I was at tonight's RBC Cup as Vernon defeated La Ronge 4-2 in front of 1,035 people at the Credit Union Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Graeme Gordon
La Ronge: Joel Danyluk
1st Period: The La Ronge Ice Wolves come out hitting, laying the body on almost any check they had. The Ice Wolves a much bigger team then Vernon jumped on the Vipers early with the physical play. La Ronge hemmed the Vipers in their own end early and then come at them hard with a strong forecheck, forcing the Vipers to move the puck quickly. This didnt stop Vernon as Curtis Gedig's point shot was tipped in front by Jonathan Milhouse at 3:56 giving Vernon the first goal of the night. Gedig with the lone assist. But the Vipers couldnt hold the lead for long as back come La Ronge just 24 seconds later, the Ice Wolves got the puck inbehind the Vernon net, getting Graeme Gordon moving side to side and then Doug Lindensmith beat Gordon on the wrap around at 4:20 tying the game 1-1. Aaron Enns with the loe helper. La Ronge would get the games first powerplay of the night but were unable to record a shot on net as Vernon would kill off the minor. Shortly after the Vipers would get their first powerplay of the night, Kellen Jones with the lone good chance from the side of the net, hit the far post as the Vipers come close to re-taking the lead. Vernon struggled on the man advantage as the Ice Wolves killed off the minor. A very tight checking, very physical 1st period with no real scoring chances other then the two team's goals, made for a not so entertaining opening period. Very little room for either of the two teams to try and get an offensive attack going. La Ronge did a great job at hemming the Vipers in their own end, as Vernon seemed to have trouble's moving the puck against the bigger Ice Wolves team. Late in the 1st Vernon with a two man advantage would get two great chances. Mike Collins shot from the slot was tipped by Cole Ikkala but Ikkala's shot couldnt get by Danyluk. After La Ronge killed off one of the minors, late on the second penalty Kellen Jones setup Sahir Gill on a parcial two on one but Gill was stopped by Danyluk. The Vipers moved the puck well but waisted most of the two man advantage by not getting many shots towards the net, La Ronge would kill off the two man powerplay. A fairly even period with both teams not having much room out there, La Ronge was by far the more physical team out hitting the Vipers. It was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Ice Wolves 8-5.
2nd Period: Vernon would get off to a quick start, just 1:23 into the middle frame Rob Short fed David Robinson in front who beat Danyluk giving the Vipers a 2-1 lead. Taylor Piller with a great chance just over two minutes later wired a hard shot from the circle, Gordon come up with the glove save but was unable to hold the puck and had to fall back to come up with a huge glove save to rob Piller. On the next shift Vernon would go on the powerplay and take advantage. David Robinson unassisted at 4:38 gave the Vipers a two goal lead early in the 2nd. Just over a minute later the Vipers with another powerplay were unable to grab a three goal lead as the Ice Wolves killed off the minor. Vernon looked very sharp in the middle frame, carrying most of the balance of play. The Vipers really used their speed to their advantage to avoid the physical play and started to open up the ice as the period went on. La Ronge would jump on the man advantage and come very close to making it a one goal game. Dan Conacher wheeled in from the side, ripping a shot from the circle that beat Gordon but rang off the corner post. Vernon would kill off the minor. The Vipers carried most of the play, in the Ice Wolves zone. La Ronge seemed to get away from the physical side and wasnt giving the Vipers as much pressure on the forecheck, once the Vipers started using their speed and opening up the ice, Vernon was by far the better team in the 2nd. The Vipers with some good pressure deep in the Ice woles zone, but were unable to get any real good scoring chances. With about three minutes remaining Braden Pimm was robbed by the glove of Joel Danyluk. Shortly after Cole Ikkala setup Braden Pimm in front but couldnt beat Danyluk in close. Late in the period Jonathan Milhouse setup Sahir Gill on a two on one but again Danyluk come up with the big save. Vernon seemed to be getting several odd man rushes as the period went on, especially in the final five or six minutes. La Ronge with no real pressure or any kind of attack, had one shot on goal in the final seven or eight minutes. In the dying seconds a scramble in front of the Ice Wolves goal, Joel Danyluk was forced to make two big pad saves before hurting his leg on the final save. With 1.2 seconds left on the clock Danyluk was helped off the ice as Adam Bartko was now between the pipes. Vernon was up 3-1 after 40 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot and outplayed the Ice Woles 18-9.
3rd Period: Just under a minute into the 3rd Kellen Jones got inbehind the La Ronge goal and got a quick shot off but was stopped by Adam Bartko. Back come the Ice Woles two minutes later, Travis Eggum was stopped by Graeme Gordon after making a big pad save. The Vipers would get an early powerplay, Dan Nycholat's blast from the point was tipped in front by David Robinson who was looking for his 3rd goal of the night, Robinson come very close as the puck just missed the far side of the net. Vernon was unable to generate any other real good chances as La Ronge killed off the minor. Shortly after the Ice Wolves got the play in deep and with a good forecheck, held the puck deep in the Vipers zone for a good few minutes but Vernon's defence played solid keeping the Ice Woles to the outside, as La Ronge couldnt get any shots towards the net. With Vernon up by two goals the Vipers basically hit centre and then got the puck in deep and changed up lines, trying to kill as much time off the clock as possible. Bryce Kakoske battled hard along the end wall, the puck took a bit of a funny bounce wich forced Adam Bartko to move towards the other side of the net, this giving Kakoske time to grab the puck and slide it in on the wrap around. The puck just barley got across the line after Bartko come diving back across his crease to try and make the save. Bartko and the Ice Wolves thought their goaltender had made the save after no red light had come on during the play. The referee and linesmen discussed the play and rewarded the Vipers with their 4th goal of the night at 7:48 Somehow Adam Thompson was given the goal. The goal was unassisted. Two minutes later the Ice Wolves driving hard towards the net, were banging away at the loose puck, with a ton of traffic in front, the whistle had blown just as the Ice Wolves put the puck in the back of the net. The red light had come on, but the whistle was blown before the puck went in. A very close call as La Ronge would have made this a two goal game. La Ronge was given a powerplay on the next shift but it was Rob Short & David Robinson on the two on one shorthanded, as Short couldnt beat Bartko. The Vipers would kill off the minor. In the final few minutes La Ronge would get the puck in deep and put some pressure on but again the Vernon defence kept the Ice Wolves to the outside, as valuable time was being killed off the clock. At 18:14 Dayton Fossum setup Doug Lindensmith for his 2nd of the night as the Ice Wolves were now within two. La Ronge would pull Adam Bartko for the extra attacker with just oer a minute left, the Ice Wolves would get the puck in deep and get a quick shot off from the point but somehow the puck didnt get through hitting traffic in front. With the play still alive a mad scramble in front of Graeme Gordon who was down and out, La Ronge tried getting the puck towards the front of the goal but couldnt, they finally did get the puck out front as Gordon and a Viper d-man come diving across to try and stop the puck. A very hectic final few seconds before the Vipers would clear the zone and run out the clock. The Vipers would defeat La Ronge 4-2 to improve to 1-1 while the Ice Wolves also drop to 1-1. La Ronge outshot Vernon 12-9.
Top Players: (Vernon)
Curtis Gedig (1 assist) I was very impressed with the play from Curtis Gedig tonight. Played very well at both ends of the rink, moved the puck well and looked very good with and without the puck.
Dylan Walchuk had lots of jump and speed in his game for atleast the first two periods. Walchuk really used his wheels and quickness in and along the boards to get away fro the physical play.
Braden Pimm played his second straight good game for the Vipers. Pimm with a few real good scoring chances tonight.
David Robinson (2 goals) Robinson another player who has looked very good at the RBC. Robinson seems to have stepped up his game to another level in the first two games. Has been going to the net hard, digging in and around the net and along the wall, showed alot of hustle at the RBC and has been rewarded.
Rob Short (1 assist) Really played well up front. Played with alot of jump and hustle. Didnt back down from the physical play, was hit a few times but bounced right back up.
Top Players: (La Ronge)
Joel Danyluk (25 saves) Made 25 saves before injuring his leg in the final 1.2 seconds of the 2nd period and was helped off the ice and never returned. Danyluk played very well, made some key saves in the 2nd period to keep his team in the game. Looked very good between the pipes before getting injured. let's hope this kid is ok.
Doug Lindensmith (2 goals) Scored both Ice Wolves goals and was a threat wit the puck. Has some size and hands.
Dan Conacher had a few good chances, seems to be at the right place at the right time. This kid was quick and very sneaky, getting inbehind the d-men.
Colton MacPherson another big kid that played a good game on the blueline for La Ronge.
Travis Eggum played well at times for the Ice Wolves.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
Vernon seemed to have some trouble in the opening period with the physical play. La Ronge really hemmed them in their own end at times and was really forcing the Vipers on the forecheck, tying up guys, not giving Vernon any room. Im sure the Vipers were a little frustrated at times but managed to get the first goal of the night. A very tight checking-physical 1st period with very little scoring chances. I thought the Vipers coe out hard in the 2nd and seemed to use their speed and skill a little to open up some ice and really start to take over the game. The Vipers looked very good in the middle frame and were by far the better team. Scoring the 4th goal in the 3rd was nice and not really give La Ronge a shot at a comeback. I was impressed with how Vernon adjusted to the play from the Ice Wolves and seemed to tweak a few little things here and there but really played much better in the final two periods. After taking a good handfull of penalties last night, Vernon played very discaplined tonight staying out of the box. Nice to see some Vernon fans show up for tonights game. I would say there was about 10-12 Viper fans here last night, with another 5-8 fans showing up tonight. I think as the tournament moves along, you may see more Vernon fans show up. Tonight was kinda like a must win for Vernon, they didnt want to go down 0-2 in the first two games. Oakville lost this afternoon 11-2 and are now 0-2. Nice to see the boys re group after a tough loss last night and come back with a big 4-2 win tonight. Vernon will now get a day off and face off against 0-2 Oakville Tuesday afternoon.
Game Thoughts: (La Ronge)
La Ronge is one of the bigger teams I have seen in a while. 16 kids that are six feet or taller. Some very good size and weight to a team that can play physical. Te Ice Wolves come out hard, taking the body off the opening faceoff, really taking it to the Vipers. Then fought back with a quick goal just seconds after Vernon opened the scoring. I was a little nervous after the 1st period but as the game went on La Ronge didnt look or play like the same team that was so physical in the opening period. La Ronge seemed to have troubles with the Vipers speed and skill, once the game started to open up. The Ice Wolves just couldnt seem to muster alot of offence in the 2nd and 3rd. There were alot of La Ronge fans at tonights game, wich made alot of noise when there team scored or had problems with the referee.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Darrin Robak
Connor Jones (Injured)
La Ronge:
Zane Morin (AP)
Nathan Boyer (AP)
Travis Gordon
Mike Alexander
Skyler Hladun (AP)
Players of the game:
Vernon: David Robinson (2 goals)
La Ronge: Doug Lindensmith
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