. I figure if the Kings would have played like they did in the 3rd the whole game, we may have seen a different score on the scoreboard at the end of the night. Nice to see a good handfull of Kings fans who made the long trip up.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Darren Robak
Patrick McGillis
Powell River:
Brandon Formosa
Alex McDougall
Robbie Bailey
3 Stars:
1st Star: Braden Pimm (2 assists)
2nd Star: Chad Niddery (2 goals)
3rd Star: Cole Ikkala (1 goal)
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