Vipers Smother Chiefs:

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Vipers smother Chiefs

by Don Klepp | Added 2010-01-30

A solid team effort allowed the Vernon Vipers to stifle the visiting Langley Chiefs 5-1 Saturday.

Both teams took the body throughout the contest, as each team registered 31 hits. Langley’s Mitch Pacey and Vernon’s David Robinson led the hit parade for their respective teams.

Also, both goaltenders played well. Although he was torched for five goals, Mark Friesen shone in net for Langley, gloving many shots that were destined for the top corner. Each period, the Vipers had seven quality scoring chances, as they were allowed to freewheel through the neutral zone.

Meanwhile, Blake Voth was solid and occasionally spectacular in the Vernon goal. In the third period, for example, he faced down each of Brad McBride, Brandon Thompson, and Colton Beck. In the process, he reduced his league-leading goals against average to 1.50 and improved his BCHL-best save percentage to 93.80.

Except for a first-period one-timer off the stick of Braden Pimm, the scoring happened in the second period. Special teams led the Vipers. At 4:30, Mike Collins circled and then went straight up “Collins Lane,” an area between the right faceoff dot and the edge of the faceoff circle. As he did in the previous night’s contest, he snapped a high, quick shot past the goalkeeper.

Twenty-one seconds later the Jones boys followed with a high tempo shorthanded goal. Kellen knocked down a pass at his line and burst past the Chief point man with Connor to his right. From 25 feet, Connor swept an ice skimmer just inside the post.

At 10:28, Dan Nycholat came off the point to take a perfect pass from Bryce Kakoske and rip a shot past Friesen. The power play goal was Nycholat’s fifth of the season, but his first in 26 games.

Langley’s only goal came when Brad McBride picked off a weak Viper clearing pass set up Trevor Gerling, who made a nice move to get around Voth and deposit the puck in an open net at 14:41.

Cole Ikkala closed the scoring at 18:20 when he tapped in Braden Pimm’s feed from behind the net. Ikkala was named first star in the game because of his three points and relentless play. He has blossomed in the six games he has skated with Collins and Pimm, scoring 7 goals and 6 assists in that stretch.

The third period featured some wide open play and strong goaltending. It also saw an incident behind the Viper net. Blake Voth came to play the puck, and he was hammered by Jordan Sims. Dan Nycholat sprang to his goaltender’s defence and fought with Sims. Colten Hayes, Josh Myers, joined in, along with Vernon’s Jonathan Milhouse.

The Vipers who have now scored 22 shorthanded goals, which equals the number of power play markers they’ve allowed. They came very close to adding two more in the third period. First, Kellen and Connor Jones created a two-on-one rush, but Kellen’s goalmouth pass was just out of Connor’s reach. Then, Rob Short beat Friesen with a howitzer, but had the puck bounce off the cross bar.