For anyone who could not attend or watch tonight’s Vipers game here are my
thoughts and views from tonight’s game. You may agree or disagree but we all
have our own view and opinion on any game we watch. This is my opinion and my
thoughts on how I saw tonight’s game. I try to be unbiased and give a fare recap
on both sides. Thanks for stopping by & visiting my blog.
I was at tonight's BCHL as West Kelowna defeated Vernon 5-3 in front of 1,446 fans at the Wesbild Centre.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Austin Smith
West Kelowna: Tyler Briggs
1st Period: The Warriors got off to a quick start just a minute into the contest Austin Smith had to make a huge save off Warriors captain Max French on a two on one. Smith was solid early having to make atleast three or four real good saves in close in the opening four or five minutes. West Kelowna was the better of the two teams early and had the better of the scoring chances early. Austin Smith made a big save off Danny Gayle from the side of the net and then Devon Hascarl who attended the Vipers training camp for two years with a great opportunity to open the scoring missed the far corner after being alone in the slot. Adam Plant with traffic in front couldnt beat Smith down low who made another difficult save with bodies in and around the goal. The Warriors would be the better of the two teams in the first half before the Vipers come back hard in the second half. Liam Board with a good chance at the side of the net couldnt beat Tyler Briggs before TJ Dumonceaux was stopped in close. Andrew Tegeler with a great chance in close couldnt beat Briggs. The Vipers would get the games first powerplay but couldnt capitalize as the Warriors killed off the minor. Late in the period TJ Dumonceaux lead the rush on a Vernon odd man rush but Josh Monk with some hustle got back into the play to lift Dumonceaux's stick and break up the play on a solid defensive play. In the final minute Danny Gayle come down the right wing and ripped a hard shot that beat Smith going post and in giving West Kelowna the 1-0 lead at 19:33 David Pope with the lone helper on the goal. A very quick entertaining opening period with West Kelowna having the better of the play and getting the better of the scoring chances in the first half with Vernon coming back and being the better of the two teams in the second half. The Warriors with a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes of play. Vernon outshot West Kelowna 15-10.
2nd Period: The Vipers come out hard to start the middle frame and come up with a few good chances early buzzing in and around the West Kelowna goal. The Warriors would get their first powerplay of the evening early into the second period. Austin Smith made a big save off Ben Tegtmeyer's point shot that got through traffic in front as Vernon would kill off the penalty. Just after the penalty expired Andrew Tegeler setup Dexter Dancs in front on a Viper odd man rush but again Tyler Briggs with a big save before the Vipers would get a shot with the man advantage. It didnt take the powerplay to click after Mason Blacklock beat Tyler Briggs down low tying the game 1-1 at 5:21 they originally gave the goal to Jason Bird but later changed the goal in the 3rd period. Bird did however draw an assist on the goal. With a draw in the Vipers zone, the Warriors won the faceoff setting up David Pope who wired and just missed his shot on a great chance from the hash marks. Both teams very evenly matched as the play went back and fourth most of the game. Brett Corkey come close to giving Vernon the lead after a shot from the point snuck through Tyler Briggs pads and just snuck out the other side rolling just wide of the net. West Kelowna would take the lead just past the midway mark on the powerplay. Former Salmon Arm Silverbacks defenceman Josh Monk with a hard low shot along the ice beat wich looked to be a screened Austin Smith who was just getting back up into position as the puck was going fivehole giving the Warriors a 2-1 lead at 12:06 David Pope and Seb Lloyd collected the assists. Just three minutes later Vernon would respond on their powerplay tying the game. Marc Hetnik beat Briggs at 16:33 to tie the game 2-2 Mason Blacklock and Andrew Tegeler picked up the assists. The Vipers seemed to gain a little momentum on this goal and carry the better of the play in the final few minutes. Andrew Tegeler with a nice inside out move in close with thirty five seconds remaining tried going in and around Tyler Briggs but shot and missed the empty cage on a great play to end the period. Some pushing and shoving occured at the buzzer after Craig Martin got involved with a few Warriors. A fairly even matched period as both teams went back and fourth. It was tied 2-2 after 40 minutes of play. Vernon outshot West Kelowna 18-9.
3rd Period: Austin Smith made a big save off former Vipers forward Marcus Basara after a rush in the opening minute of play. The Warriors would regain the lead early into the final frame after Brennan Clark with a nice goal beat Smith at 5:41 giving West Kelowna a 3-2 lead. Matt Anholt & Reid Simmonds picked up the assists. The Vipers come right back with a hard shift, getting the puck in deep the Vipers created a scramble in and around the Warriors net getting two chances in close before Tyler Briggs was called for spearing giving Vernon a four minute powerplay. Briggs made two big saves early after making a big save in close then robbed Braeden Russell on the rebound sticking out the right pad. The Vipers who didnt get alot of chances with the man advantage struggled as West Kelowna's penalty kill unit was good coming up with a few big shot blocks before the Vipers would take a penalty as both teams played a little four on four hockey. Then with the Warriors on the man advantage captain Max French went roof high past Austin Smith giving West Kelowna a two goal lead at 10:26 David Pope and Marcus Basara with the helpers. The Vipers would get a late powerplay and again struggle couldnt muster much offence as the Warriors penalty kill come up with a big kill. Just as the penalty expired Reid Simmonds setup Adam Plant on a two on one but Plant missed the net. The Vipers who carried the better of the play for the final period had some good chances but couldnt beat Tyler Briggs. Ryan Renz was stopped after ripping a hard shot from the circle, Andrew Tegeler in close just went high and over the goal. With two minutes remaining TJ Dumonceaux with a quick release from the slot finally beat Briggs but hit the crossbar on a close call. Both teams would exchange timeouts late before the Vipers would get Austin Smith to the bench for the extra attacker with fourty five seconds remaining but couldnt get many pucks towards the front of the net as the Warriors hard work and body work ate alot of time off the clock pinning the puck in and along the wall before Max French hit the open cage from his own end giving West Kelowna a 5-3 lead at 19:59 French's goal was unassisted as the Warriors would defeat the Vipers 5-3. Vernon outshot West Kelowna 15-6.
Top Players: (Vernon)
TJ Dumonceaux played a strong game up front for the Vipers. Playing with energy had a few good opportunities, but none better then ringing his shot off the crossbar with two minutes left in the game.
Mason Blacklock (1 goal & 1 assist) Has really been the Vipers best player since coming over at the trade deadline from the Surrey Eagles.
Andrew Tegeler (1 assist) Started off a little slow since coming to Vernon at the December 1st card deadline but has been one of the better-more consistant Vipers the last month. Tegeler with a few good chances tonight played very well.
Jason Bird (1 assist) Has really impressed me since playing in just his fifth game of the season.
Dexter Dancs (1 assist) Has also come along and been getting his game going latley. Dancs and Andrew Tegeler sure play well together and they did well together tonight.
Liam Board had a strong game tonight, battled and competed tonight, come up with atleast two good chances.
Austin Smith (20 saves) Played very well between the pipes for Vernon. I thought Smith played very well especially in the opening period making several big saves early and often keeping the Vipers in the game.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
This was a very entertaining hockey game tonight. Ive said it before but the Vipers are playing alot better and improved since the big trades on the BCHL trade deadline day. This team seems to be playing with a little more spark-jump and seems to be playing more as a team. The last handfull of games or so have been very entertaining and more exciting then any of the previous games. If this team played like this at the start of the season, who knows where they would be in the standings today. I thought the Vipers played very well and gave West Kelowna a good run. The Vipers with a ton of good chances couldnt beat Tyler Briggs who played very well. Todd Miller said it best on the post game show after the game on the radio the turning point was after the Vipers couldnt capitalize on the four minute powerplay, West Kelowna comes right back on their powerplay and jumps ahead by two. I thought Vernon's powerplay looked good but struggled in the third. The Vipers didnt get alot of bounces or puck luck through out tonight's game and needed to capitalize on a few more of their chances. A good solid hard working effort by the Vipers in a game that they could have won.
Top Players: (West Kelowna)
Adam Plant played a solid game at both ends of the rink. Plant jumped up into the play on a few occassions getting atleast two good chances.
David Pope (3 assists) I thought was one of the Warriors top players. Pope who usally plays very well against Vernon looked very strong tonight. A very good smooth skater who has a quick release and good hands down low.
Max French (2 goals) Its funny because I never really noticed French most of the night until the third period. French who usally plays very well against the Vipers didnt stand out to me in the first two periods but played a heck of the third. Battled and competed very hard before netting two goals in the final period.
Josh Monk (1 goal) Played very well on the West Kelowna blueline. Monk who has really played well this season had a strong game tonight.
Tyler Briggs (45 saves) Played very well tonight giving his club a chance to win. Briggs picks up his first every win in Vernon was very good down low and didnt give up alot of rebounds.
Game Thoughts: (West Kelowna)
West Kelowna snaps a nine game losing streak in Vernon. The Warriors get their first win at the Wesbild Centre since a 3-1 victory back on January, 23rd 2010 It seems like most games between the Vipers & Warriors are very close especially games here in Vernon. Give the Warriors credit, with some key veteran players out of the lineup they come away with a big win in a building they have struggled in recently. The Warriors who are trying to catch 2nd place Merritt have now won three straight. West Kelowna capitalized on their chances and come up with a big penalty kill tonight. The Warriors with several shot blocks on the penalty kill played well. This could have been anyones game. The Warriors may have had a few bounces go their way in a hard fought game.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Geoff Crisfield
West Kelowna:
Shawn Hochhsusen
Brett McKinnon
Brett Zarazun
Braxton Bilous
Energy Player Of The Game:
Andrew Tegeler (1 assist)
Three Stars:
1st Star: David Pope (3 assists)
2nd Star: Tyler Briggs (45 saves)
3rd Star: Mason Blacklock (1 goal & 1 assist)
For more on tonight's game visit the BCHL boxscore,
http://www.bchl.ca/leagues/hockey_boxscores.cfm?clientID=1413&leagueID=2393&gameID=1103130&link=bchl
For more on tonight's game and the West Kelowna Warriors visit Jon Zacks West Kelowna Warriors blog,
http://thegeneralsreport.wordpress.com/
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