Vipers strike quickly
By Con Griwkowsky ,Edmonton Sun
First posted: Wednesday, May 4, 2011
CAMROSE - When you've scored more goals than the other team has shots on net, you'd figure that's a pretty good start.
Before the Wellington Dukes got their second shot on net, Patrick McGillis and David Robinson had already found twine for two-time RBC Cup champion Vernon Vipers.
After that quick start, the Vipers skated away with a 5-2 win over their winless Ontario counterparts in a game that was nowhere near as close as the score indicated.
McGillis added the game-winner with a shorthanded goal on a two-on-none breakaway and Darren Nowick chipped in the last pair.
"I didn't feel tired or anything, I got my wind back right away," said McGillis, back in the lineup after missing five games after an upper-body injury in the Doyle Cup.
"Early going I got my confidence back, so it's nice."
McGillis skated in alone with RBC Cup leading scorer Dylan Walchuk on his shortie, but decided to take the shot himself.
"Well, earlier in the game we went in two on one and he shot it," said McGillis. "So, I was just returning the favour. The first two games weren't our best, but we got our wins. Now, we're just trying to prepare ourselves for the weekend."
The playoff-bound Vipers toyed with the outclassed Dukes, playing keepaway and outshooting Wellington 46-26.
Vernon can finish the round-robin portion undefeated if they can dispatch the Pembroke Lumber Kings in their final match Thursday night.
"Tremendous effort," said Vipers head coach Mark Ferner. "The one thing our group is doing real well right now is they're relentless on loose pucks. We're getting good traffic and getting pucks on net.
"We talked about getting better as this tournament goes on. We've seen glimpses of what we can be."
Darcy Murphy and Joe Zarbo, on a five-on-three power play, got the Dukes goals.
Wellington, who got the kiss of death when Don Cherry called the team to win the whole shootin' match on Hockey Night In Canada, now has to win Thursday afternoon's game against Portage to get into the weekend playoff mix.
"You know what, he's usually right, so it's nice to have his support," said Wellington coach Marty Abrams. "We need help. Not only do we have to win, but we need Pembroke to win one of their last two games. We haven't played well yet. We've had one good period, other than that we've been flat.
"You can't put a finger on it. If we could, we'd fix it."
ICE CHIPS: Camrose has been host to a bevy of events since the opening of the Edgeworth Centre, including the 2007 World Junior A Challenge as its first event.
After hosting curling's Continental Cup and the 2011 Alberta women's provincials, the focus shifted back to hockey with the RBC Cup.
Hockey Canada has called a news conference here Friday. It may be too soon for Camrose to be named host of the 2011 World Junior A Challenge, but given this city's enthusiasm for showcasing their facility, anything's possible.
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