Spruce Kings Special Teams Sink Vipers:

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Spruce Kings Special Teams Sink Vipers
 
Friday, September 28, 2012 - Submitted by Don Klepp

The Prince George Spruce Kings won the special teams battles en route to a convincing 5-2 win over the host Vernon Vipers on Friday.

Brad Ryan was the PG linchpin, registering a goal and two assists on the power play, to go with another assist while playing five on five. Along with captain Trevor Esau, he was also a solid defender on the penalty kill.

Ryan and Esau were instrumental in blanking Vernon during their five power plays. The two trees – Ryan is 6’ 5” and Esau is 6’4” – controlled the PG crease whenever the Vipers tried to collect a rebound in front of goalie Kirk Thompson.

The big defencemen, who each logged about 30 minutes of ice time, typified the Spruce Kings’ effort in this game. From the 7-minute mark of the second period, they outworked the Vipers and caused numerous turnovers.

They seemed to be sparked by Cam Lawson’s tying goal at 7:00. Lawson fired a high shot to Austin Smith’s glove side after a turnover in the Viper zone.

The next two goals also found the top corner. Sean Landrey converted another Viper turnover at 14:47 and Brad Ryan’s point shot went through a maze of players for a power play marker at 18:55.

The onslaught was a pronounced turnaround. The Vipers were the better team in the early going, creating eight scoring chances in the first period while limiting the Spruce Kings to four. And the Vipers scored the first goal on TJ Dumonceaux’s first BCHL goal, a low slap shot at 3:30 of the second period.

Then, the Spruce Kings piled up the scoring chances and the shots, eventually outshooting the Vipers 46 to 30.

Though beaten five times, Austin Smith was actually very good in the Viper net. He stopped Coltyn Hansen on a penalty shot in the first period and made several impressive saves after his team mates coughed up the puck in the neutral zone or the Viper zone in the second and third periods.

The only goal he might have saved was Cam Lawson’s power play shot that slipped through Smith’s pads at 2:13 of the third. Lyndon Martell followed with another power play strike at 5:15 to make the score 5-1.

Vernon’s Mitch VanTeeling closed the scoring at 16:30 after TJ Dumonceaux’s spirited rush had led to a scramble in the PG crease area.