Kakoske Ends Viper Skid In OT:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

Kakoske ends Viper skid in OT

Published: November 20, 2010

Morning Star Staff

The Vernon Vipers didn’t care how they got it, they just wanted a win. And they found one in the most unlikely of places – in overtime.

The Snakes had just one OT win in six attempts heading into Friday night B.C. Hockey League action against the Coquitlam Express. They avoided a four-game losing streak when Bryce Kakoske danced into the slot and unleashed a wrister 23 seconds into the extra frame to give his team a much-needed 4-3 win before 937 fans.

“I needed that one after what happened earlier,” grinned Kakoske, whose cross-ice pass was intercepted by Coquitlam’s Garrick Perry and converted into a shorthanded game-tying goal midway through the third period.

“Their third goal – I should have got an assist on it.”

After outshooting Coquitlam 27-9 by the midway point of the second period (and 49-19 overall), the Vipers probably felt a bit unfortunate to be down 2-1. Vernon netminder Blake Voth allowed two goals on the first three shots he faced as Coquitlam’s Mitchell Deacon, unassisted, and Massimo Lamacchia, assisted by Jason Grecica, both found the net.

David Robinson, with his team-leading 12th goal, answered for Vernon at 8:25 of the first period after Dylan Walchuk showed some good hustle down low to set up the play.

“It was an ugly goal. There was nothing pretty about it, and we need more of that,” said Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner, who urged his players to get pucks and bodies in front of the Coquitlam net.

After a scoreless second period, the Vipers equalized on Aaron Hadley’s eighth goal of the season at 4:28 of the third period. Colton Sparrow, who drew the second assist, started the play with an aggressive forecheck in Coquitlam’s zone.
Todd Skirving (3rd goal) pounced on a loose puck in front of netminder Luke Hernandez (45 saves) at 7:19 to give Vernon their first lead.

Although the boxscore said it was unassisted, Ferner credited Viper rookie Darren Nowick for creating the play.

“There was a lot of hard work done to create that turnover,” he said. “We had some real good efforts and hopefully we can build on that and string some wins together.”

Added Kakoske: “We had them hemmed in pretty tight most of the night. We were getting on their dee early and keeping it deep in their end.”

Walchuk, who collected two assists, earned second star behind Perry. Hernandez rated third star for his 45-save showing.

Voth recorded 16 stops for the win, as the Vipers are now 4-3-0-3 in their last 10 outings.

Kakoske played his 300th BCHL game as the Vipers (13-8-1-5) faced the Langley Chiefs (16-8-0-4) Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre. They end a four-game coastal tour against the Surrey Eagles (15-9-1-1) today (2 p.m.) at South Surrey Arena.

The 20-year-old Vernon product said they need to keep playing with grit to build on Friday night’s win.

“We just have to go in with the same attitude.”