Game Recap - Vernon Vipers 5 Salmon Arm Silverbacks 3

I was born and raised in Vernon, BC and been watching/following junior hockey in Vernon my entire life. I started and created this blog in November 2008 and have over 6.2 million viewers. I have had season tickets since 1990 missing 46 home games since. 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 some programs and ticket stubs going back to 1988 and have every program and ticket stub from every game since 1989. I worked with the Vipers as colour commentator for a couple of home games during the 2002-03 season and in 2011 helped create and design the Vipers website that I was in charge of running for five seasons.

I was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-Salmon Arm Silverbacks game as the Vipers won 5-3 in front of 2,809 fans at Kal Tire Place.

Starting Goaltenders:

Vernon Vipers: Lane Maarhuis
Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Daniel Dirracolo

1st Period: The Silverbacks had a slight edge in play for a lot of the opening frame. Salmon Arm had the puck on their stick more, more zone time, more puck possession, had the better scoring chances and just overall played a little better then the Vipers. The Apes speed was a factor as SA played with pace, seemed to have a little more life in them, played with a little more jump/energy and it showed as the Backs were strong on the forecheck, hard on the puck, winning the races and taking advantage of some sloppy defensive coverage in front of Vernon's net. The Snakes had a couple of good shifts now and again but overall didn't look or play that great, saw a lot of time in their own end, chasing pucks, making poor passes, poor defensive coverage and relied on Lane Maarhuis to bail them out on a couple of occasions. The hometown Vipers didn't spend a whole lot of time in the offensive zone, didn't generate or create a ton of chances. It was 2-1 Salmon Arm after 20 minutes of play. Shots were 10-19 Silverbacks.

2nd Period: The Salmon Arm Silverbacks were the better of the two teams in the first half. The Apes played with pace, were moving their legs, had more puck possession, more zone time, the better of the opportunities. SA jumped out to a early 3-1 lead and was looking good on the road. The Vipers responded with a good push back, got to within a goal just over two minutes later as this seemed to change the momentum and the pace and game picked up in a hurry as both teams were fairly evenly matched in the second half, before Vernon took over the edge in play late in the period. The Snakes would tie the game towards the end of the period, started using their legs, played with some pace in a very quick second half of the period. Some good end to end action in the second half as Vernon responded with a good push back and played much better in the second half. The Snakes with several good looks/quality chances towards the end of the period. It was 3-3 after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 14-9 Vernon.

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3rd Period: The Gorillas were the better of the two teams for most of the period. The S'Backs carried and controlled the better of the period, getting a ton of quality chances through out the period. Salmon Arm's speed gave Vernon's defenders all kinds of trouble this period. The Silverbacks had the puck on their stick most of the period, played a lot of the period in the offensive zone. The Apes couldn't capitalize on their chances. SA with a strong forecheck, were winning the battles and pucks along the wall, played with a ton of jump/energy, seemed to be more hungry. The Snakes looked very sloppy, especially in their own end. The Vipers defence didn't have a strong game, making lots of mistakes, lots of turnovers and leaving players uncovered in front. The Vipers didn't touch the puck much, spent a lot of the period in their own end, were chasing the game, struggled offensively. Vernon looked slow, didn't seem to have a lot of jump/energy in their game tonight. With the game still tied, Christian Maro capitalized on a Salmon Arm turnover at the blueline, put the Snakes ahead 4-3 at 17:08 before Davids Livsics empty netter gave Vernon the 5-3 victory. Shots were 16-9 Salmon Arm.

Vernon Vipers Top Players:

Christian Maro (2 goals & 1 assist) Was one of the better forwards in the win. Maro was skating, played with a lot of jump/energy, was hard on pucks, competed, scored the game winner at 17:08 of the 3rd

Oliver Czaja (1 goal & 2 assists) Was another forward who played very well. I like this kid and think he's been really coming on in the past month or so and been playing very well 

Connor Dick Has really impressed me the past three or four games. I didn't notice him much in the first few games after coming over in a trade with Chilliwack, but the past few weeks Dick has really stepped up his play, played hard, skating, moving his legs, strong on pucks, his compete and energy level has been very high. I thought he was one of the better Vipers in West Kelowna on Friday and played a heck of a game tonight

Lane Maarhuis (32 saves) Was a big difference this evening, keeping the Snakes in the hockey game at different times. Maarhuis made some big stops in the 1st period with Salmon Arm pressing and was very solid in the 3rd with the Silverbacks pressing for the go ahead goal. The Vipers goaltender had to be very sharp in the 3rd as the Apes had a ton of quality chances, could have easily had two or three goals

Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers

- The Vipers are 2-3-0-0 vs Salmon Arm

- The Snakes have won back to back games for just the third time this season

- Give Vernon credit for not quitting and battling back down two goals to come from behind for the win 

- The Vipers next game is Friday in Cranbrook

- Vernon was lucky to win as Salmon Arm was the better team tonight

- I thought Salmon Arm was the better team in the 1st period. I didn't think the Vipers looked very good or played very good. The Vipers didn't have a lot of puck possession or zone time, which resulted in not a whole lot of opportunities. The Vipers just didn't have a lot of jump/energy, saw a lot of the opening frame in their end

- Tonight's attendance was 2,809

- With the win and Cranbrook's loss, the Vipers are 4 pts back of the Bucks for the final playoff spot

- The Vipers have won three of their last five games are 5-5 in their last ten games

- Vernon went 1-4 on the man advantage

- The Vipers looked very sloppy tonight, had trouble making a pass, struggled defensively in their own end, made lots of mistakes, just didn't play very well overall

- The Vipers are 6-13-5-0 at home

- The Snakes didn't get off to a good start in the 2nd period. Vernon fell behind 3-1 and were outplayed in the first half. The Vipers did manage to change the momentum and play much better in the second half. As the period went on, Vernon had the edge in play towards the end of the period, were able to get several quality chances and some play in the offensive zone

- The Snakes have been inconsistent all season and it showed again tonight

- The Vipers & Silverbacks play again March 13th in Salmon Arm

- Since the 2003-04 regular season, the Vipers are 77-58-16-1-4 vs Salmon Arm

- The Vipers have five wins in their last seventeen games

- The Vipers were outplayed for most of the 3rd period but got some huge saves from their goaltender and found a way to pull out the win on Christian Maro's game winner at 17:08 The Snakes were real sloppy, played a lot of the 3rd in their own end, were chasing pucks, made lots of mistakes, couldn't get out of their own end, struggled defensively. Lane Maarhuis was the difference was solid between the pipes in the final twenty minutes to keep the Vipers in this game

- Six of the Vipers final nine regular season games will be played on the road

- After a great effort/performance and come from behind win Friday in West Kelowna, you have to ask yourself how the Vipers can come back the next night and play so poorly for most of the game?

- With the win, Vernon improves to 13-25-7-0 sit 5th in the Interior West Division are 4 pts back of Cranbrook for the final playoff spot

Salmon Arm Silverbacks Top Players:

Cole Longacre Played a solid game on the Silverbacks blueline. This kid has played well vs the Vipers all season

Landon Mackie (2 goals & 1 assist) Was by far Salmon Arm's best player in the loss. A big body, was hard to contain, hard to defend, was dangerous with and without the puck, gave the Snakes all kinds of difficulties tonight. I liked Mackie's compete level, was engaged and always involved in the play

Mateu Spath (2 assists) Has also played well vs Vernon this season. With two helpers, was another forward who played very well, was hard to defend/contain

Scott Miner (1 assist) A big body, played well on the Apes backend

Anthony Preskar (1 assist) Another big body, was hard to defend/contain, was aggressive, competed, hard to knock off the puck, gave the Vipers trouble, played very well

Daniel Dirracolo (30 saves) Wasn't tested nearly as much as Lane Maarhuis but was still forced to make a handful of key saves

Game Thought's: Salmon Arm Silverbacks

- The Silverbacks are 2-1 in Vernon

- The Silverbacks have lost six straight games and lost seven of their last ten games

- Lots of Salmon Arm fans in attendance

- I really liked the Apes 1st period as I thought the Silverbacks were the better team. SA played with pace, were skating, moving the puck quickly up ice, had some looks/chances, saw a lot of time with the puck and in the offensive zone

- Salmon Arm is very quick, can skate, move the puck well, get the puck up ice in a hurry, have a very good transition game

- Salmon Arm is 11-11-2-0 on the road

- The Silverbacks next game is Friday vs the visiting West Kelowna Warriors

- The S'Backs jumped out to an early 3-1 lead to start the 2nd period, a period where I thought they were the better team in the first half. The Gorillas were the better team in the first half, had lots of control and carried the better of the play. SA had a lot of zone time, more puck possession and some good looks. The Silverbacks hit two posts. Salmon Arm couldn't sustain the pressure and lead, allowed the hometown Snakes back into the hockey game as Vernon played much better in the second half and finished off the period as the better team

- The Silverbacks went 0-2 on the powerplay

- The Gorillas play five of their final eight regular season games at home

- The Silverbacks were the better team for most of tonight's hockey game

- SA played very well defensively and in their own end. The Silverbacks defence played very well in front of their goaltender, took away time and space, limited the Vipers opportunities

- The S'Backs had a ton of opportunities to put the game away in the 3rd but couldn't. Salmon Arm was the better of the two teams as the Silverbacks carried and controlled most of the final twenty minutes of play. SA had the puck on their stick for a lot of the period, played a lot of the period in the offensive zone. The Backs were very aggressive on the forecheck, hard on pucks, winning battles, forcing Vernon into turnovers, had several good looks/quality chances

- The Gorillas have a very strong forecheck, we’re making plays all night in the offensive zone 

- With the loss, Salmon Arm falls to 20-21-3-2 sit 3rd in the Interior West Division

Scratches:

Vernon Vipers:

Jack Bousquet (Injured)
London Taylor
Anthony Nolan (Injured)
Artyom Khaydarov
Oliver Kanat

Salmon Arm Silverbacks:

Donny Sisson 
John Lumsden
Cooper Conway
Koen Senft

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Salmon Arm Silverbacks @ Vernon Vipers Saturday, February 28, 2026 | BCHL League Site

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