Vipers Win Interior Division:

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Vipers win interior division

by Don Klepp | Added 2011-03-26

Dylan Walchuk’s four goals led the Vernon Vipers to a 5-4 win in Salmon Arm on Friday.

Walchuk’s bravura performance propelled the Vipers into the Fred Page Cup against the Powell River Kings for the third straight year. The Viper victory was their fourth in a row after the Silverbacks had opened with two wins in Vernon.

In the Viper dressing room before the game, veteran Steve Weinstein recalled that in the deciding game of the 2008-09 Interior final, played in Salmon Arm, Connor Jones had scored a hat trick in the Viper 3-1 win.

“Who wants to be Connor tonight?” Weinstein asked.

After the game Dylan Walchuk said, “No one said anything when Steve asked his question, so I said, ‘OK, I’ll be Connor.’ But I didn’t expect four goals!”

Walchuk scored on each of his four shots on goal: “Just one of those nights, I guess. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t.”

Winger Patrick McGillis, who pocketed three assists in the game, lauded his centre’s efforts. “He’s an elite player, the kind that shows up in the big games. He’s been working so hard in this series, so it’s nice to see him get rewarded.”

Then McGillis added with a twinkle, “All stars are made in the regular season, but superstars are made in the playoffs.”

Here’s the chronology of Walchuk’s outburst.

4:18, Period 1. Walchuk opened the scoring with a perfect low shot to the glove side of Kris Moore, while on a two-on-one break with Patrick McGillis.

19:51, Period 1. Just 12 seconds after Bryce Kakoske had scored on a one-timer on a pass from McGillis on another two-on-one, Walchuk struck again. From the faceoff, the puck went back to Kevin Mills at the Salmon Arm blue line. There, Walchuk picked Mills’s pocket and went in uncontested to beat Moore through the five hole, to make the score 3-1.

5:57, Period 2. Walchuk made the score 4-1 with a sensational effort, stickhandling his way through the heart of the Salmon Arm defence and beating Moore in tight.

6:05, Period 3. After Salmon Arm had fought back to make the score 4-3, Walchuk gave the Vipers a two goal cushion with another highlight reel play. Marcus Basara took a hellacious hit from Jayson Reardon at the red line, but moved the puck forward to Walchuk at the Salmon Arm blue line. Walchuk’s speed set him free and he beat Moore with a high backhand.

In the face of Walchuk’s heroics and fierce Viper checking, the Silverbacks deserve credit for continuing to fight. After the first Walchuk marker, David Killip came back with his linemates to push the puck and Kirby Halcrow over the goal line at 10:20.

Indeed, the Silverbacks dominated the second half of the first period, so the two Viper strikes at the end of the frame came against the run of play.

Roles reversed in the middle frame. The Vipers outplayed the Silverbacks for most of the period, but the home team outscored the visitors 2-1.

Brett Knowles made the score 4-2 at 13:02 with a bull rush, and then Jayson Reardon was credited with a truly bizarre goal at 19:02.