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-West Kelowna Warriors game as the Warriors defeated the Vipers 7-3 in front of 891 fans at Royal Le Page Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Colin Reay
West Kelowna Warriors: Rorke Applebee
2nd Period: The Snakes with a good start and strong middle frame, scored the only two goals of the period to get back in the contest. Vernon was the better team for the first twelve or thirteen minutes. The Vipers with lots of zone time, puck possession and chances played well and looked good this period. The Tribe were outplayed often at times for the first half of the period, did manage to re-group and push back with a good effort and period in the final six-seven minutes of the 2nd period. West K played much better late and were the better team to finish the period with a ton of pressure, zone time, puck posession and hard work. Warriors Head Coach/GM Simon Ferguson was very upset through out the period, yelling at the officials after almost every missed call or play. It was 4-2 West Kelowna after 40 minutes of play. The Warriors outshot the Vipers 12-8. Both teams went 0-1 with the PP.
3rd Period. Warriors Head Coach/GM Simon Ferguson had a lengthy discussion with the officials before the start of the period. Felix Caron put the game away with an early goal on a Viper turnover 1:53 into the final frame. This was a fairly evenly matched period at times with both teams having a bit of the edge in play at times. The Snakes tried to claw back and make a game of it but the hometown Warriors with three 3rd period goals, put the game away. The Vipers had some good looks/chances didn't get a lot of bounces or puck luck go their way. Adam Csabi looked to have scored going under the crossbar and out but the play continued as Csabi celebrated and pointed towards the net to let the officials know the puck went in. The Tribe once again capitalized on a turnover and on their opportunities to earn the win. Shots were 10-9 in favor of Vernon.
Vernon Vipers Top Performers:
Adam Csabi (1 goal & 1 assist) Played very well, had some looks/chances, was buzzing all over the rink this afternoon. Was hard to defend and seemed to get under the skin of a couple of Warriors.
Anthony Cliche (2 assists) Played well on the blueline, chipped in with two helps today.
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- This wasn't a 7-3 hockey game as I thought Vernon played one of their better games in a long time
- The Snakes couldn't capitalize on their opportunities, while the Warriors did and that was the difference in the hockey game
- Today was the Vipers second and final regular season visit to West Kelowna
- The Vipers have lost back to back games, three of their last five games are 5-5 in their last ten games
- Falling behind 4-0 after one period was tough and a hard hill to climb vs a very good West Kelowna Warriors team
- Not a whole lot of Viper fans in attendance today. I spotted a few Viper fans but not many
- The Vipers went 1-3 on the man advantage
- I really liked Vernon's start and overall game. Sure the Vipers made a couple of mistakes but overall they come to play, played hard, battled, competed couldn't capitalize on their opportunities.
- This was a fairly evenly matched game with both teams playing well
- The Snakes need to get some of their injured players back
- The Vipers next game is Tuesday at home vs Salmon Arm
- The Vipers started the season 7-1-0-0 could you imagine if they got off to a slow start and where they would be in the standings today?
- Today was the second game of a two game road trip
- The Snakes didn't seem to get any kind of luck. After getting some zone time, pressure and a couple of real good looks/opportunities the Warriors would come down the rink and score
- I think the Vipers outskated the Warriors in the first two periods
- The Vipers are 1-3-0-0 vs the Warriors this season
- The Vipers give up seven goals but goaltending wasn't an issue. Colin Reay allowed seven goals on thirty six Warriors shots, but I didn't think Reay had a chance on any of the seven goals and made a couple of big saves this afternoon. The Warriors did score a couple of highlight reel goals and some nice goals but the Vipers do need a save or two in that 1st period so they aren't down 4-0 after twenty minutes
- Vernon was without six players this afternoon
- The Vipers have been outshot in eleven of their last fourteen games
- Adam Csabi somehow missed a wide open net about thirteen seconds into the hockey
- Isaac Tremblay and Erik Pastro both hit the post on a 1st period power play
- This game was much closer then the final score indicated
- The schedule doesn't get any easier as the Vipers host a good Salmon Arm team on Tuesday that just beat Penticton in back to back games this weekend
- This is the first game in about the last nine or ten games where Vernon played well, held their own and played hard/competed. At the end of the day they still lost but it wasn't by a lack of trying or not showing up
- The Vipers & Warriors will meet again March 2nd in Vernon
- The Vipers have two games remaining before the Christmas break
- With the loss, Vernon falls to 16-8-1-0 have dropped to 4th in the Interior Division
West Kelowna Warriors Top Performers:
Jack Pridham (1 goal) Opened the scoring for the Warriors 2:06 into the contest, played well in the victory. Was skating, moving the puck, hard to defend, created/generated some offence/plays
Isaiah Norlin (1 goal) Played well on the WK defence
Jackson Krykostas (3 goals) Was one of the more skilled Warriors this afternoon, played a heck of a game, was hard to defend/contain
Johannes Lokkeberg (3 assists) Was another West Kelowna forward who played very well and gave the Snakes trouble this afternoon
Viggo Nordstrom (2 assists) Gave the Vipers some issues, was hard to defend/contain and played well
Rorke Applebee (22 saves) Was solid between the pipes. Applebee has played very well for the Tribe vs the Vipers this season and again today. Made some big stops in the 1st and 3rd periods with Vernon generating some offence. May have had a little puck luck or bounces go his way but was good this afternoon
Game Thought's: West Kelowna Warriors
- After losing the opening game to Vernon, the Warriors have won three straight over the Vipers
- A good size crowd for a Sunday afternoon. Today's attendance was announced at 891
- Warriors Head Coach/GM Simon Ferguson likes to argue and complain about almost every missed call or after almost every play
- Both teams were fairly evenly matched in a good hockey game
- The Tribe scored on their chances, while getting some big saves at times from their goaltender
- West Kelowna went 1-4 with the power play
- The Warriors had some puck luck and some bounces go their way
- Give West Kelowna credit. The Warriors played Saturday had to play again this afternoon while Vernon hasn't played since Friday
- The Warriors are one of the hotter teams right now and playing their best hockey of the season
- If you saw the final score, you would think the Warriors were all over Vernon in a one sided game. This game was even other then West K capitalized on their opportunities and the Vipers didn't
- The Warriors improve to 9-3-2-0 on home ice this season
- West Kelowna has won seven straight games and won eight of their last ten games
- Warriors Assistant Coach Josh Gorges attended the Vipers training camp before leaving for his hometown Kelowna Rockets. Gorges was captain of the Rockets Memorial Cup winning team, played fourteen seasons in the NHL with Montreal, San Jose & Buffalo
- The Warriors next game is December 13th in Salmon Arm
- The Tribe have three games remaining before the Holidays
- The Warriors scored a couple of highlight reel goals this afternoon
- Warriors Head Coach/GM Simon Ferguson played with the Kelowna Rockets Memorial Cup winning team
- With the win, West Kelowna improves to 17-6-2-0 sit 2nd in the Interior Division
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Noah Dorey (Injured)
Julian Facchinelli (Injured)
Owen King (Injured-Out for season)
Isaac Fecteau (Injured)
Maks Percic
Hank Cleaves (Injured)
Luke Pakulak (Injured)
West Kelowna Warriors:
Dylan Brooks (Injured)
Brennan Nelson (Injured)
Jack Farrell (Injured)
Matthew DellaRusso (Injured)
Energy Player of the Game:
Isaiah Norlin (1 goal)
Three Star's:
1st Star: Jackson Kyrkostas (3 goals)
2nd Star: Johannes Lokkeberg (3 assists)
3rd Star: Viggo Nordstrom (2 assists)
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.
3 comments:
Why no post game interview from Jason Mckee. This has become a regular occurrence for our coach when there's a loss. Not very professional on his part, send an assistant coach up for the interview at least.
When was the last time the vipers had won 7 games in a row and 8 of there last 10 . Again consistence is everything. The vipers need to look in the mirror and ask themselves WHY I'm I as a team not able to win 7 games in a row. Why am I being outshot again and again. The coaches need to look at a different formula in regards to winning because what is being put out on the ice is not working. GO,VIPERS,GO.
Are you seeing thru the “smoke and mirrors”? This Viper act is wearing thin.
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