I was born and raised in Vernon, BC and been watching/following junior hockey in Vernon my entire life. My family watched senior men's hockey in Vernon in the 1950's and has been watching/following junior hockey in Vernon since 1961. I have two family members that played junior hockey in Vernon. I have had season tickets since 1990 missing only 40 home games. I started and created this blog in 2008 and have over 5 million viewers.
I was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-Cranbrook Bucks exhibition game as the Bucks beat the Vipers 4-3 at Kal Tire Place North. (Attendance wasn't announced)
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Brendan Gee
Cranbrook Bucks: Andrik Lygas
1st Period: I thought the hometown Vipers were the better team and carried the better of the play. The Snakes played with pace, were physical and created/generated a ton of opportunities. The Vipers carried the puck a lot, had loads of zone time. The Cranbrook Bucks looked a little slow, couldn't seem to keep up with Vernon's speed/intensity, hit the post once, had a couple of good looks/chances. It was 1-1 after 20 minutes of play. Shots were 16-9 Vernon.
2nd Period: The Bucks were the better team in the middle frame. I thought Cranbrook played much better as the period went on, had a lot more zone time, managed the puck better and generated a lot more opportunities. The Bucks defence looked much better, taking away time and space and limited the Vipers scoring chances. Cranbrook hit two goal posts. Vernon looked like they stopped skating, weren't moving their feet and didn't get a whole lot of scoring chances. It was 3-2 Cranbrook after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 15-13 Bucks.
3rd Period: I thought the 3rd was a little more even with the Bucks having a slight edge in play at times. Cranbrook had several good looks with some good chances, hit the post once. The Snakes had troubles getting to the front of the net and generating/creating chances as the Bucks defence was very good in the 3rd shutting down Vernon's offence. Cranbrook kept the Vipers along the wall or to the outside. Vernon hit two posts. Shots were 11-9 Cranbrook as the Bucks open the preseason with a 4-3 victory.
Vernon Vipers Top Players:
Michael Munroe (1 goal) played with the Vipers last season, was one of the better players on the ice this evening. Munroe really used his wheels to find open ice, carried the puck a lot, was driving to the net, had several opportunities. I was really impressed with his speed and hard work.
Koji Gibson (1 goal) Another forward returning from the 2024-25 season. Gibson was another Viper who impressed me, I thought was one of Vernon's better players. Gibson also used his speed and skill to generate/create some offence, was hard to contain
Reid Rabinovitch (1 assist) Caught my attention. I thought looked good and played well, except his giveaway in the 3rd that lead to Cranbrook's fourth goal.
Brendan Russell was another forward who impressed me. I thought this kid played with a lot of jump, played hard, used his speed to work his way into the offensive zone, was involved in the play often
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- Tonight's game was played at Kal Tire Place North, due to the new scoreboard being installed at Kal Tire Place
- Tonight was the Vipers first of four preseason games
- Vernon hit at least three or four goal posts tonight
- I liked the Snakes 1st period. I thought they were the better team. Vernon was really flying, played with pace, were physical, hard on the puck, had lot's of zone time and generated a ton of chances
- The Vipers next preseason game is Saturday in West Kelowna
- The Snakes dressed five regulars from last season
- The Vipers & Bucks will meet seven times during the regular season
- Kal Tire Place North wasn't made for junior hockey. It's hard to see the corners, the bench seating is very uncomfortable and with only one small concession open, makes it hard to get food/drinks in a hurry with long lineups
- With the loss, the Vipers fall to 0-1-0-0 in the preseason
- After a very good opening frame, the Vipers weren't the same team in the 2nd period. I thought the visiting Bucks were the better team. Vernon was able to generate around the same number of shots on goal but didn't get nearly the amount of quality opportunities as they did in the 1st. The Vipers looked to stop skating, gave up two quick back to back goals to fall down 3-1
- The Vipers went 1-3 vs Cranbrook last season
- Tonight's attendance wasn't announced but it was pretty full inside Kal Tire Place North
- The Vipers next preseason home game is Tuesday vs the Salmon Arm Silverbacks
- Brendan Gee started in goal tonight but was replaced by Oliver Kanat midway through the 2nd period. Gee allowed one goal on sixteen shots, while Kanat allowed three goals on nineteen shots
- I thought both teams were fairly even at times in the 3rd. The Vipers couldn't get much going as Cranbrook's defence was keeping the Snakes to the outside, limiting their chances. Vernon didn't generate or create much for offence in a period where they only recorded nine shots on goal
- The Snakes went 0-1 with the power play
- Overall this was a pretty entertaining game for the first preseason game of the year
- The Vipers were the more physical team
- Get use to seeing Cranbrook early in the season. as the Bucks are back in Vernon September 20th and 27th
- Vernon gave up the opening goal, played from behind most of the hockey game
Cranbrook Bucks Top Players:
Valters Budeneiks I thought was one of the Bucks better defencemen, played well on the Bucks blueline
Tristen Sollinger Was another Bucks defender that played very well. This kid can skate, move the puck, played well in the victory
Konstantin Hutzinger (2 goals) Was by far Cranbrook's best player. Hutzinger opened the scoring as well as scored the game winner on a Vernon giveaway, stood out through out the contest. This kid isn't the biggest kid but quick on his feet, seemed to be always in and around the puck or play
Andrik Lygas (35 saves) Played the entire hockey game, getting the win in goal. Lygas played very well, especially in the opening frame, was forced to make several key saves with the Snakes pressing. Covers a lot of the net, made the saves when called apon
Danill Diachkov (1 goal & 2 assists) Had a strong game with three points. Scored on the PP and setup two goals, was hard to defend
Game Thought's: Cranbrook Bucks
- Since joining the league, the Bucks have always been a well coached team
- Tonight was the Bucks first of four exhibition games
- I didn't think Cranbrook got off to a great start, but got better as the game continued
- The Bucks went 1-3 with the man advantage
- The Bucks hit the post and had only a couple of quality chances in the 1st were outplayed, outshot but managed to open the scoring and were knotted 1-1 after the opening frame. The Bucks could have easily been down three or four goals as the hometown Vipers had lot's of quality opportunities
- Cranbrook's next preseason game is Saturday in Salmon Arm
- The Bucks opened the scoring and never trailed the hockey game
- I liked the Cranbrook Bucks 2nd period. I thought the Bucks played much better. Cranbrook was better at both ends of the rink. The Bucks scored two quick goals to take a 3-1 lead, were the better team. The Bucks played better defensively, didn't give up nearly as much as the 1st and were able to get more shots on goal as well as generate more opportunities
- Cranbrook's defence got better as the game went on and was very good in the 3rd
- The Bucks were wearing their home white jerseys tonight
- With the win, the Bucks improve to 1-0-0-0 in the preseason
- I thought the Bucks got better as the game went on
- In a fairly even played 3rd, Cranbrook had a slight edge in play at times, was very good defensively, kept Vernon to the outside, taking away time and space and not allowing the Vipers anywhere near the blue paint. The Bucks winning goal was scored on a Vipers turnover in the neutral zone
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Lucas Brassard 07
Deacon Drummond 06
Neka Jean 06
Finn Kallay 07
Nickolas Kovich 08
Deagan McMillan 05
Liam Payne 06
Nicholas Russ 07
Lane Sim 07
Adam Straka 07
London Taylor 08
Quinn Abbott 05
Ben Edwards 05
Maverick Hayles 06
Jan Lucan 07
Edvin Nilsson 05
Emils Skeltins 05
Sam Saskiw 07
Cranbrook Bucks:
None
Energy Player of the Game:
Malcolm Baar (1 goal)
Three Star's:
1st Star: Konstantin Hutzinger (2 goals)
2nd Star: Danill Diachkov (1 goal & 2 assists)
3rd Star: Koji Gibson (1 goal)
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Cranbrook Bucks @ Vernon Vipers Friday, September 05, 2025 | BCHL League Site
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Official statistics powered by LeagueStat.com
Vernon Junior Hockey History website,
3 comments:
A very good recap of the game, the Colts looked much more organized and were the better team, deserving of the win. For Cranbrook both Hutzinger & Diachkov are elite players.
I was impressed with Max Reed although I am not sure he is ready for prime time yet. Munroe & Gibson made things happen on every shift and should be a lock on the final roster. I also thought Rabinovich & Demers played well. The Vipers dressed 5 20 year olds and D-man Burke was the only one who I thought played well. There we at least 5 more 20 year olds sitting out so it time to show their experience. Lots of big decisions coming, it is an exciting time of year.
I was good to get back to the rink. The Vipers looked good early but the Bucks took over as the game went on, but it was close. I was impressed by Viper recruit Reid Rabinovitch, a 17 year old out of Kelowna, Antoine Demers a 19 year old from Quebec, and the returning Vipers Koji Gibson, Michael Munroe.
Daniil Diachkov of Cranbrook really stood out. He's a 19 year old who played US prep school last year but came from Russia before that. That goal he scored when he came out from the corner was a beauty. It's skill like that why we watch the game. And he set up the fourth Cranbrook goal with a pass to send in a teammate on a breakaway. He has put up big scoring stats where ever he's played. His parents were also at the game.
The Vipers had a good 1st period but crappy 2nd period and played better in the 3rd but some costly mistakes cost them a couple of goals. I'm sure the Vipers will have a different roster tonight and will be making more cuts soon
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