I was at tonight's Interior Conference Semi-Finals as Vernon defeated Westside 5-2 in Game 4 to tie the series 2-2 in front of 1,329 fans at Royal Le-Page Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Kirby Halcrow
Westside: Kevin Boyle
1st Period: The Vipers would get off to a quick start and open the scoring for the first time since Game 1 after Brett Corkey setup Colton Sparrow whos shot beat Kevin Boyle fivehole at 2:15 giving Vernon the 1-0 lead. Corkey and Trevor Fitzgerald collected the assists. Vernon is 1-0 when scoring first in these playoffs, while Westside is 0-4 when giving up the games first goal in these playoffs. The Vipers started with some good jump, getting shots on goal as well as driving towards the net looking for rebounds. The Vipers thought they had jumped head 2-0 scoring just two mintues after Sparriows goal but the goal was imedietly waived off as the puck was kicked in by a Vernon player. I didnt think the goal was kicked in, it looked like the shot had gone in off a Viper player at the side of the goal, in the end it was still 1-0 Vernon. Vernon would get the games first powerplay but struggle, having all kinds of trouble setting up the man advantage. The Warriors penalty kill was good and come up with two good chances early, an odd man rush gave Westside a parcial three on one but the Warriors couldnt hit the net, on the same shift Kyle Singletons shot from the circle was stopped by Kirby Halcrow who just got a peice of the puck with his glove. Westside would kill off the minor before the Vipers would head right back to the powerplay but again Vernon struggled getting just three shots on both powerplays blowing a great chance to go up by two or three goals. The Vipers come ready to play tonight and looked good in the opening period carrying the better of the play. Other then the Warriors two chances shorthanded not alot of real great scoring chances at either ends of the rink. The Vipers with a few turnovers in their own end, luckily didnt cost them a goal. The Warriors with a scramble in front of Kirby Halcrow got off a quick shot from the high slot that took a funny bounce but went up and over the Viper net. Vernon was the better team and controlled most of the play, up 1-0 after 20 minutes of play. The Warriors couldnt get any kind of pressure or offence going most of the night. The Vipers outshot the Warriors 14-6.
2nd Period: Westside come out hard in the middle frame getting the puck in deep and with a few scrambles in and around Kirby Halcrow but Halcrow who played very well come up with some key saves early. Just 2:14 into the 2nd period Colton Sparrow setup Aaron Hadley in front who beat Kevin Boyle giving Vernon a 2-0 lead. Sparrow and Brett Corkey picked up the helpers. The Warriors would get an early powerplay and get two great chances. Moving the puck around, Tyler French somehow missed a wide open cage before Quinn Gould missed an open net. Two great chances but Westside couldnt capitalize as the Vipers would excape and kill off the minor. Westside was the better of the two teams early but couldnt capitalize on the chances. Just before the midway mark Patrick McGillis and Marcus Basara on a two on one, McGillis kept and wired his shot past Boyle at 9:00 giving Vernon a 3-0 lead. Kirby Halcrow picked up his first assist-point of the playoffs. This was a huge goal giving Vernon a three goal lead but also took the wind out of the sails of the Westside Warriors. Just seconds after the McGillis goal the Warriors would get another shot at the powerplay. Warriors captain, Alex Grieve alone in the slot ripped his shot high and up over the goal into the netting. Quinn Gould was then stopped by Halcrow in front making the original save but couldnt stop Gould on the rebound as Gould beat Halcrow fivehole at 9:49 making this a two goal game. Alex Grieve and Tyler Brickler with the asists. The Vipers again didnt get alot of scoring chances but did score on their chances when it counted. The play slowed down a little in the second half of the period with no real flow. Late in the middle frame the Vipers moved the puck around well in the Warriors zone before Patrick McGillis setup Malcolm Lyles at the point whos shot beat Boyle at 17:38 giving Vernon a 4-1 lead and in full control. McGillis and Aaron Hadley with the assists. A more even played period with Westside having the better scoring chances. The Vipers were up 4-1 after 40 minutes of play. Vernon outshot Westside 14-9.
3rd Period: The Vipers would get off to a quick start getting the play in deep and really battling hard down low, ragging some key time off the clock. Marcus Basara and Dylan Walchuk with a great chance early on a two on one, Basara kept and shot as Kevin Boyle made a good save. On the next shift Patrick McGillis with a chance from the high slot couldnt beat Boyle who made a big save. Then Colton Sparrow, Trevor Fitzgerald and Aaron Hadley on a three on one setup Sparrow from the high slot who ripped his shot high and over the net. Some good pressure and chances by the Vipers early. A few shifts later a bit of a scrum occured deep in the Vipers zone, some pushing and shoving resulted in a Warriors powerplay. Westside's man advantage wouldnt last very long as the Warriors would take an undisaplined minor wich gave both teams some four on four action. Vernon's defence played very well in the 3rd not giving the Warriors offence a sniff shutting down Westside every time they stepped over the Vernon blueline. The Vipers looked very good in the 3rd winning most of the battles and races for the puck as the Warriors couldnt get much of anything going. Just before the midway mark Westside would get a powerplay. The Warriors who looked fairly good with the man advantage tonight worked the puck around, setting up Matthew Maher whos point shot beat a screened Halcrow at 7:57 making this a two goal game again. Tyler Brickler and Alex Grieve with the helpers. Just under two minutes later Vernon would get a powerplay and capitalize. The Vipers moved the puck around before driving hard towards the net, where former Westside Warrior, Bryce Kakoske beat Kevin Boyle at 10:24 giving the Vipers a comanding 5-2 lead. Kyle Murphy and David Robinson with the assists. Just over four minutes later Westside would get the last powerplay of the night but this time the Warriors couldnt get much going as the Vipers penalty kill was good killing off the minor. From here on in the Vipers really slowed down the game, making the final six or so minutes very boring winding down the clock. Dylan Walchuk with a wrap around in the final minute couldnt beat Boyle as in the end Vernon would tie the series 2-2 with a huge 5-2 victory. The Vipers played a solid 3rd shutting down the Warriors offence. Vernon outshot Westside 8-7.
Top Players: (Vernon)
Brett Corkey (2 assists) For the second straight game Brett Corkey collected two assists playing very solid on Vernon's backend. Corkey played and looked very good at both ends of the rink.
Max Mowat played a pretty impressive game tonight for the Vipers. Mowat kept things simple looking very confident on the blueline.
The line of Dylan Walchuk, Marcus Basara and Patrick McGillis (1 goal & 1 assist) was very strong up front for Vernon. I thought this line worked and played very hard, come up with a few good chances. Marcus Basara has really been playing well this series.
For the second straight game the line of Aaron Hadley (1 goal & 1 assist), Colton Sparrow (1 goal & 1 assist) & Trevor Fitzgerald (1 assist) was Vernon's best unit. Hadley and Fitzgerald who were hot and cold all regular season have really stepped up their play in these playoffs. This is what you need come playoff time, you need some of your younger-3rd and 4th lines to contribute and help out with the scoring. Colton Sparrow is playing his best hockey of the season. Id like to see this young line get some time on the powerplay, and see what they can do.
Kirby Halcrow (20 saves) For the first time in these playoffs the Vipers have got the goaltending they needed in a must win situation. So far the Vipers havnt really gotten the big save when needed in these playoffs, until tonight. Kirby Halcrow who has now played in back to back games played very well making some big-key saves especially early in the 2nd period. Halcrow did allow a few rebounds early in the game but settled down.
Top Players: (Westside)
I didnt think anyone from the Warriors lineup played particulary good this evening.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
Tonight was a must win as the Vipers didnt want to head home for Game 5 down 3-1. Give Vernon full credit for a huge hard fought 5-2 victory. The Vipers who havnt played a full 60 minutes the last two games played a pretty shutdown style game tonight in a pretty convincing win. This game wasnt really close as the Vipers were the better of the two teams. Vernon carried the better of the play, won most of the battles and races for the puck as well were the more physical team. I was very impressed with the Vipers blueline who did a great job at shutting down the Warriors top guns. Unlike the past two games Vernon didnt get alot of scoring chances but scored and capitalized on their chances. The Vipers are now 2-0 in these playoffs when scoring the games first goal. The Vipers get the split and now have home ice advantage. Great to see a big crowd of Viper fans who made alot of noise tonight.
Game Thoughts: (Westside)
I didnt think the Warriors played that great of a game. This was a much different Westside hockey club compared to the last two games. Westside is now 0-5 when giving up the first goal in these playoffs. The Warriors didnt play physical, didnt get alot of scoring chances and couldnt get any real sustained pressure in the Vipers zone all night. Westside's top offensive players were no where to be seen. Alex Grieve looked frustrated all night, banging his stick after a play, talking with the officials after a play, he just seemed to be off his game tonight. I thought the turning point was early into the 2nd period, Vernon scores early taking a 2-0 lead before the Warriors get an early powerplay, missed on a few great chances in front. A goal here and its a one goal game, instead Patrick McGillis scores later on to give Vernon a 3-0 lead and change the game. I did like the Warrior powerplay (2 goals) but other then that, did the Vipers play that good and really shutdown Westside? Or did the Warriors just not have that great of a game and maybe slowly starting to get a little tired and wearing down? Another big crowd on hand tonight, but as the game went on not a whole lot of noise with the Warriors down by a few goals.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Phillip Patenaude
Zach McPhee
Dane Muench (Injured)
Westside:
Brett Milcahy
Shawn Hochhausen
Izaak Berglund
Grayson Downing
3 Stars:
1st Star: Trevor Fitzgerald (1 assist)
2nd Star: Colton Sparrow (1 goal & 1 assist)
3rd Star: Kirby Halcrow (20 saves)
For more on tonight's game check out the boxscore,
http://www.bchl.ca/leagues/hockey_boxscores.cfm?clientID=1413&leagueID=2393&gameID=932348&link=bchl
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