I was at tonight's BCHL game as Vernon defeated Prince George 5-4 in overtime in front of 1,734 fans at the Wesbild Centre.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Blake Voth
Prince George: Kirk Thompson
1st Period: Vernon would get off to a good start and outplay PG for most of the opening period. Just twenty seconds into the game, Viper captain David Robinson and Bryce Kakoske on a parcial two on one, as Robinson fed Kakoske who got off a weak shot as Kirk Thompson made the save. Off the draw on the next shift the Vipers would setup Darren Nowick in the slot who was stopped by Thompson. Prince George would get the games first powerplay but have troubles setting up as the Spruce Kings didnt record a shot on goal as Vernon killed off the minor. A few shifts later Dylan Walchuk come back with a good shot from the slot but was stopped by Kirk Thompson. The Vipers with good jump and playing with alot of energy were really moving the puck well, getting some good chances early. The Spruce Kings were having all kinds of trouble with the Vipers speed and skill as Vernon was basically skating circles around Prince George. Vernon would then open the scoring, Aaron Hadley was stopped in close after Thompson made a nice pad save, but couldnt hold onto the rebound, kicking it out front to Patrick McGillis who's wearing Jeff Cheeseman's jersey #19, put the rebound past Thompson at 5:17. Hadley and John Knisley collected the assists. Just under a minute later David Robinson beat Kirk Thompson at 6:11 giving the Vipers a 2-0 lead, Kyle Murphy and Bryce Kakoske with the helpers. The Spruce Kings would take six minutes before recording their first shot on net. Vernon didnt quit coming in waves, just under two minutes later John Knisley at 8:08 put Vernon up 3-0 and in full control, Patrick McGillis and Aaron Hadley with the assists. Dave Dupas was quick to call a timeout and settle his troops down as Vernon was basically outworking and outskating PG. Thompson was getting no help from his defenceman, as the Vipers were able to walk right in and pick up the rebounds without being checked. The thirty second timeout seemed to settle down the Spruce Kings, as PG started to lay the body and get fairly physical against Vernon down 3-0. Former Viper Todd Skirving had his biggest check of the night, sending Malcolm Lyles to the ice, and Ben Woodley leveled Aaron Hadley in mid ice, sending the Viper rookie to the ice. As the period went on, Vernon slowly started to hit back as both teams were now playing physical. Prince George wasnt even in this game as it was all Vernon, the Vipers were outshooting the Spruce Kings 12-2 at the midway mark of the opening period. PG seemed to tighten up defensively in the second half of the 1st limiting Vernon's scoring chances. Marcus Basara with a real quality scoring chance in the second half was stopped by Kirk Thompson after a quick drive towards the net by Basara. PG with only two shots in the first half of the period made life easy for Blake Voth who wasnt tested at all. Vernon would get a late powerplay and get two good chances. Aaron Hadley and Dylan Walchuk were both stopped in front as the Vipers couldnt capitalise in their first man advantage of the night. The Vipers outplayed the Spruce Kings and were up 3-0 after 20 minutes of play. Vernon outshot Prince George 17-2.
2nd Period: The Vipers who usally are a good 1st period team, have sure had their troubles in the second period this season and it happened again this evening. After a pretty dominating 1st Vernon got off to a slow start in the 2nd and allowed PG slowly back into the hockey game. The Spruce Kings would get the play in deep early and get a little pressure on the Vipers. Vernon who looked a little flat to start the period didnt seem to have the same jump and energy they played with in the opening period. Prince George would get two early flurries in front of Blake Voth but couldnt get any real good quality chances. Voth had to come up with his first big save of the night, robbing Brandon Watson in front, but the puck would come back to the point, Ben Woodley ripped a quick shot beating Blake Voth at 5:35 who couldnt get back up in time after stopping Watson on the first shot. Watson and Trent Murdoch would pick up the helpers. This goal resulted after Dane Muench didnt cover his man, allowing the Spruce Kings to keep the puck in the zone and get the first chance and score on the rebound. PG didnt quit and just under a minute later former Viper Todd Skirving setup Dustin Beairsto who beat Voth at 6:45 getting the Spruce Kings with in a goal. Skirving and Jujhar Khaira collected the assists. Mark Ferner decided to call his thirty second timeout to try and settle his hockey club down after giving up back to back quick goals. Just two minutes after the timeout, John Knisley would cut hard towards the goal and come in all alone but couldnt beat Thompson who stopped the Viper rookie in close keeping this a 3-2 game. Both teams then tightened up defensively as neither team could really get much going in a very tight checking game. After firing everything on goal in the 1st Vernon had just two shots in the first ten minutes of the 2nd period as PG really tightened up defensively, keeping the Vipers to the outside. Ben Woodley then dished out a pretty big hit on Trevor Fitzgerald after the whistle, wich Colton Sparrow didnt seem to like, as the Vernon product went after Woodley. Both players would drop their gloves but didnt get any real punches in as both players were given five minutes for fighting, in the end Vernon would come out of the melay with a two man advantage. The Vipers who are ranked 14th in the league with the powerplay struggled getting very little shots or chances as PG killed off the two man advantage. Give the Spruce Kings credit, after giving the Vipers way too much room to use their speed and skill in the opening period, PG shutdown the Vipers speed and skill in the second, limiting Vernon's chances. In the dying seconds Kirk Thompson made a nice glove save, after stopping Vipers assistant captain, Steve Weinstein from the point. Vernon was up 3-2 after 40 minutes of play. The Spruce Kings outshot the Vipers 11-9.
3rd Period: Vernon come out with lots of jump and energy to start the 3rd. Just four minutes into the final period Malcolm Lyles with a nice move inside the PG blueline, setup Steve Weinstein who fed Kyle Murphy in the slot, Murphy was able to skate right in untouched but couldnt beat Thompson who stayed with Murphy the entire way stopping the Viper twenty year old. The Vipers had total control of the period early, carrying the better of the play deep in the Spruce Kings zone. Marcus Basara and former Viper Todd Skirving exchanged words, as Skirving gave Basara a shot to the head before Dustin Beairsto got involved in some pushing and shoving. Vernon would get an early powerplay out of the scrum and capitalised. Steve Weinstein's point shot beat Kirk Thompson at 6:51 giving the Vipers a 4-2 lead. Darren Nowick with the lone assist on the goal. Just under two minutes later Trevor Fitzgerald and Chase Golightly dropped the mits. Prince George who wasnt in this 3rd period would take eight minutes before recording their first shot of the period after getting a long dump in shot on Blake Voth. Prince George would then get a powerplay but unable to get a single shot as the Vipers killed off the minor. Just a few minutes later the Spruce Kings would get their first chance of the 3rd but Blake Voth had to make his biggest save of the night after making a first save from the slot, Voth coudlnt handle the rebound but robbed Trent Murdoch with the pad on the rebound. PG didnt seem to like Marcus Basara as Basara was taking a few shots after the whistle and on his way to the bench. Dane Muench with a chance in front after a Viper point shot, but Muench couldnt beat Thompson who made the save. The Spruce Kings would come back the other way, Jujhar Khaira setup Ben Woodley in the slot who beat Voth low along the ice shortside at 14:56 cutting the lead to one. Khaira with the only helper. The Spruce Kings who were outplayed in the 3rd only managed two chances but would score on one, making this a one goal game. Prince George would get Kirk Thompson to the bench with 1:24 remaining, as the Spruce Kings would get the play in deep, finding Todd Skirving alone at the side of the net, but the former Viper couldnt get a handle on the puck coming very close to tying the game. On the same play Darren Nowick couldnt reach the loose puck along the boards and then lost an edge, Chase Golightly kept the play alive, setting up Ben Woodley who fed Stephen Ryan in front who beat Voth at 19:16 tying the game 4-4. Golightly & Woodley with the assists. In the dying seconds Bryce Kakoske's shot from the corner just whistled wide of the far corner on a close call. Vernon who outplayed Prince George was heading to overtime. The Vipers outshot the Spruce Kings 12-5.
Overtime: Both teams looked a little tenative early, as neither team wanted to make the first mistake. The Spruce Kings with a long shot from just outside the Viper blueline was stopped fairly easily bu Blake Voth. No real chances by either team before Brett Corkey fed John Knisley who waited for Kirk Thompson to go down and then roofed his shot high and roof at 1:45 giving the Vipers the 5-4 ot victory. Corkey with the lone helper on the game winner. Prince George outshot Vernon 2-1.
Top Players: (Vernon)
Malcolm Lyles returned to the Vipers lineup after serving a two game suspension. Lyles didnt really stand out early but seemed to get better as the game went on. The first year Viper looked very good in the 3rd playing his best hockey of the night. Lyles played physical, jumped up into the play and made a few heads up plays.
Max Mowat I thought was another d-man that played very well on the Vernon backend. Mowat was very steady defensively all night.
John Knisley (2 goals & 1 assist) I thought was Vernon's best player tonight. Knisley really used his speed, wich made it very hard for the Spruce Kings to slow him down. Knisley who is one of the Vipers hardest workers, played very well at both ends of the rink.
Colton Sparrow competed and battled hard all evening, dropped the mits with Ben Woodley after sticking up for teammate Trevor Fitzgerald.
Steve Weinstein (1 goal) Was another Viper d-man who played very well. Weinstein played very well defensively and looked good on the powerplay, moving the puck well. Was steady all night.
Top Players: (Prince George)
Ben Woodley (2 goals & 1 assist) Woodley come into tonight's game with just a single goal and assist before picking up two goals and an assist tonight. The 6'6 d-man was very solid on the Spruce Kings backend. Played physical but also jumped up into the play. Was by far PG's best defenceman.
Dustin Beairsto (1 goal) Was Prince George's most physical player, was in the face of several Viper players, trying to knock them off their game. Beairsto was involved in a few plays after the whistle.
Kirk Thompson (34 saves) Thompson didnt have to stand on his head but after giving up three early first period goals, got a little help from his team after going down 3-0 and played well. Thompson gave his team a chance to win, making some key saves at key times through out the contest.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
Tonight's game should have never gone to overtime. Vernon was by far the better of the two teams for two of the three periods. The Vipers jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and outplayed PG outshooting them 17-2 after just 20 minutes. Im not sure what happens between the first and second period but the Vipers have had troubles in the 2nd period most of the season, for some reason the Vipers just dont seem to do well or for that matter play very well in the middle frame. The Vipers allowed Prince George to climb back into the game giving up two quick back to back goals. I thought Vernon looked very good in the 3rd carrying the better of the play, getting some good chances but only managed one goal. PG who only got three maybe four good chances scores twice and were going to overtime. The Vipers who have had troubles with the Spruce Kings this season, managed to pull out the win in the extra period and stay one point up on the Penticton Vees who knocked off the Nanaimo Clippers tonight.
Game Thoughts: (Prince George)
PG who come into tonight's game off a huge 5-4 overtime win over the Westside Warriors Tuesday night, have now gone to overtime in five of their last seven games. With the single point the Spruce Kings are just four points back of the final playoff spot. PG had no business taking this game to overtime, The Spruce Kings were outplayed for two of the three periods getting very little scoring chances but scored on their chances. Other then the 2nd period PG was outplayed most of the night. Prince George with just one twenty year old, had troubles mustering any kind of offence all night. PG had troubles containing the Vipers speed and skill in the 1st and 3rd periods, allowing Vernon to control most of the play. The Spruce Kings did play fairly physical and were the more physical team.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Zach McPhee
Mike Zalewski (Injured)
Adam Thompson (Injured)
Prince George:
Faiz Khan
3 Stars:
1st Star: John Knisley (2 goals & 1 assist)
2nd Star: Ben Woodley (2 goals & 1 assist)
3rd Star: Malcolm Lyles
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