Vipers Remain Undefeated:

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Vipers remain undefeated

by Don Klepp | Added 2011-05-05

The Vernon Vipers showed their trademark resilience in defeating the Pembroke Lumber Kings 5-3 in the final round robin game of the 2011 RBC Cup in Camrose, Alberta.

The Vipers’ 4-0 record assured them of first place in the preliminary round, which gave them their choice of semi-final game times on Saturday.

Following their successful formula from the last two national championships, the Vipers have opted for the early slot, 1 pm Pacific time. Their opponents will be the Wellington Dukes, who eased into the playoff picture with a 6-3 win over the Portage Terriers in Thursday’s afternoon game.

Portage, Wellington, and Pembroke all finished with one win and three losses, so a complicated formula was used to determine who would be eliminated from Saturday’s semi-final games.

If Pembroke had lost by a score of 3-0, 4-1, or by four or more goals, they would have been eliminated, and it did not look good for them early in the game.

Just 52 seconds into the game, Marcus Basara made a strong play behind the Pembroke net and slipped the puck out front for Patrick McGillis’s third goal in two games. Brett Corkey also drew an assist.

The Lumber Kings prevented further damage in a well-played first period until the 19:19 mark, when a fine effort by Vernon’s Colton Sparrow doubled the Viper lead.

Playing with fellow Vernonites Zach McPhee and Trevor Fitzgerald, Sparrow accepted a long diagonal pass from McPhee outside the Pembroke blue line and beat a defenceman with an outside-inside move before lifting a backhand over the shoulder of Francis Dupuis.

The Lumber Kings had looked dangerous on only two occasions in the first period, but they suddenly turned on the power at the beginning of the second. They scored three times in the first 3:04 to take the lead.

The first two goals, 18 seconds apart at 0:28 and 0:46, came off rebounds allowed by Kirby Halcrow. RBC goal scoring leader Jonathan Milley got the first when Halcrow couldn’t smother a low Matthew Peca shot and Brandon Gagne deposited a long rebound from Stefan Salituro’s snap shot.

Defender Will Seeber completed the shocking turn of events when his high point shot caught Halcrow high and trickled across the goal line.

After a time out, the Vipers gradually regained control of the game and scored the remaining three goals, twice later in the middle frame.

John Knisley notched the first at 4:46. After seeing his 10-footer hit the base of Dupuis’s left post, Knisley went behind the net and came out front where he deposited a loose puck created by Mike Zalewski’s net drive.

David Robinson recorded the eventual winning goal when he accepted a nifty between-the-legs pass from Bryce Kakoske at the Viper blue line and roared down the left wing. Robinson’s quick shot from the left faceoff circle beat Dupuis on the short side.

On their second power play of the night, the Kings came close to tying the game early in the third period, but Kirby Halcrow dived to make two sensational saves. Those two chances were the only two that the Vipers allowed in the final 20 minutes.

Dylan Walchuk closed the scoring when he tipped Marcus Basra’s snap shot through Dupuis’s pads at 15:54.

The Vipers are confident going into Saturday’s semi-final match. Adam Thompson, who with Steve Weinstein and Bryce Kakoske has been part of the 2009 and 2010 Viper teams at the RBC Cup, says that “we know that we’ll have to play our best to keep on winning, and we believe in each other.”

Weinstein adds, “The good thing is that we’ve been getting better as the tournament progresses. We have to remember, though, that Wellington just played their best game here, so we won’t take anything for granted.”

Game Notes:

• With two assists, Brett Corkey became the top point getter in the tourney with seven points in four games.

• Power forward Jonathan Milley (6’4”, 215 lbs.) leads all goal scorers with five.

• Dylan Walchuk and Matthew Peca (no relation to Mike Peca) were their respective teams’ game stars.