Vipers Swamp Merritt:

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Vipers swamp Merritt

by don klepp | Added 2010-02-05

The Vipers scored early and often en route to a 7-3 win in Merritt Friday.

At the 10-second mark, Connor Jones beat Merritt goalie Keith Hamilton after splitting the defence. He was set up by Dan Nycholat and David Robinson.

Connor's early goal came within two seconds of the fastest goal in BCHL history. The BCHL record book cites Surrey’s Corey Stock scoring 8 seconds into a game with Chilliwack on March 15, 1995.

Merritt equalized on a Derek Hills strike that came after Colton Sobchak lost the puck on a rush, but the Vipers stormed back with three goals before the first period finished. Cole Ikkala continued his torrid pace on a give and go with Mike Collins and Braden Pimm at 10:50. Cory Kane scored 40 seconds later when he rifled a wrist shot over Hamilton’s glove. Rob Short then fired his first of the night following a good forecheck by Sahir Gill and Cory Kane.

In the first two minutes of the second period, Mike Collins and Rob Short pushed the Viper lead to 6-1. Dustin Johnson then scored his first of two goals to make it 6-2, but David Robinson notched his 7th in 12 games to restore the five-goal lead.

In a quiet third period, Dustin Johnson got his second (and 33rd of the season) after Alex Valenti out-muscled a Viper defender in the corner. As the period wore on, it seemed that the Vipers’ travel schedule had finally caught up with their energy levels, but they hung on for the victory. (The team had to rise at 5 am to catch a charter plane from Powell River to Vancouver, and they had to kill the rest of the day without the normal pre-game nap.)

For the first time this season, the Vipers gave up more than 35 shots, as the Centennials outshot the Vipers 40 to 28, but the five unanswered goals by the Vipers in the first and second periods told the tale in this game.

The game's three stars were Rob Short, Connor Jones, and Dustin Johnson.

Short and Cory Kane finished the night with three points each, while David Robinson, Cole Ikkala, Mike Collins, Braden Pimm, and Sahir Gill each registered two points.

The Vipers have now won all six games between these two teams this season, by a cumulative score of 42-11. They meet again in Vernon on Tuesday for their final meeting this year.