Vipers Shut Down Grizzlies:

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Vipers shut down Grizzlies

by Don Klepp | Added 2010-12-11

On Friday in Victoria the Vernon Vipers gained revenge for the Grizzlies’ recent 3-2 overtime win in Vernon. At Bear Mountain Arena, Blake Voth and the Vipers blanked the home team, 4-0.

Dylan Walchuk and Mike Zalewski led the Viper attack, each with a goal and two assists.

As a marketing promotion, the Victoria fans were issued with rubber snakes that were to be thrown on the ice after the first Grizzly goal. The fans had to wait until the final whistle, but by that time they were as frustrated as the Grizzly players by the way the home team was shut down.

That frustration boiled over in the third period, when the Vipers out shot the Grizz, 14-2. First, Michael Colantone took a swipe at Adam Thompson and the Viper vet fought the Grizzly rookie at 1:28.

The next bout came at 14:05 between Victoria’s Madison Dias and Vernon’s Philip Patenaude, when Patenaude responded to Dias’s taunts.

Finally, former Viper Taylor Love jumped Zach McPhee after McPhee had tripped Love in the Grizzly defensive zone.

Out skated and out worked, the Grizzlies managed just 19 shots and 7 scoring chances in the contest, but they did generate three excellent chances in the second period when the game was still up for grabs.

Each time, Blake Voth maintained the Viper 2-0 lead at the time, with sparkling saves on Wesley Myron, Wade Murphy, and Michael Colantone.

In the third, he robbed Madison Dias at the doorstep while Dias was killing a Michael Colantone roughing penalty.

At the other end, Matt Ginn was unable to repeat his October 30 sensational performance when he stopped 40 of 42 Viper shots in Vernon.

Marcus Basara knuckleballed a rebound past Ginn at 4:30 of the first period after Ginn had denied shots by Brett Corkey and Dylan Walchuk.

Twenty seven seconds later, Mike Zalewski gratefully collected a long rebound in the high slot and buried a powerful shot past Ginn’s catching glove.

The two goals were an aberration in a tight checking opening period.

After Voth’s big stops in the second period, the Vipers began to take control and they put the game to bed in the second half of the period with two goals.

Bryce Kakoske notched his fourth power play goal of the season at 12:05, to make the Grizzlies pay for a pair of rash penalties earned by Kyle Aschim. Kakoske’s point shot found the inside of Ginn’s left post, with Kyle Murphy providing a screen in front of Ginn.

At 18:18, Dylan Walchuk finished off some gritty play by line mates John Knisley and Mike Zalewski. First, Zalewski out muscled two defenders along the right boards in the Victoria end. Knisley picked up the loose puck and swung off the boards so that he shoot on net from the right faceoff dot.

Anticipating the shot, Walchuk beat the Grizzly defender to the rebound and beat Ginn cleanly.

Blake Voth’s third shut out of the year did not place him in the three stars, who were Dylan Walchuk, Mike Zalewski, and the energetic Malcolm Lyles.