Boyle Backstops Warrior Win:

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Boyle backstops Warrior win

by Don Klepp | Added 2011-03-10

Outshot by a wide margin, the Westside Warriors have goalie Kevin Boyle to thank for a 5-2 win in Vernon on Wednesday.

Boyle was particularly adept at tracking deflections and tips. Among his 38 saves, he stopped several goalmouth tips, most frequently with his pads while in the butterfly position. Surprisingly, Boyle was not named one of the three stars despite stamping his imprint on the game.

For the second straight night, Tyler Krause was among the stars. He received first star honours for his two goals and his spirited play. One was an empty netter late in the contest, but the key goal came at 11:13 of the first period. At the conclusion of a series of end-to-end rushes by the two teams, Krause went hard to the net and cashed in a juicy rebound of a Travis Blanleil shot.

In a period that featured four scoring chances for each team, the Vipers tied the score only to see the Warriors regain the lead.

Dylan Walchuk, who leads all players with 12 points in the eight games between Vernon and Westside this year, got the home team on the board with a hard slap shot at 14:01. He was set up by Bryce Kakoske who showed patience with the puck before spotting Walchuk open in the high slot.

Two minutes later, Quinn Gould restored the lead with a tip of a Matt Maher point shot during a Westside power play.

Late in the period, David Robinson’s slap shot glanced off the top of the shaft of Boyle’s goal stick and just wide.

The other incident of note in the period was a serious injury to Dane Muench. In the first minute, Muench was hurled into the boards by Max French, who had just returned after serving a two-game suspension. Muench suffered a severely dislocated shoulder and will not return to action for some time.

From the Vipers’ viewpoint, the killing blow in the game came 33 seconds into the second period. Deep in the Viper zone, Alex Grieve and his opposing centre, Kyle Murphy, engaged in a series of battles along the boards. Despite being blanketed by Murphy, Grieve was able to maintain possession of the puck as he moved behind Blake Voth’s net. Grieve’s centering attempt bounced off a Viper defender and trickled over Voth’s shoulder for a 3-1 lead.

At that point, Kirby Halcrow was sent to replace Voth.

Much of the second period featured wild end-to-end action as the Vipers created eight scoring chances and the Warriors fashioned six.

Only one more goal was scored, however. Malcolm Lyles beat Boyle with a wrister low to the stick side during a Viper man advantage at 4:55.

The Warriors ended the period with a power play that carried over to the third. Tyler Brickler’s shot through traffic made the score 4-2 four seconds after the penalty expired.

The third period was a rugged affair as the Warriors registered 19 hits and the Vipers 10 as the two teams began to exhibit some dislike for each other. (In the second, the Vipers had led the hit parade, 18 to 14.)

Following a trend that started in the Trail series, the Warriors have now won five games when they’ve opened the scoring, and they’ve lost four when the opposition has scored first. Clearly then, the first goal will be rather important when the teams meet in West Kelowna on Friday and Saturday.