Vipers Win In OT:

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Vipers win in ot

by Don Klepp | Added 2011-09-25

Darren Nowick’s goal at 4.20 of the first overtime period decided a seesaw contest in Salmon Arm on Saturday.

Nowick was the game’s first star for the second straight game, but he had plenty of support from veteran linemates Mike Zalewski and John Knisley. The line has started the season the way they played in the Royal Bank Cup in May, looking dangerous on every shift.

However, they were upstaged by a spirited Silverback squad in the first period, as the ‘Backs jumped out to a 3-1 lead.

Viper rookie Adam Tambellini opened the scoring two minutes into the game when the Vipers took advantage of a Bennett Hambrook tripping penalty. Aaron Hadley started the play on the right wing and fed Patrick McGillis. The Viper captain cut to the middle and weighed his options before directing a low shot at Kurt Williams’s stick side. Tambellini swooped in to deposit the rebound from a sharp angle.

Alex Gillies, Salmon Arm’s designated 16-year-old who hails from Vernon, tied the game at 3:46, following an ill-fated pinch by the Vipers’ right defenceman. With Jeff Kennedy at the edge of Kirby Halcrow’s crease, Gillies fired a high shot that seemed to bounce in off Halcrow’s chest.

Two minutes later, with Devin Muller and Cody Dhaliwal creating mayhem in the Viper end, Klay Kachur stepped into a slap shot just over the blue line and beat Halcrow low glove side.

Another Saskatchewan bred blue liner, Sean Flanagan, added to the Viper woes with another blue line blast at 17:56.

Each team had seven scoring chances in the period, but the Silverbacks did a better job of converting their chances, partly because of sterling work by Kurt Williams, who stopped 12 of 13 Viper shots.

That trend reversed in the second period as the Vipers scored three unanswered. Big rookie Jedd Soleway came off the bench to collect a loose puck. He then burst across the Salmon Arm blue line, and blasted a low slap shot past Williams at 14:31.

The Vipers struck again on their next shift. Following a Darren Nowick faceoff win, Mike Zalewski whirled and fired a low slapper from the high slot. His shot beat Williams just inside the post, glove side.

Zalewski notched another, his third of the season, at 18:43. This time his slap shot went high, over the right shoulder of the Silverback goalie. At that point, Coach Colin O’Hara pulled Williams in favor of Adam Clark.

Soon after, the Vipers ran into penalty trouble. Aaron Hadley was issued a charging call at 19:06 and 11 seconds later Brett Corkey was flagged for tripping.
The ensuing 5 on 3 power play became a turning point in the game. Brett Corkey, Max Mowat, and Darren Nowick killed the majority of the disadvantage, which carried into the third period.

The twin killing led to solid defensive work for most of the period. However, occasional breakdowns allowed scoring chances at both ends, but both Halcrow and Williams (who returned to the crease at the beginning of the third) were brilliant.

Still, Salmon Arm was able to break through when Bryce Gervais stole the puck in the Viper zone and tested Halcrow. Devin Muller jumped on the rebound and deposited the disk over a sprawling Halcrow.

Once again, special teams were important in a Viper win. For the second successive night, the Vipers scored two power play goals while blanking the Salmon Arm power play. In the two weekend encounters, the vipers went 4 for 10 while the Silverbacks failed on 13 power plays.

Game Notes:

• Salmon Arm was without defenceman Joel Kipp, whose ruptured spleen was removed in an emergency operation following Friday’s game.

• Riley Hunt, Luke Juha, and Alex Hagen were scratched from the Viper lineup because of injuries.