Game Recap: West Kelowna Warriors 3 Vernon Vipers 0

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 during the 1950's and has been watching/following junior hockey in Vernon since Vernon got a team in 1961. I have two family members that played junior hockey in Vernon. I have had season tickets since 1990 missing 46 home games since. I worked with the Vipers as colour commentator for a few games during the 2002-03 season. In 2011 I helped design and create the Vipers website and was in charge of running the website for five seasons. I started and created this blog in 2008 and have over 5.9 million viewers.

I was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-West Kelowna Warriors game as the Warriors won 3-0 in front of 2,104 fans at Kal Tire Place.

Starting Goaltenders:

Vernon Vipers: Colton Jugnauth
West Kelowna Warriors: Angelo Zol

Before tonight's game the Vernon Vipers inducted former Vernon Lakers stickboy/Vernon Vipers trainer Trevor McEachnie into the Vernon Vipers Alumni Association.

1st Period: I thought the hometown Vipers were the better team in the opening period. Vernon come to play, was skating, played with jump/energy, were physical, carried the puck more, had the puck on their stick more, had more zone time and a lot of opportunities. Sebastian Bradshaw thought he opened the scoring, but the goal went to video review and was waived off for a kicking motion. A tough break for the Snakes who had loads of chances through out the period. This goal that was called back changed the momentum of the period and the edge in play as the visiting West Kelowna Warriors seemed to re-group, gain some momentum and for the first time this period, would get some puck possession, zone time and were the better team to end of the period in the last four or so minutes. Vernon seemed to sit back, lost some of their jump and sagged a bit with the Warriors pressing late. It was 1-0 West Kelowna after 20 minutes of play. Shots were 12-7 Warriors.

2nd Period: The Vernon Vipers were the better team for a second straight period. Other then maybe the first four minutes, the Snakes just like the 1st period had more puck possession, more opportunities, more zone time and carried the play often. The Vipers had several good looks, could have had at least four or five goals easily but Warriors starting goaltender Aneglo Zol was solid between the pipes. Vernon didn't get the bounces or puck go their way on several different plays. The Tribe were forced to kill off some penalties in the first half, did manage to play better in the second half. WK did get a couple of good looks/opportunities but didn't get a ton of time in the offensive zone. Give the Warriors credit, they would capitalize to take a 2-0 lead. It was 2-0 Warriors after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 17-10 Vernon.

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3rd Period: The Snakes were once again the better team but once again Vernon couldn't find the back of the net. The hometown Vipers had some good looks/chances were denied by Angelo Zol. The Vipers had more puck possession, more zone time, more time in the offensive zone, more shots on goal and more opportunities. The Snakes had some quality chances to get to within a goal but couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. The visiting Warriors would put the game away with a power play marker late. West Kelowna didn't generate much for offence but scored a big goal with the man advantage and got some big saves from their goaltender. The Tribe saw a lot of time in their own end. The Warriors come away with the 3-0 victory. Shots were 14-9 Vipers.

Vernon Vipers Top Players:

Sebastian Bradshaw was a workhorse, saw a lot of ice time, had several opportunities alone with the puck on his stick but couldn't find the back of the net. Bradshaw did open the scoring late in the 1st period but the goal was waived off after video review due to a kicking motion. Bradshaw was hard to defend and contain, played very well in the loss

Samuel Charko I thought was one of the better Vipers this evening. Made some big plays, played well at both ends of the rink, played with a lot of jump/energy

Dmitrii Kubantsev had two glorious opportunities but was denied by Angelo Zol who come up with two game savers. Kubantsev was another forward that was hard to defend/contain, had a strong game for the Snakes

Colton Jugnauth (33 saves) Played very well in the loss. Jugnauth made some large saves at different times in the hockey game, couldn't be faulted on tonight's outcome

Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers

- Including the preseason, the Vipers are 1-4 vs West Kelowna

- The Vipers next game is Saturday vs the visiting Blackfalds Bulldogs

- Vernon is 3-6-4-0 at home

- The Vipers come to play and played very very well in the 1st period, were the better team. The Snakes carried the better of the play, had more puck possession, more zone time and a lot more opportunities. Sebastian Bradshaw opened the scoring late to have his goal waived off due to a kicking motion. The Vipers had several good looks/chances through out the opening frame, couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. West Kelowna saw a lot of play in their own end, seemed to gain some life and momentum after Vernon's goal was waived off as the Tribe played their best hockey in the final four minutes or so to end the period

- The Vipers & Warriors next game is January 10th in West Kelowna

- Tonight's attendance 2,104

- The Snakes have won three of their last five games and lost six of their last ten games

- Vernon went 0-3 with the power play

- I liked the Snakes 2nd period and once again the hometown Vipers were the better of the two teams. The Vipers had the better of the play, had more puck possession, more zone time, more shots, a lot more chances, were unable to find the back of the net. The visiting Warriors did play better in the second half, did have some good shifts but didn't see a whole lot of time with the puck. West Kelowna did manage to score a big goal to take a 2-0 lead. Angelo Zol was solid in goal for the Tribe

- The Vipers didn't get any bounces or puck luck go their way this evening

- The Warriors have shutout the Vipers in back to back games

- Sebastian Bradshaw opened the scoring in the 1st period before the goal was waived off after video review. After watching the instant replay, I didn't see a kicking motion

- Vernon has four wins in their last seventeen games

- Down 2-0 heading into the 3rd the Vipers were once again the better team in the final frame. I thought Vernon carried the better of the play, had more zone time, more puck possession, more shots on goal, way more opportunities. The Vipers couldn't capitalize on their chances. WK played very well defensively, kept Vernon to the outside, limited their shots and then put the game away with a late PP goal. The Warriors didn't see much time in the offensive zone

- Since the Langley Hornets moved to West Kelowna in 2006 the Vipers are 52-47-3-2 vs the Warriors

- This was a very exciting/entertaining hockey game

- The Vipers were by far the better team through out tonight's contest. Vernon carried the better of the play, had a ton more opportunities, were getting lots of good looks, created/generated lots of chances, had more zone time and more puck possession

- Former Vernon Vipers Head Coach/GM Troy Mick was in attendance

- Tonight's the first game of a five game home stand

- The Snakes could have had six or seven goals tonight. Angelo Zol was very good in net for WK but the Vipers also need to bare down and capitalize on some opportunities

- The Vipers have to forget about tonight's loss, quickly re-group and get ready to host a very good Blackfalds Bulldogs team on Saturday

- Vernon was physical and the more physical team

- With the loss, Vernon falls to 7-15-5-0 sit 4th in the Interior West Division

West Kelowna Warriors Top Players:

Natan Ethier I thought played hard, competed, seemed to always be involved in the play

Kurtis Kinoshita Was another Warriors forward that played well in the win. This kid can skate, was hard to defend, involved in the play, going to the net

Philip Hagen (3 assists) Had a strong offensive game on the blueline, played very well

Dylan Krayer (1 assist) Has played well vs the Vipers this season. A smooth skater, has some skill, is hard to defend

Carson Pavlowich Played well on the Warriors backend

Angelo Zol (38 saves-shutout) Records his fourth shutout of the season, was the different in tonight's hockey game. Zol was solid between the pipes, keeping his West Kelowna Warriors in the contest. 

Game Thought's: West Kelowna Warriors

- The Warriors are 7-3-1-0 on the road

- Forward Alexandre Lallier made his Warriors debut tonight

- West Kelowna didn't generate or create much for offensive chances tonight, but capitalized on their opportunities

- West Kelowna went 1-4 with the man advantage

- The Warriors didn't get off to a good start as the hometown Snakes were the better team for most of the 1st period. The Tribe went six and a half minutes before getting the first shot on goal, needed a late Vipers goal to be waived off to re-group and gain some momentum and end the period on a high note as the Warriors finished off the period strong

- The Warriors have shutouts in four of their last six games

- West Kelowna's next game is Saturday vs the visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks

- Forward Ethan Merner played with the 2022-23 Vernon Vipers

- The Warriors defence played well, keeping the Snakes to the outside, limiting their chances, blocked a lot of pucks, got sticks in the way and then relied on their goaltender to make some large saves

- Head Coach/GM Simon Ferguson wasn't behind the Warriors bench

- Tonight's the second game of a two game road trip

- The Tribe had a few good shifts in the 2nd period but a period where they once again didn't look very good. The Vipers were the better team as WK saw a lot of time in their own end. The Warriors heavily relied on goaltender Angelo Zol to bail them out. The Warriors did get a huge goal to take a 2-0 lead but otherwise not a lot of positives in the middle frame

- The Warriors have won four of their last five games and won eight of their last ten games

- West Kelowna is a very good skating team, that can move the puck well with a good transition game

- The Warriors have outscored their opponents 19-3 in the last six games

- The Tribe saw a lot of action in their own end in the 3rd were able to put the game away with a late 3rd period PP goal. The Vipers were once again the better team. West Kelowna played well defensively and got some big saves from their goaltender

- I didn't think West Kelowna looked all that great or played that well. The Vipers were by far the better team through out the hockey game. The Warriors heavily relied on their goaltender to bail them out and give the Tribe credit, they didn't have a lot of puck possession, zone time or get a ton of chances but were able to capitalize on their opportunities

- With the win, West Kelowna improves to 21-4-2-0 sit 1st in the Interior West Division

Scratches:

Vernon Vipers:

Dome Szongoth
Koji Gibson (Injured)
Toms Trockis
Oscar Bjork (Injured)

West Kelowna Warriors:

Ethan Merner (Injured)
Aidan Malone
Ian Alonso (Injured)
Caden Kemkaren-Humble
Bor Glavic

Boxscore-Game Summary,

West Kelowna Warriors @ Vernon Vipers Friday, December 19, 2025 | BCHL League Site

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Vernon Junior Hockey History website,

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