Viper Defencemen Lead The Way:

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Viper defencemen lead the way

by Don Klepp | Added 2011-01-18

Viper defencemen were involved in all but one of the Viper goals as Vernon blanked the Merritt Centennials 6-0 at the Wesbild Centre on Tuesday.

Newly acquired Ryan Renz led the way with a goal and two assists. He also showed his physical side, dishing out several solid hits. For his efforts, he was named the game’s first star. His first goal in a Viper uniform came at 18:33 of the third period.

Here’s how he describes the goal: “Everybody seemed to collapse toward the net, so I went in looking for a loose puck. It came fluttering out to me and I batted it out of the air. Sometimes you get lucky on that kind of play.”

He then helped set up David Robinson for the Vipers’ final goal of the game, head manning the puck to Bryce Kakoske, who flipped a delightful pass that got Robinson behind the defence at the Merritt blue line.

Robinson schooled rookie netminder Tyler Steel, faking to the left before twisting and depositing a backhand over Steel’s catching glove.

Renz also assisted on Brett Corkey’s first BCHL goal at 11:45 of the second period. After shots by Renz and Kyle Murphy, the puck came to Corkey at the top of the left faceoff circle. Corkey unleashed a slap shot that found the top corner.

Before Corkey’s tally, defencemen had already scored the game’s first two goals, one early in the first period.

At 1:47, Steve Weinstein passed to partner Malcolm Lyles at the point. Lyles’s hard low wrister found its way through a maze of players and beat Steel through the five-hole.

Weinstein added to the lead early in the second period. On the power play, Weinstein put his point shot on net, hoping for a deflection or rebound. Steel, who had played very well versus the Vipers earlier in the year, was fooled by the off speed shot at 2:12.

Corkey’s goal was followed, at 15:20, by the second power play marker of the period. The Vipers’ new-look power play, that entices deep defenders out to the corners, strung together a series of precise passes that gave Dylan Walchuk an easy tap-in at the crease.

The score would have been higher, if not for some fine saves by Steel, who robbed Kakoske on a bang-bang play in the first period. Steel also made three acrobatic saves on labelled shots during the Vipers’ fourth power play of the game, late in the second period.

Blake Voth stopped 19 shots in registering his fourth shutout of the season. His best save came on a Jeff Jones deflection early in the second period. He was moving to his left to block a shot when Jones re-directed the disk to Voth’s right. He somehow got his right toe on the puck to steer it to the corner.

Captain Steve Tresierra tried to rally his team with some spirited rushes and fierce body checks in the second and third periods, but for the most part the Centennials were a listless crew after the Vipers went ahead by four goals.

Based on the previous contest between the teams, November 5 in Merritt, when the Cents rallied from a three goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Vipers in overtime, many expected the Cents to play hard in the third period. However, they succumbed to the Viper pressure defence, which allowed one scoring chance in the final frame.

In retrospect, it’s clear that Merritt’s best chance for a victory evaporated early in the first period when they shot wildly over the net on three excellent scoring chances. They ended the period with just three shots on net, and were outshot 36-19 in the contest.

The Centennials will continue their road adventure with three games in Quesnel and Prince George this weekend, while the Vipers entertain Powell River on Friday and Coquitlam on Saturday.

With the win, Vernon slipped into first place, one pint head of Penticton, although the Vees have played two fewer games than the Vipers.