Vernon 4 Merritt 1

I was at tonight's BCHL as Vernon defeated Merritt 4-1 in front of 1,753 fans at the Wesbild Centre.

Starting Goaltenders:

Vernon: Kirby Halcrow
Merritt: Tyler Steel

1st Period: Both teams got off to a bit of a slow start as not alot of action early with several stopages in play. Merritt then worked hard down low with a strong forecheck really carried the early edge in play. The Cents would get the games first good scoring opportunity five minutes into the opening period, after Billy Marshall's hard shot from the point was stopped by Kirby Halcrow who kicked out a big rebound to Brayden Low who couldnt control or handle the rebound and missed on a great scoring play in close. Just over two minutes later Jedd Soleway was stopped by former Vernon Viper tryout Tyler Steel who kicked out a big rebound to Riley Hunt who shot and beat Steel upstairs for his first career BCHL goal giving Vernon a 1-0 lead at 7:14 Soleway and Brendan Persley with the helpers. The Centennials come right back with that strong forecheck down low winning the battles and keeping the Vipers pinned in their own end for minutes at a time but Merritt was unable to generate any offensive attack. Just past the midway mark Marc Hetnik with a turnover in his own end caused a firedrill with the Cents buzzing in and around the Viper goal with some good pressure come up with two low shots from in close couldnt beat Kirby Halcrow. Vernon with atleast two or three turnovers inside their own blueline. Merritt was down a goal but was the carried the better of the play in the opening twelve minutes or so. With about five and a half minutes remaining Brendan Persley with a quick backhand from in close was stopped by Tyler Steel who made a nice save. Vernon slowly started to generate some offence getting some pressure deep in the Centennials zone. With a minute and a half remaining Turner Lawson with a shot from in tight couldnt beat Steel before Jedd Soleway jumped on the rebound but couldnt get his shot up and over the stick & blocker of Tyler Steel who made two big saves late in the 1st. With twenty five seconds left in the period Geoff Crisfield with a long stretch pass fed Vipers captain, Patrick McGillis for the breakaway but McGillis went blocker side missing the net on a chance to put Vernon up by two. Merritt carried the better of the play in the first half but the Vipers responded with several good chances late in the period. The Vipers were up 1-0 after 20 minutes of play. Merritt outshot Vernon 11-10.

2nd Period: The Cents would get the games first powerplay early and capitalize moving the puck around Reece Wilcox set Centennials captain, Evan Stack in front who beat Kirby Halcrow at 7:04 tying the game 1-1. Wilcox and Chad Brears with the assists. Just under two minutes later Vernon would get its first powerplay moving the puck around well the Cents did a great job at blocking and covering all the shooting lanes as the Vipers couldnt get off any quality shots as Merritt with a strong penalty kill killed off the penalty. Just after the penalty expired the Centennials would get another shot with the man advantage, Evan Stack with two nice moves in the slot got around the Vernon defenceman tried going in for the parcial breakaway but a strong backcheck by the Vipers just lifted up Stack's stick so he couldnt get off a shot from in close. The Vipers would kill off the minor. A minute and a half later the Vipers would get the play in deep, a wide open Darren Nowick setup John Knisley with a long crease pass as Knisley beat Steel upstairs from in close giving Vernon a 2-1 lead at 14:51 Nowick and Ben Gamache with the assists. Not alot of scoring opportunities in tonight's game in a very tight checking contest. With about twenty five seconds remaining Darren Nowick with a good burst of speed won the race for the loose puck going in all alone for the breakaway but was stopped by Steel who made a huge blocker save, Nowick stayed with the play, collected the rebound but was stopped by Steel on the second chance as Steel come up with two big saves towards the end of the period. The Vipers kept the play alive and with time winding down Mike Zalewski cut through the slot before ripping a high shot high and past Tyler Steel with just 1.5 seconds remaining giving the Vipers a 3-1 lead, Adam Tambellini and Aaron Hadley with the assists. The Vipers with a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes of play. A more even played second period with very little scoring chances. Vernon outshot Merritt 14-12.

3rd Period: Darren Nowick with a great chance in the opening minute was stopped by Steel who made a nice save. On the next shift Patrick McGillis setup Colton Cyr in the slot who tipped his shot just wide of the net on a close play. The Vipers would get on the board early after Darren Nowick went around the net and then just through wich looked to be a weak looking backhand towards the goal beat Tyler Steel at 3:51 giving Vernon a 4-1 lead. Nowicks goal was unassisted. This was the end of the night for Steel who was pulled in favor of Lino Chimienti. Steel gave up four goals on twenty eight Vernon shots as both Steel and Luke Pierce exchanged words as Steel was heading to the Cents dressing room. Lino Chimienti didnt have to wait long before making his first save of the night, after making a big blocker save off a Brendan Persley backhand from in close. Shortly after is when the Centennials started to lose their cool as the game got a little chippy. Merritt got away with a boarding penalty deep in the Centennials zone, on the same play three centennials went after Mike Zalewski before Aaron Hadley dropped the mits with Silvan Harper. Harpers night was over after also picking up a ten minute misconduct on the play. On the next play Ben Gamache and Sean Maktaak dropped the gloves as tempers started to heat up in the final period. Just a few minutes later both teams would exchange spots in the penalty box with powerplays going back and forth. With the Cents on the powerplay Darren Nowick won the race for the loose puck going in for the shorthanded breakaway Nowick was stopped by Chimienti on his second breakaway attempt of the night. Vernon would kill off the minor before getting their own man advantage, off the draw Darren Nowick with a nice feed across the ice setup Mike Zalewski who was stopped after Lino Chimienti made a nice save as Merritt would kill off the minor. The Centennials would get a late powerplay after some four on four action, Kirby Halcrow made his biggest save of the evening kicking out the left pad with traffic in front robbing Richard Sabourin's point shot. The Vipers would kill off the minor. Just as the penalty expired John Knisley would get a breakaway with just over two minutes remaining but lose the handle in close on a chance to make it 5-1. On the next shift Turner Lawson and Billy Marshall dropped the mits in a long spirited scrap. On the play Riley Hunt and Richard Sabourin would both get tossed from the game for misconducts. In the end Vernon would knock off Merritt 4-1. The Vipers played very well defensively not giving up alot of shots or offensive chances. The Vipers outshot the Cents 10-6.

Top Players: (Vernon)

Brett Corkey played a steady game on the Vipers blueline.

Colton Cyr come up with atleast two scoring opportunities played with lots of jump and showed good hustle for most of tonight's game.

John Knisley (1 goal) Played very well up front for Vernon. Was really skating hard, battled hard and made some real nice plays tonight. 

Darren Nowick (1 goal & 1 assist) Made his return to the Vipers lineup after being out with an injury. Nowick didnt look out of place playing with lots of jump, creating and generating offensive chances on several plays. Was very hard to stop tonight.

Patrick McGillis worked very hard, battled hard and played very well for the Vipers. McGillis with a 1st period breakaway couldnt beat Tyler Steel missed the net. 

Geoff Crisfield played a strong game on the Vernon backend. Was very steady all night, was good at both ends of the rink, even jumped up into the play on several occasions.

Turner Lawson who was named 1st star on Tuesday I thought played very well for the Vipers tonight. 

Kirby Halcrow (28 saves) Didnt have alot of tough saves to make tonight but played well. Saw most of his shots, didnt give up alot of rebounds.

Game Thoughts: (Vernon)

For the second time within a week the Vipers defeated the Merritt Centennials and move to within six points of 2nd place Merritt. With a Chilliwack win tonight the Vipers stay tied for 4th place with the Chiefs meaning tomorrow night's game in Chilliwack should be a playoff like game. Not alot of scoring opportunities in a very tight checking game, that got a little chippy in the 3rd. I thought the Vipers played fairly well scoring some timely goals. A few turnovers in the opening period but the Vipers played much better defensively as the game went on and into the 3rd. The Vipers defence did a great job at keeping the Cents to the outside, allowing Kirby Halcrow to see most of his shots with very little traffic in front. Vernon has now won five in a row with it's longest winning streak since starting the season 7-0. Looks like the boys are playing with some confidence right now and finally got on a bit of a streak.

Top Players: (Merritt)

Billy Marshall played a very strong game on the Merritt blueline tonight. Marshall was the Cents best d-man and didnt back down from the rough stuff dropping the gloves in the 3rd with Turner Lawson.

Evan Stack (1 goal) Looked dangerous at times in the offensive zone. Had a great chance on the man advantage in the 2nd but got his stick lifted at the last second.

Tyler Steel (24 saves) I thought Tyler Steel played well between the pipes for the Centennials other then maybe the fourth Vernon goal. Steel come up with a nice breakaway save off Darren Nowick late in the 2nd and made a few nice saves off the Vipers late in the opening period.

Game Thoughts: (Merritt)

The Cents have now lost six straight sit just three points up on 3rd place Prince George. Merritt is a very hard working club that battled hard for atleast two periods but just couldnt generate much offence. The Centennials who won alot of the battles down low, really used a strong forecheck to keep the Vipers pinned in their own zone at times but couldnt get anything towards the goal. Mike Zalewski's late 2nd period goal with just 1.5 seconds remaining was a killer and then giving up an early fourth goal to start the 3rd put the game away as Merritt started to lose their cool. The Cents just didnt have the same jump or compete level as in the first and second periods and seemed to lose their composure in the 3rd getting away from their game plan.

Scratches:

Vernon:

Max Mowat (Injured)
Luke Juha (Injured)
Merritt:

Tyler Martin

3 Stars:

1st Star: Darren Nowick (1 goal & 1 assist)
2nd Star: Kirby Halcrow (28 saves)
3rd Star: Riley Hunt (Scored first career BCHL goal)

For more on tonight's game visit the boxscore,
http://www.bchl.ca/leagues/hockey_boxscores.cfm?clientID=1413&leagueID=2393&gameID=977560&link=bchl