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 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 have every program and ticket stub from every game going back to 1988. I worked with the Vipers as colour commentator during the 2002-03 season and in 2011 I helped create/design the Vipers website, that I was in charge of for five seasons. I started and created this blog in 2008 and have over 6 million viewers.
I was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-Powell River Kings game as the Kings won 6-5 in overtime in front of 1,708 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Jesse Sanche
Powell River Kings: Devin Peck
1st Period: The Vipers were the better team, carried and controlled most of the opening period. Vernon had a lot of puck possession, loads of time in the offensive zone and were getting lots of pucks to the net-creating lots of scoring chances. On the down side the Snakes defence struggled, gave up several odd man rushes and turned over pucks otherwise played a pretty good 1st period. The Kings didn't look very good, played a lot of the period chasing the puck and in their own end, gave up a lot of opportunities as their goaltender had to be sharp to make a handful of saves. Powell River didn't have a ton of puck possession but did get several odd man rushes, along side a couple of breakaways and kept the score close. It was 3-2 Vernon after 20 minutes of play. Shots were 18-8 Vipers.
2nd Period: The Kings jumped on the Snakes early and were by far the better of the two teams. Powell River carried the better of the play, had full control of the period, outskated and outhustled Vernon for most of the period. The visiting Kings played with a lot of jump, had more puck possession, more zone time, looked more hungry and capitalized on their opportunities. The hometown Vipers didn't show up and it showed on the ice. Vernon wasn't skating, turned over the puck lots, were losing the battles, saw a lot of time in their own end, were sloppy, not checking, had no jump or energy, looked very scrambled out there. The Snakes picked it up a bit towards the end of the period, were able to put together a couple of good shifts and play a little better late. The Kings would chase starting goaltender Jesse Sanche after allowing four goals on twelve Powell River shots. It was 5-5 after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 14-10 Vernon.
To continue reading, please click the "read more" button below,
3rd Period: The Vipers penalty kill had to be sharp killing off back to back penalties to start the period, seemed to give them a boost as the hometown Snakes used the momentum from the PK to get some life. Vernon was the better team for a lot of the period but the PR Kings did play well and look good at different times. The Vipers were getting lots of pucks to the net, had lots of puck possession and zone time in the first half, were getting some looks/chances. The Kings had trouble getting out of their own end in the first half but seemed to play a little better as the period went on. Powell River did have a couple of shifts in the second half where they pressed hard and had the edge in play. Both goaltenders played very well keeping the game tied. It was 5-5 after 60 minutes of play. Shots were 16-9 Vipers.
Overtime: The Vipers won the opening draw but quickly turned over the puck behind the net, which allowed the Kings to come back the other way, before Eliot Compton scored the overtime winner at 1:16 giving the Kings a 6-5 OT win. Shots were 2-0 Powell River.
Vernon Vipers Top Players:
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- The Vipers are 4-9-6-0 at home
- With the Vipers 3 pts back of Cranbrook for the final playoff spot, tonight was a must win! Playing the last place team, coming off a game in Cranbrook on Tuesday, the Vipers should have been all over this Powell River team. Very very disappointed in the teams effort, performance and overall game
- Tonight's attendance was 1,708
- The Snakes defence struggled most of the night, giving up way too many odd man rushes and were turning over the puck the entire game
- Vernon's next game is Friday in Salmon Arm
- I liked the Vipers 1st period. I thought Vernon was the better team and carried/controlled most of the period. The Snakes had a ton of puck possession, zone time, were firing lots of pucks to the net and generating lots of opportunities. The Vipers gave up way too many odd man rushes
- The Vipers have lost five straight games and lost seven of their last ten games
- Jesse Sanche was pulled in the 2nd period after giving up four goals on twelve shots
- With the additions of Thomas Duhamel, Oliver Czaja and Ryan Murphy the Vipers have had a total of 54 players play for them this season
- Vernon went 0-3 with the man advantage
- The Vipers haven't played well or looked good since returning from the Christmas break other then the lone game in West Kelowna
- The Snakes play four of their next six games on the road
- Rumors going around the arena are that forward Shaun Rios has left the team
- The Vipers with a huge letdown forgot to show up in the 2nd period as it was all Powell River. The Kings were by far the better team, carried and controlled most of the period. The Vipers were very scrambled, looked flat, had no jump or energy, were turning over the puck a ton, saw a lot of the period in their own end. Vernon played a little better towards the end of the period, were lucky and able to get back to back goals to tie the hockey game
- Vernon is 1-6 in overtime
- Instead of putting this game away when it was 2-0, the Snakes allowed the Kings back in the hockey game and allowed Powell River to hang around
- This is the only regular season meeting between the Vipers & Kings
- If the Vipers continue to keep playing like they have been in 2026 they will not make the playoffs
- A very very small crowd tonight, lucky if there was a 1000 fans tonight
- This was one of if not the worst game I have seen the Vipers play this season. The game showed no excitement or entertainment as both teams didn't impress me
- The Vipers PK was good, was forced to kill off back to back power play's to start the 3rd. This seemed to give Vernon a boost as the hometown Vipers seemed to have the edge in play early and were the better team early. The Kings played better in the second half and had the edge in play at times as both goaltenders were good
- With a small crowd there was no atmosphere inside Kal Tire Place tonight
- Tonight's effort and performance was simply just no where near good enough
- You have to wonder if all of these roster moves have something to do with the team's struggles? It must be hard for the kids to gel, get use to each other, and having to adjust to new linemates every few weeks
- The Vipers seem to have trouble putting teams away after jumping out to a 2-0 lead. How many times have we seen them get up 2-0 but instead of putting the game away, they allow the team back in the game and then end up losing that game
- With the overtime loss, Vernon falls to 8-19-6-0 sit 5th in the Interior West Division are two points back of Cranbrook for the final playoff spot
Powell River Kings Top Players:
Eliot Compton (2 goals & 2 assists) Scored the overtime winner was one of the lone bright spots on both teams
Game Thought's: Powell River Kings
- Tonight was the fourth game of a four game road trip
- The Kings went 0-3 with the power play
- I spotted a couple of Kings fans in attendance
- The Kings didn't have a great 1st period. Powell River played last night in Cranbrook and it showed. The Kings were chasing the Vipers most of the period, saw a lot of time in their own end, gave up a ton of shots and opportunities as Devin Peck was forced to make some saves to keep the visitors in the contest. Powell River did manage to get several odd man rushes but didn't see a whole lot of time with the puck or in the offensive zone. The visiting Kings were able to get a couple on the board to stay in the hockey game
- Powell River is 5-11-0-1 on the road
- The Kings have given up a league high 194 goals against
- Give the Kings credit, they responded with a much better effort in the 2nd period, a period where they were by far the better team. PR carried and controlled most of the period, had lots of puck possession, zone time and were outskating and outhustled Vernon to the puck. The Kings would score three goals and chase starting goaltender Jesse Sanche. Powell River couldn't hold the two goal lead, allowed the Snakes to even the score before the period ended
- The Kings next game is Saturday vs the visiting Surrey Eagles
- The Kings have lost three of their last five games and seven of their last ten games
- With the overtime win, Powell River moves out of the basement and two points up on the last place Surrey Eagles
- PR couldn't capitalize on a couple of back to back power plays to start the 3rd, had troubles defending early with Vernon pressing. Devin Peck would keep the Kings in the hockey game in the first half before the Kings played better in the second half, getting some quality looks/chances. Powell River played better in the second half, had the edge in play at different times
- The Kings last regular season win in Vernon was a 3-1 victory on January 21st 2017
- Give the Kings credit, for a team that was tied in points with Surrey and at the bottom of the standings, they come in after playing Tuesday in Cranbrook and didn't play a complete game but played hard at times, and gave it their best and took away two big points from the Vipers who are fighting for the playoffs
- The Powell River Kings need help and support as the team is facing a projected $200,000 shortfall by the end of the season and has started a Go Fund Me page
- With the overtime win, Powell River improves to 6-25-2-1 sit 5th in the Coastal West Division
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Sebastian Bradshaw (Injured)
Shaun Rios
Koji Gibson (Injured)
Deagan McMillan (Injured)
Oscar Bjork (Injured)
Powell River Kings:
Conrado Calderni
Chad Lebeau
Eli Friedman
David Skacel
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Powell River Kings @ Vernon Vipers Wednesday, January 21, 2026 | BCHL League Site
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Official statistics powered by LeagueStat.com
Vernon Junior Hockey History,
1 comment:
The Vipers didn't play well tonight, very lucky to come out of this game with a point. Sanche isn't a good goaltender, as those goals he let in, he should have saved. The Vipers waist too much time on the PP as usual and don't shoot enough
Post a Comment