Vipers Get Revenge On Vees:

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Vipers get revenge on Vees

by Don Klepp | Added 2011-11-02

In a game that featured two depleted lineups, the Vernon Vipers drubbed the Penticton Vees 7-1 in Vernon on Wednesday.

Penticton’s Troy Stecher, Curtis Loik, and Travis St. Denis and Vernon’s Aaron Hadley, Brett Corkey, and Luke Juha are all at the Canada Team West camp in Langley. Also, each team was missing its captain. Patrick McGillis is out with an injury, while Penticton's Logan Johnston is serving a 25-game suspension.

Veterans Mike Zalewski (2+1), Darren Nowick (1+2), Marcus Basara (1+2), Colton Sparrow (1+1), John Knisley (2 assists), and Ryan Renz (2 assists) led the Viper attack. Rookie Adam Tambellini, who celebrated his 17th birthday on Tuesday, also had a goal and an assist and AP John Saunders recorded his first BCHL goal with a nifty move late in the game.

Meanwhile, the Vees' top unit that normally has Travis St. Denis centering Mario Lucia and Connor Reilly, looked lost without the feisty St. Denis. Defender Mike Reilly generated half of the Vees’ limited scoring chances, but he missed the net with several hard shots.

The Vipers took a 2-0 lead in the first period, courtesy of their top two snipers, Mike Zalewski and Darren Nowick. Zalewski threatened early with a rocket that glanced off the cross bar behind Michael Garteig.

Zalewski did propel the puck behind Garteig at 10:47. He finished off a line rush during which John Knisley lost the puck but recovered it and fed Darren Nowick, who in turn fought to get the puck for Zalewski.

Just 1:16 later, Darren Nowick tucked a backhand through Garteig’s pads for a 2-0 lead. Nowick was assisted by Marcus Basara and Riley Hunt, the 15-year-old who earned his first BCHL point.

In a reversal of the previous two games between these teams, there were relatively few penalties. Each team had only two power plays. The Vipers converted both of theirs, while the Vees were blanked.

The Vees’ stretch of 12 games in which they had registered at least one power play score was thus snapped. Meanwhile, the Vipers have won all six games in which they’ve prevented a power play goal.

Vernon took a 3-0 lead on the power play at 1:33 of the second period when Colton Sparrow went hard to the net to get a rebound. The team’s fourth goal also came with the man advantage, as Adam Tambellini cashed in a lucky bounce – Ryan Renz’s shoot-in hit Ryan Reilly’s back and fell at Tambellini’s feet.

In between the two Viper special team markers, Connor Reilly got the lone Vee score when Geoff Crisfield mishandled the puck beside his net.

In a four-goal third period, Mike Zalewski, Marcus Basara, and John Saunders completed the scoring. Basara almost collected another when his shot trickled through Garteig but didn’t cross the line.