Viper Vets Lead The Way In Win Over Westside:

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Viper vets lead the way in win over Westside

by Don Klepp | Added 2010-10-09

Led by their top line of 20-year-old veterans the Westside Warriors mounted a spirited third period comeback in Vernon on Saturday, but bowed to the Vipers, 6-4.

After their 4-1 win the previous night in Westside, the Vipers swept their Okanagan rivals in the home-and-home series.

The Vipers iced a 20-year-old line of their own with Kyle Murphy centering Bryce Kakoske and David Robinson. Their two goals were notched by Bryce Kakoske.

His first goal, at 18:43 of the first period, gave the Vipers a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.

Kaksoke’s high floater came from just over centre ice; it somehow eluded Kevin Boyle’s catching mitt and found the top corner.

His second goal was a slap shot, a howitzer on a tight angle from the left wing at 1:16 of the second period. In the midst of a line change, he was set up by Adam Thompson and Patrick McGillis.

Thompson had scored the Vipers’ first goal, on the power play, 1:58 into the game. It followed a checking from behind penalty to Peter MacIntosh.

Just before Thompson’s slap shot found the top corner, Steve Weinstein had beaten Boyle, only to have the puck ring off the cross bar.

The score stayed 1-0 until 17:44, when a fine effort by Warrior defenceman Brayden Sherbinin tied the game. He rushed out of his end, passed to Tyler Krause and one-timed Krause’s return pass past Blake Voth.

Sherbinin scored on an even stronger individual effort at 3:04 of the second period, to pull Westside to within one goal, at 3-2. Twisting and turning, he beat three Viper stick checks in the Viper zone and then swept the puck past Voth.

McGillis restored the Viper two-goal lead with a fine short handed goal at 19:27. Adam Thompson cleared the puck to his blue line, where Dylan Walchuk chipped it past the Warrior point man and raced down the right wing.

Walchuk slowed down when he reached the Warrior zone and waited for the hustling McGillis to go to the net. McGillis tipped Walchuk’s perfect pass for his first goal of the season.

“Coach Ferner has been telling us to go hard to the net to earn our goals,” said McGillis, “and that’s all I tried to do.”

It seemed that the Vipers were home and dry, but the Alex Grieve line had other ideas as they pressed the issue and scored twice to knot the score at 4-4 in the third.

Grieve scored the first with Viper Darren Nowick in the penalty box, at 7:33. He took advantage of Elliott Richardson’s weak clearing attempt.

Quinn Gould got the tying goal at 12:13, following a strong, prolonged forecheck by Gould, Grieve, and Kyle Singleton.

At that point, it looked like the Warriors had all the momentum, but 35 seconds later Patrick McGillis notched the winner at the goal mouth on a great feed by Dylan Walchuk.

Mike Zalewski capped the scoring when he took Kyle Murphy’s bank pass and went in alone on Boyle.

Walchuk, who returned earlier in the afternoon from a visit to the campus of Northern Michigan University, found that his place on the top line had now gone to Kyle Murphy. Placed on a line with Patrick McGillis and Darren Nowick, Walchuk had a strong game, earning three assists and setting up Nowick for several excellent scoring chances.

McGillis was delighted with the opportunity to rejoin Walchuk. “We had excellent chemistry last year in the Doyle Cup and the RBC,” said McGillis. “I just love playing with Wally.”

Coach Mark Ferner was philosophical about the Vipers’ third period letdown. “We stopped talking to each on the ice and starting turning the puck over when Westside applied pressure. It’s mental fatigue, I think. The guys have played a lot of hockey lately – 6 games in 9 days, I think it’s been – and they were a bit vulnerable.”

The Warriors were also vulnerable at the back end, where defencemen Tom Kroshus and Isaac Berglund were missing because of injury. Peter MacIntosh was ejected in the first minute of the game, and Michael King was dressed but saw little action due to an ankle injury.

Down to four defencemen, Coach Darren Yopyk was forced to move Dru Morrison back to the blue line and play some of his D-men more than he would have wanted, and the Vipers took advantage.