I was born and raised in Vernon, BC and been watching/following Junior hockey in Vernon my whole life. My family watched Senior men's hockey in Vernon in the 1950's and has been watching Junior hockey in Vernon since it started in 1961. I have two family members that played Junior hockey in Vernon. I have had season tickets since 1990 and missed 5 home games since 2004 and 46 home games since 1990. I started and created this blog in November 2008 and have over 2.6 million viewers. For anyone who couldn't watch or attend tonight's Vipers game, here are my thoughts and views from tonight's hockey game. You may agree or disagree, but we all have our own opinion on the hockey game and see things differently. I try to be professional and give a fare game recap from both sides. Thank you for visiting my blog.
I was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-Merritt Centennials game as the Vipers defeated the Merritt Centennials 4-2 in front of 2,594 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Ethan David
Merritt Centennials: Karlis Mezsargs
2nd Period: Isaac Tremblay would score 3:38 into the middle frame for his second of the night, gave the hometown Vipers an early 4-0 lead. The Snakes would get into some early penalty trouble as Merritt would score two quick back to back power play goals less then a minute apart, cutting Vernon's lead to 4-2. The Centennials with a bit of an edge in play in the first half, but the Vipers responded and were the better team in the second half. Vernon was again the more physical team but it was the Cents who played with a bit of an edge and a chip on their shoulder, were starting to get a little chippy and get under the skin of the Vipers. The Snakes looked to have two sure goals towards the end of the period, but somehow missed what looked like open nets. Centennials starting netminder Karlis Mezsargs made three or four large saves late in the 2nd period, keeping this a two goal game. Julian Facchinelli & Lynden Hanvold both were given five minutes for fighting and a game misconduct. It was 4-2 Vernon after 40 minutes of play. Vernon outshot Merritt 14-10.
3rd Period: The Cents with an early jump in play, carried the better of the play and outplayed the Snakes for most of the entire period. Merritt carried the better of the play, had more puck possession, zone time and played most of the period in the offensive zone. The Centennials with a ton of pressure, couldn't solve Vipers starting goaltender Ethan David who was solid in goal this evening. Merritt had several quality looks/chances. This was by far Merritt's best period of the hockey game. Vernon didn't look sharp, didn't get any bounces or puck luck and struggled to get any kind of traction going. The Snakes couldn't seem to create/or generate much offence, needed thirteen minutes before they got their first shot of the 3rd period. Give the Viper defence credit for playing well defensively, boxing out the Cents, keeping Merritt to the outside and limiting the Centennials shots. Both teams went 0-1 with the PP. Merritt would get Karlis Mezsargs to the bench for the extra attacker with about a minute or so remaining but the Vipers would hang on for the 4-2 victory. Merritt outshot Vernon 15-4.
Vernon Vipers Top Performers:
Jiri Duda (1 assist) I thought was one of the better Viper forwards this evening. Not the biggest kid but is quick, makes plays happen, sees and reads the ice well. Played a very strong game.
Nick Mikan Played well, used his size/reach and skill to create/generate some offensive side to the Snakes game. Was involved in the play at times and through out the contest. I thought played well.
Luke Pakulak (2 assists) Was physical, picked up two helpers, played well
Anthony Cliche (1 goal) Opened the scoring for Vernon at 6:14 of the opening frame, is playing his best hockey as a Viper and stood out on the Viper blueline tonight.
Isaac Tremblay (2 goals) Was hard to contain/defend, scored back to back goals looked good up front for the hometown Vernon Vipers.
Ethan David (29 saves) Making his sixth straight start, made 29 saves was solid in goal for Vernon. With the Centennials pressing early in the 1st and early in the 3rd was forced to make some large saves.
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- The Vipers are 3-0 vs Merritt this season
- The Snakes were wearing their yellow third set jersey's tonight
- If this was last years Vipers team, they would have blown tonight's lead/game and lost
- A large crowd tonight and the biggest of the season. Tonight's attendance was announced at 2,594
- The Snakes were the more physical team and finishing their checks
- The Vipers jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then had to hang on for the 4-2 win
- Vernon went 1-4 with the power play
- The Vipers are three points back of 1st place Penticton
- Goaltender Colin Reay returned to the Viper lineup after missing the past four games with an injury
- Tonight was probably the first home game where we saw the Vipers struggled at times
- The Snakes have won four straight games and four of their past five games. Vernon has won seven of their past ten games
- Assistant Coach Colton Sparrow wasn't behind the bench tonight
- The game/momentum kind of shifted when Merritt scored two quick back to back power play goals in the 2nd period
- The Snakes improve to 6-1-0-0 at home this season
- The Vipers needed thirteen minutes to record their first shot of the 3rd period
- Vernon is 9-3 vs teams from the Interior Division
- The Snakes didn't seem to get any puck luck or bounces go their way in the 3rd period
- Tonight was the final game of a three game home stand
- I thought Vernon played well and looked good for large parts of the 1st and 2nd periods
- The Vipers are 2-0 at home vs Merritt this season
- The Vipers next game is Saturday in Salmon Arm
- Did the Snakes take their foot off the gas or did Merritt just step up their play and were the better team in the 3rd?
- The Centennials and Vipers play five times this season
- Ethan David was sharp in the 3rd, made some large saves, keeping Vernon in the hockey game
- I talked to one season ticket holder tonight, told me Isaac Fecteau is out 6-8 weeks with an injury
- These two teams will meet again next Friday in Merritt
- Vernon struggled to get things going in the 3rd, were outplayed
- The Vipers are the highest scoring team in the league with 77 goals
- The Snakes did play well defensively, kept the Cents to the outside, boxed out and limited Merritt's chances
- I noticed for the first time in many many years they finally have changed some of the music during the Viper games
- The Vipers start a three game road trip Saturday in Salmon Arm
- With the win, Vernon improves to 12-4-0-0 sit 2nd in the Interior Division
Merritt Centennials Top Performers:
Sam Grabner I thought was one of Merritt's better d-man, played well on the blueline
Michael Felsing (2 assists) Played with an edge, was under the skin of the Snakes often but also added some upside to the Centennials forward unit, was one of the more offensive minded forwards.
Karlis Mezsargs (23 saves) Played well between the pipes for the visiting Centennials. Only faced four shots in the 3rd period.
Game Thought's: Merritt Centennials
- This was the second and final regular season visit to Vernon
- Tonight's the first game of a two game road trip
- I spotted a few Centennials fans in attendance
- Merritt has nine Americans on their roster
- The Cents went 2-3 with the man advantage
- Merritt played well at times and very well in the 3rd period but fell behind 3-0 after the 1st period and couldn't recover
- The Centennials fall to 3-5-0-1 on the road this season
- The last time Merritt was in Vernon, the Vipers won 4-2 September 29th 2023
- Give Merritt credit. The Centennials were down 4-0 early in the 2nd period but scored two quick back to back power plays goals to get within two goals and then pushed hard in the 3rd
- The Cents work hard and compete but I didn't notice a whole lot of talent/offensive forwards
- The Centennials next game is November 14th in West Kelowna
- This is a much improved Merritt team compared to the Centennials from the past two seasons
- Merritt's last win in Vernon was a 3-2 overtime victory on January 5th 2019
- Centennials goaltending coach Tyler Steel attended the Vernon Vipers 2011-12 training camp
- I liked the Cents start to the hockey game, had some jump and played well with a bit of edge, looked good in the first half of the 1st period, the first half of the 2nd period and outplayed the Snakes in the 3rd period
- The Centennials & Vipers will meet two more times, with both games played in Merritt
- The Centennials have lost four of their last five games and eight of their last ten games
- Merritt had six players out of the lineup this evening
- With the loss, Merritt falls to 6-9-1-1 sit 6th in the Interior Division
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Isaac Fecteau (Injured)
Linden Burrett
Hank Cleaves (Injured)
Merritt Centennials:
Jonathan Wong
Nathan Taylor
Luke Melnik
Cullen Emery
Sawyer Prokopetz
Beau Lane
Energy Player of the Game:
Jiri Duda (1 assist)
Three Star's:
1st Star: Isaac Tremblay (2 goals)
2nd Star: Owen Kim (1 goal & 1 assist)
3rd Star: Jaxon Murray (1 goal & 1 assist)
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Vernon Junior Hockey History website,
Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions in the comment box below. Please be respectful when leaving comments.
2 comments:
An entertaining game to watch, the Vipers were fortunate to get the win considering they were so bad in the third period. I was not impressed with the Referee calling the tripping penalty to Merritt with 3 minutes to go. It was a nothing penalty & not a scoring opportunity. The same thing happened the last time Merritt was here, a double minor in a 1 -1 game with 3 minutes to play resulting in 2 power play goals for a 3-1 Viper victory. In my opinion that should have been a single not a double as no real damage was done by the high stick. That's my Referee rant, I prefer them not to be a factor. I want to see two teams battling hard to the end and whistles put away unless real infractions or missed scoring opportunities.
Still, although a bad third, it was a very dominant Viper team for the first two. A good teaching moment as they can not afford that against Penticton or Surrey-like teams.
That was a good hockey game last night. I made the trip up from Kelowna to watch the game with my buddies from Vernon. To bad Vernon got those 4 quick goals as Merritt played good after that and great to see that they have a way better team then normal. It was also a great crowd. The Vipers scored a couple of highlight goals.
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