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 missing only 40 home games. Since 2001 I have missed 10 home games. I started and created this blog in November 2008 and have over 3 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 game between the Vernon Vipers & Penticton Vees as the Vees defeated the Vipers 7-1 in front of 2,017 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Jari Kykkanen
Penticton Vees: Ethan Buenaventura
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2nd Period: The visiting Penticton Vees would score three times, in a period where they were the better team. I thought the Vees were by far the better team, carried a lot of the play, had a ton of puck possession, zone time, opportunities, were just overall better. Penticton outskated and outworked Vernon. The Vipers struggled at both ends of the rink, couldn't get much going offensively and had troubles defending the Vees attack. Vipers starting goaltender Jari Kykkanen had a Vees forward crash the net. Kykkanen was a little slow getting up and looked to be in a bit of discomfort for the remainder of the period. The Snakes did get a little momentum going late in the period with a few back to back good shifts. It was 5-1 Vees after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 14-8 Penticton.
3rd Period: Logan Cunningham started the 3rd for the Vipers, after Jari Kykkenen allowed five goals on twenty three Penticton shots. This wasn't much of a period with the game basically over, the Vees looked to take their foot off the gas but still managed to carry the better of the play. Vernon needed almost twelve minutes to get a shot on goal. The Vipers would get the only two power plays of the period but struggled, not getting a single shot on either PP. The Snakes body language on the ice and behind the bench told the story of tonight's game as the Vees added two more and walked all over the hometown Vipers in a 7-1 victory, eliminating the Vipers from playoff contentions. Shots were 12-2 Penticton.
Vernon Vipers Top Performers:
Jackson DeGraves I thought was one of a select few players that played hard the entire game. DeGraves never stopped skating, played hard, was in on the puck, made some plays, was trying to generate some offence, stood out this evening and caught my attention
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- Tonight's the first game of a two game home stand
- The Vipers last regular season win at home vs Penticton, was a 2-1 shootout victory November 25th 2023
- The Vipers have lost three of their last five games and lost eight of their last ten games
- The Vipers had just two shots in the 3rd period
- The Snakes have three regular season home games remaining
- The Vipers went 1-5-0-0 vs the Vees this season
- I liked Vernon's start to the hockey game. I thought the Snakes played hard, were getting pucks to the net early, generating chances, opened the scoring, were skating and held their own before the Vees took over the play in the second half. The Vipers had troubles defending Penticton's speed and skill, were being outmuscled off the puck, struggled in their own end, weren't the same team that started the game
- The Vipers went 0-2 with the power play
- This season/team has been a complete disaster from the start of the season. I think there has been three, maybe four games all season where the Vipers played well and played close to sixty minutes
- The Vipers next game is Sunday vs the visiting Spruce Grove Saints
- The Snakes are 8-10-5-0 at Kal Tire Place this season
- Jari Kykkanen had a Vees player crash the net in the 2nd period. Kykkanen was slow getting up, looked to be in some discomfort, finished the period but didn't come out to start the 3rd period. Kykkanen allowed five goals on twenty three Penticton shots
- The Vipers have lost twenty four of their last twenty six games vs the Penticton Vees
- I liked the Snakes penalty kill. The Vees with just one power play, couldn't get setup or muster any kind of offence as the Snakes PK was aggresive and didn't give up a shot, killing off the minor
- The Vipers didn't have a great 2nd period as it was all Penticton. Vernon struggled at both ends of the rink. With only eight shots on goal, the Vipers didn't get a ton of opportunities, also struggled defensively. Vernon did have a couple of good shifts late in the period but otherwise were outskated/outplayed for most of the middle frame
- This has been the worst Vernon team I have ever seen in all my years of following/watching Junior hockey in Vernon
- Since November 29th the Vipers have just six wins in twenty seven games
- The body language on the ice and behind the bench told the story of the Vipers night but also the entire season
- I didn't see enough compete or hard work tonight from a Vipers team that looked disinterested in tonight's game after the 1st period
- Vernon needed twelve minutes to get their first shot of the 3rd period
- Tonight's attendance was announced at 2,017
- The Vipers have been officially eliminated from playoff contentions
- No matter how many players come and gone, I think it's time for a coaching change
- The Snakes power play was awful. Vernon struggled with the man advantage, not only getting pucks to the net but generating offence
- Vernon has five games remaining in the 2024-25 regular season
- The Snakes looked lifeless in the 2nd and 3rd periods
- The way this team has played this season, I wouldn't be surprised if they don't win another game this season
- Vernon was outskated and outworked through out tonight's loss
- With the score 5-1 and game basically over it wasn't much of a 3rd period. The Vipers needed almost twelve minutes to record a shot on goal, had a couple of power plays but struggled with the man advantage. The Snakes couldn't get much going offensively before the Vees added two more and were the better team in the period. Logan Cunningham started the 3rd
- The Vipers with a lot of mistakes, turnovers and poor coverage cost them on a couple of goals
- With the loss, Vernon falls to 14-29-6-0 sits 10th in the Interior Conference and 19th overall in league standings
Penticton Vees Top Performers:
Matthew Biotti (1 assist) Is a big d-man, that plays very well at both ends of the rink. Has size, reach and can skate-move the puck, played well tonight
Max Heise (1 assist) Had a strong game before getting hit hard against the boards about halfway through the 3rd period, went to the Vees dressing room and I don't think returned
Ben Merrill (2 goals) A tall lanky kid that gave the Snakes defenders all kinds of trouble this evening. Merrill had the puck on his stick a lot, was making plays, played very well
Ryden Evers (1 goal & 2 assists) The former Vipers "AP" leads the Vees in scoring, played well in the win vs his former team. A big body, hard to knock off the puck, goes to the net, has soft hands
Conyr Hellyer (1 goal & 1 assist) Was another Vees forward who played well, added two points, gave Vernon trouble. Was hard to defend, hard to contain and overall created/generated chances
Simon Meier (2 assists) This kid can skate, move the puck, has soft hands, was also hard to defend, hard to contain, gave the Vipers difficulties all evening
Game Thought's: Penticton Vees
- The Vees have won twenty seven of their last thirty two regular season games vs the Vipers
- Penticton has won four of their last five games and won eight of their last ten games
- The Vees next game is Friday in Cranbrook
- I thought the Vipers got off to the better start and were the better team to start the 1st period. Penticton was outshot 4-0 early and down 1-0 early before pushing back with back to back goals and were much better in the second half, were the better team in the second half. I liked the Vees game in the second half. Penticton needed nine minutes to get their first shot on goal but played very well to finish the period, were getting pucks to the net, skating, moving the puck, had lots of zone time, had the Snakes on their heels at times, looked good
- Assistant Coach Jason McKee spent parts of five seasons in Vernon as the Vipers Head Coach/GM from 2019-2024
- Penticton went 0-1 with the man advantage
- Goaltender Ethan Buenaventura's playing rights were once held by the Vernon Vipers. The Vipers traded Buenaventura's playing rights November 8th 2024 to the Cowichan Capitals for forward Noah Grolnic. The Capitals traded Buenventura to Penticton November 12th 2024
- The Vees are looking at clinching 1st place this season, have finished 1st in the Interior every season since 2011
- The Vees have a ton of good smooth skaters, who can move the puck, have a very good transition game
- Was this the last ever game the Vees played in Vernon? Several reports over the past few months have the Vees joining the Western Hockey League next season as an expansion team
- Penticton was the better team in the 2nd period, outskated and outworked Vernon for most of the period. The Vees would score three 2nd period goals to take a commanding 5-1 lead, had loads of time in the offensive zone, had lots of puck possession, played well defensively
- Forward Ryden Evers played as an "AP" with the 2021-22 Vernon Vipers
- The Vees have four games left in the regular season
- The officials let the teams play, with only six minors all game
- The Vees defence doesn't give up a lot of chances, kept Vernon to the outside and took away time and space, limiting the Vipers opportunities
- Forward Georgios Stavrianeas played with the 2023-24 & 2024-25 Vernon Vipers, was traded to Penticton February 10th 2025
- The Vees quickness, strong skating, skilled forwards and smart plays gave the Vipers difficulties all game
- With the score 5-2 in the 3rd it looked like the Vees may have took their foot off the gas, would score twice more and were the better team in the final frame. The Vees played well defensively, killed off two penalties and only gave up two shots
- Starting goaltender Ethan Buenaventura wasn't tested often after the 1st period
- With the win, Penticton improves to 38-7-5-0 sit 1st in the Interior Conference and 1st overall in league standings
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Jett Quaschnick
Charlie Kresl
Brock Heidecker
Penticton Vees:
Zach Nyman
Luke Posthumus
Nate McIssac
Anselmo Rego
Sharky Nowek
Energy Player of the Game:
Nathaniel Harvey
Three Star's:
1st Star: Ryden Evers (1 goal & 3 assists)
2nd Star: Ben Merill (2 goals)
3rd Star: Simon Meier (2 assists)
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Vernon Junior Hockey History website,
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