Snakes Earn Share Of Interior Lead:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

Snakes earn share of Interior lead

By Kevin Mitchell - Vernon Morning Star

Published: January 04, 2011

The Vernon Vipers rung in the new year by grabbing a share of the B.C. Hockey League Interior Conference penthouse with the Penticton Vees.

Darren Nowick (shorthanded), Kyle Murphy and Pat McGillis, into an empty net, handled the offence as the Vipers shaded the Vees 3-1 in a fast-paced showdown before 1,778 fans Saturday night at Wesbild Centre.

It was a possible playoff preview between two ultra-talented teams.

And while the Vees recently bolstered their lineup with sniper Myles McCauley, who played alongside second overall Boston Bruin draft Tyler Seguin last year with the Plymouth Whalers, and appear set, the Vipers are seeking another defenceman as they head into the home stretch.

“We’re not going to be too hasty,” said Viper head coach Mark Ferner. “Bruin McDonald (acquired in a trade with Victoria and cut by the Major Junior Gatineau Olympiques two weeks ago) apparently doesn’t want to play hockey anymore, and that’s unfortunate.

“There are defencemen out there, but they’re 20 and I like our 20-year-olds.”

Ferner said the Snakes, who play 12 of their remaining 19 games at Wesbild Centre, would listen to reasonable offers for another big forward.

Vees’ head coach Fred Harbinson likely won’t tweak his roster at the Jan. 10 deadline.

“We’ve got one card left, but I’m pretty happy with our guys,” said Harbinson. “Our effort was pretty good tonight against a good hockey club.

“When you look at the top teams in our division right now, it’s anybody’s game and I think we’re gonna be right there at the end of the year.”

McCauley, who played on the Vees’ No. 1 unit with NHL draft picks Brendan O’Donnell (Tampa Bay) and Mark MacMillan (Montreal), earned 17 goals and 30 points with Plymouth and another five goals and 11 points with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds last season.

The Michigan product played 21 games with the Hounds and Peterborough Petes before his agent, Dave Reid, turned his attention to the Vees.

The Vipers beat the Vees for the fourth time this season. The teams also have a 1-1 tie in the books. They meet Feb. 5 in Vernon in their final regular-season battle.

Nowick, a rookie out of Los Angeles, found an open net in front after McGillis’s shot was stopped by Joel Rumpel at 6:28 of the second period. Defenceman Adam Thompson started the play with 24 seconds remaining in John Knisley’s interference penalty. It was Nowick’s second goal of the year.

The Vipers went up 2-0 seven minutes later when Murphy drove hard to the net and buried a feed by Marcus Basara, who had sped down the right wing after taking a nice outlet pass from Todd Skirving. It was Murphy’s 12th of the year.

Penticton pulled to within one 1:39 later, on the powerplay when O’Donnell went high on Blake Voth from five feet out. McCauley, who had six goals in his first seven games with the Vees, and the BCHL’s leading defenceman, Joey Laleggia, drew the assists.

Laleggia, who has 54 points, started the play by ripping a point shot off the back boards. The goal came 58 seconds into Nowick’s holding minor.

Ferner was excited to see the energetic Nowick get rewarded with a goal.

“He hasn’t put up the numbers he’s wanted, but he’s so invaluable,” said Ferner. “We know what we’re going to get out of him every night. We can put him in situations to take faceoffs. He’s good on the draw. He’s got such a great work ethic. It’s nice to see him get some success offensively as far as putting a few points up. He’s a hard-working kid at both ends of the rink.”

Nowick, who hit the post early in the third period, enjoyed a solid showing with linemates McGillis and Aaron Hadley.

“It was just a good team effort overall,” said Nowick. “We knew it was a big game and we were ready for it.”

The Vees outshot the Vipers 9-6 in the first period, something rarely accomplished at Wesbild. The teams finished with 30 shots apiece.

“I thought it was a well-played game by both sides,” said Ferner. “I thought they got the momentum early with that early powerplay (26 seconds in) and our guys didn’t steer away from what they were doing. We knew if we worked hard, we’d get back into it. It was one of those games that could have went either way.”

The Vipers, who kept the dangerous Vees to the perimeter most of the night, improved to 22-8-4-7. The Vees dipped to 26-11-2-1.

Voth was very sharp in earning his 18th win of the season.

Added Harbinson: “We don’t like losing to these guys, but since we’ve made the changes to our team, we’ve got a tie in our building and a tight one-goal loss, basically, in theirs and so we’ll get back to the drawing board. In the next month here, every game is against the other conference so we’re just gonna get back to work on Monday.”

The Vipers host the Langley Chiefs Thursday night before starting a home and home with the Westside Warriors Friday night in West Kelowna.

Vees’ captain Derik Johnson felt his club competed hard and showed good patience.

“They’re a good hockey club, they’re a well-coached hockey club,” said Johnson. “They’re gonna compete every night, they’re gonna block shots and we’re gonna have games like this against them. When it boils down to it, it’s a seven-game series and that’s what we all like to play. We’re disappointed with the loss, but I think we’re a much better different club than we were at the beginning of the season when we played (Vernon) maybe three games in the first month.”

Johnson likes the savvy the 19-year-old McCauley brings to Penticton.

“He’s a big addition for our team and he’s a real good kid and obviously he’s been around some very talented players like Seguin so he brings a lot of insight, a lot of knowledge and a lot of skill. He can definitely put the puck away when he needs to. He’s a very valuable piece to what we’re trying to do and we’re happy to have them.”