Vipers Look To Get Gorillas Off Their Back In Final:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

Vipers look to get Gorillas off their back in final

By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning Star

Published: March 18, 2011

Heads: you have the two-time defending national champion Vernon Vipers.

Tails: you have the Salmon Arm SilverBacks, a team that has won seven of eight regular-season meetings between the two clubs.

Either way the coin falls, B.C. Hockey League fans are in for a treat as Game 1 of the Interior Conference final gets underway tonight at Wesbild Centre. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series goes Saturday at Wesbild, followed by Games 3 and 4 Monday and Tuesday night respectively at the Sunwave Centre.

“We’ve had our troubles with them, no question. They’re a better team by picking up (scoring leader Mike) Hammond and (Brad) Reid, and they’re playing with a ton of confidence,” said Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner.

“We’ve played well at times against that hockey team, but playoffs is another animal. It will be a tremendous challenge for us.”

The Vipers advanced to the final with a 2-1 special teams victory over the host Westside Warriors in Game 6 of the conference semis Tuesday night at Royal LePage Place.

The Vipers’ Dylan Walchuk fed Marcus Basara for a bang-bang strike to open the scoring on an early powerplay, with Basara beating netminder Cole Holowenko five-hole.

Max French equalized for the Warriors in the second period, but John Knisley pocketed the winner with a shorthanded goal at 12:41 of the third period. After winning a race to a cleared puck, the Pittsford, N.Y. product wheeled up the wing, cut to the net and beat Holowenko five-hole.

Netminder Kirby Halcrow backstopped the Vipers with a brilliant 24-save showing in front of 1,167 fans. Holowenko made 15 stops for Westside.

“If it wasn’t for a few outstanding efforts, particularly our goaltender, we’d be playing (Game 7),” said Ferner, who was relieved to see Vernon’s powerplay do some damage.

“It’s kind of been an Achilles heel all year, but we went 3-for-8 (in Game 5) and 1-for-4 (in Game 6), plus a shorthanded goal. We have some guys starting to come on.”

The Vernon-Salmon Arm series should provide fans with a marquee goalie matchup, as both Halcrow and the Gorillas’ Kris Moore were lights out in the conference semis.

Halcrow (1.74 goals against, .924 save percentage) has been rock-steady since taking over from Blake Voth in Game 2 of the last series.

Moore was instrumental in helping the SilverBacks eliminate the Penticton Vees in five games, including 28 stops in a series-deciding 4-2 win Monday night in Penticton. Moore rolls into the Interior final with a 2.52 goals against average and .931 save percentage, and was named BCHL Player of the Week.

“He takes on the persona of our group. When we get a bit of leeway, he gets a bit relaxed but with the critical moments like a key penalty kill or late in a close game, he gets key saves,” Salmon Arm head coach Tim Kehler told Black Press.

Not many pundits would have pegged rookie forward Colton Sparrow to be among the Vipers’ leading playoff scorers, but there he stands, second on the team with three goals and two assists in six games. Second-year forward Patrick McGillis tops the list with 3-3-6 in six games.

Sparrow and linemates Aaron Hadley and Trevor Fitzgerald constantly crashed the Warriors’ zone throughout that series, their two-way reliability allowing Ferner to spread out the minutes amongst the forwards corps.

“They deserve it (recognition) because they work their butts off. The only way we get this thing done is if we have everybody going,” said Ferner.

The Viper bench boss also had praise for unsung heroes like 20-year-old centreman Kyle Murphy, who has been relentless on the puck, yet only has one assist to show for it.

“I look at him as a 50-goal man. He might only get 15 or 20 in a season, but he’ll keep 30 out,” said Ferner.

Meanwhile, the league champion Powell River Kings advanced to the Coastal final with a 4-1 win over the Victoria Grizzlies in Game 7 Wednesday night at Hap Parker Arena on the Sunshine Coast.

Netminder Michael Garteig backstopped the Kings with a 28-save showing, and Daniel Schuler jumpstarted the Powell River offence with goals just over a minute apart in the first period.

The Kings will face the Surrey Eagles in the Coastal final, starting tonight at Hap Parker.

SNAKE BITES: With Westside’s starting netminder Kevin Boyle injured, Coldstream’s Conor Barrie (KIJHL Kelowna Chiefs) backed up Holowenko in Game 6...Former Viper Chay Genoway, a D-man in his senior year with the NCAA Division 1 North Dakota Fighting Sioux, was named Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year at the WCHA Conference awards. The Morden, Man. native was also named a first team all-star...Ferner estimated forward Dane Muench, who suffered a separated shoulder in Game 2 of the Interior semis, will miss a minimum six weeks.