I was at tonights BCHL game as Vernon defeated Westside 3-2 in Double Overtime in front of 1,376 fans at Royal LePage Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Blake Voth
Westside: Kevin Jebson
1st Period: The Vipers come out with a strong performance early, almost like a carbon copy from last nights 1st period in Salmon Arm. The Vipers got the puck in deep, moved the puck well getting some good quality chances. Cole Ikkala early on a two on one with Braden Pimm decided to shoot but missed the goal. Vernon would get the games first powerplay but couldnt get one past Kevin Jebson. Kyle Singleton & Max French went in two on one shorthanded but French couldnt get a shot off on a good scoring chance. The Warriors killed off the minor. Vernon carried the edge in play and was by far the better team in the opening period. Mike Collins with Braden Pimm on a two on one, but Pimm was stopped by Kevin Jebson. The Vipers with some good chances couldnt get one past Jebson as the Warriors couldnt contain the Vipers speed and skill down low. Westside would finally get the puck and play deep in the Vernon zone, Trevor Baileys shot from the corner somehow beat Blake Voth at 12:48 putting the Warriors up 1-0. Cam Reid with the lone assist on the play. This was the Warriors first shot on goal. Just after Baileys goal Westside would get its first powerplay of the night and get some good chances. Trevor Bailey with two chances in close couldnt find the back of the net. Tyler Kraus was left all alone at the side of the net but couldnt connect on the pass on another real good chance. Vernon was lucky after some good pressure by the Warriors powerplay unit, in the end the Vipers would kill off the minor. Westside seemed to get things going in the second half of the period and created some chances. Cory Kane & David Robinson with some nice passing tied the game at 15:39 after Kane setup Robinson with a nice crease pass. Kane with the lone assist. But just over two minutes later the Warriors would re-take the lead when Alex Grieve beat Voth in close at 17:57 Tyler Brickler & Quinn Gould with the helpers. Vernon couldnt score on their opportunities in the first half and were down 2-1 after 20 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Warriors 12-10.
2nd Period: A very entertaining 2nd period with both teams getting good chances at either ends of the rink. Kyle Singleton on a odd man rush come close to beating Voth but couldnt get the puck through traffic. David Robinson with some good hustle had a good chance but couldnt beat Jebson. Jebson made a handfull of glove saves in the middle frame, this kid has one heck of a glove. Max French left alone in the slot just fired high and wide of the net on a great scoring chance. Brendan Ellis's big blast from the point was stopped by Voth. Westside would get its first man advantage of the period but it didnt last too long before the Warriors Kevin Jebson was called for diving wich saw some four on four action before the Warriors would get a small powerplay in the end but were unable to score. Some good back and forth action at both ends with some good chances. Both goaltenders played very well in the 2nd. Sahir Gill would tie the game at 14:28 with traffic in front. Rob Short would get credited with the assist. Late in the 2nd David Robinson with a great individual effort would cut wide and drive hard towards the net but couldnt stuff the puck past Jebson. Then Bryce Kakoske all alone had all kinds of time to wheel in from the slot, with Jebson down and out Kakoske couldnt get the puck through traffic in front as the Vipers with two good chances late. It was tied 2-2 after 40 minutes of play. Vernon outshot Westside 13-8.
3rd Period: Vernon got out to a good start getting some good pressure early in the first few minutes. The Vipers with a few good chances then quit skating as Westside started to pick up the play and take over. Cam Reids shot from the slot beat Blake Voth but hit the crossbar. Vernon looked slow and was having troubles clearing the zone. The Vipers couldnt seem to get the play in deep as the Warriors were pressing with some good pressure. Trevor Bailey at the side of the net couldnt connect on a good chance down low. Vernon with four turnovers couldnt seem to get much going, with this their third game in four nights you could see the boys were getting tired. Spencer Humphries with a great chance beat Voth but fired his shot off the crossbar. Westside would then get into penalty trouble as the Vipers with three straight powerplays went to work. Adam Thompson come very close to giving the Vipers the lead after beating Kevin Jebson but hit the post. Bryce Kakoske with a good chance cut from the side of the net to the front but couldnt beat Jebson who played very well. Dan Nycholat wheeled in from the slot but again Jebson was there. The Warriors strong penalty kill would kill off all three minors, just as the last Vernon powerplay was coming to an end the Vipers would be forced into taking a penalty. This putting the Warriors on the man advantage for the remainder of the game and into Overtime. Westside with two good chances missed the net on both shots and then Adam Thompson held the puck against the end wall ragging off some valuable time off the clock inwich managed to kill off the remainder of the 3rd. After the final buzzer Westside Assistant Coach, Greg Lynott said something towards the ref and was tossed from the game. The game was tied 2-2 after 60 minutes of play. The Warriors outshot the Vipers 11-8.
Overtime: Some good back and forth action at both ends made for an entertaining period. Vernon really dug deep and found another gear coming close to ending it on three good chances. Davidon Robinson, Rob Short & Curtis Gedig all with three real good quality chances were the best in the extra frame. Vernon had the better scoring chances in overtime. It was tied 2-2 after 65 minutes of play. Shots were even 4-4.
Double Overtime: Just 26 seconds into the final period Mike Collins carried the puck in over the line, going through two Warriors Collins went backhand high over Jebson to give the Vipers their 7th straight win and 50th win of the season. Collins goal was unassisted. Vernon outshot Westside 1-0.
Top Players: (Vernon)
David Robinson (1 goal) Played a very strong game for Vernon up front. Robinson was skating and playing hard all night. Looked very strong down low and in and around the net.
The line of Rob Short (1 assist), Cory Kane (1 assist) & Sahir Gill (1 goal) was very good. This line has really stepped up their play as of late and been playing some very good hockey. Short once again was very strong on the penalty kill, had some good chances tonight. Kane was a workhorse tonight, was very hard to knock off the puck. Gill has really come along since being traded back to Vernon at the BCHL deadline. Gill now has 11 points in 16 games.
The line of Braden Pimm, Mike Collins (Overtime Winner) & Cole Ikkala was another strong line for the Vipers. Collins and Pimm had several good chances. Collins really see's and reads the ice very well, made some real nice heads up plays through out tonights game. I dont think nobody has more Overtime winners or game winners over the last two years other then Mike Collins. What can you say about the kid from Boston. Scored a real nice goal in Overtime.
Dan Nycholat played a strong game on the Vipers blueline. Made some real smart heads up plays.
Dylan Walchuk had a strong game up front. Walchuk was really flying out there tonight. Was really using his speed down low, took a pounding down low from several Warriors. Cam Reid was going after Walchuk all night, with several hits, and little pushes after the whistle. A few times both players had words with one another.
Blake Voth (27 saves) Now improves to 21-2 in his rookie season with Vernon. Voth has now started nine straight games for the Vipers and playing very well. Played another solid game between the pipes tonight.
Top Players: (Westside)
Kyle Singleton played a strong game up front for the Warriors. Singleton was always involved in the action.
Cam Reid (1 assist) Played well for Westside. Hit the crossbar early in the 3rd period. Made some real nice passes all night. Reid sure had a problem with Dylan Walchuk all night, Reid was going after Walchuk all game.
Spencer Humphries was the Warriors best d-man tonight. This kid played very physical all game, laid out some big hits. Really looked good on the blueline, made some nice heads up plays. Hit the crossbar in the 3rd.
Trevor Bailey (1 goal) Bailey always seems to play well and do well against the Vipers. Bailey opened the scoring in the 1st and had several chances through out the game, missed on atleast two good chances but couldnt connect on the pass.
Alex Grieve (1 goal) Another kid who was always involved in the play. Grieve looked good up front.
Max French played a solid game up front. French had a few good chances, was in and around the net. I really like this kid.
Kevin Jebson (35 saves) Kevin Jebson once again played very well against the Vipers. Didnt really have to stand on his head like some games but managed to make the big save when called apon. Made a handfull of glove saves in the 2nd period. Made a real nice glove save off Curtis Gedig in Overtime.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
For a mean nothing game other then team pride what a very entertaining game. Both teams played very well. The Vipers outplayed and outworked the Warriors in the first half of the 1st but couldnt find the back of the net and then fell down 1-0 on Westsides first shot on goal, how many times have we seen this before? But give the Vipers credit they stuck with their game plan, battled hard to tie the game twice and then dug deep in Overtime finding another gear to pull out the win. Tonight was the Vipers third game in four nights, all vs the top three teams in the Interior Division. You could sure tell the boys were getting tired in the 3rd. A good turnout of Viper fans in attendance, wich made more noise over the Warriors crowd. The Vipers won the season series 4-2. Vernon has now won 7 straight looking very primmed heading into the Playoffs. Tonight was the Vipers 50th win of the season, something only one other Vernon team has managed to complete. The 1999 Royal Bank Cup Champion Vipers won a league record 52 wins. The 1999 Vipers and 1989-90 New West Royals hold the BCHL record for most wins in a season with 52. The only other two Vernon teams that managed to come close to 50 wins was the 1975-76 Vernon Vikings and the 2002-03 Vernon Vipers, both these two teams won 47 games those years.
Game Thoughts: (Westside)
The Warriors got off to a bit of a slow start and were outplayed and outworked in the games first ten or so minutes but managed to come back and play very well against the Vipers for the remainder of the game. Westside had several good chances, hitting the crossbar twice in the 3rd. Westside's penalty kill was very solid. The Warriors did miss the net alot in close. This was a very entertaining hockey game and always is when these two teams meet up. Tonights game could be a preview of a 2nd round playoff matchup.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Connor Jones
Kellen Jones
Kevin Kraus
Westside:
Jason Nash
Michael Quinn
Izaak Berglund
3 Stars:
1st Star: Spencer Humphries
2nd Star: Dan Nycholat
3rd Star: Kevin Jebson (35 saves)
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