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 2008 and have over 6 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 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 few 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 today's Vernon Vipers-Nanaimo Clippers game as the Vipers won 8-7 in overtime in front of 2,340 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Lane Maarhuis
Nanaimo Clippers: Ekiot Seguin-Lescarbeau
1st Period: The Nanaimo Clippers were the better team in the first half even though the Snakes had a 3-1 lead. The Clippers had a little more puck possession, a little more time in the offensive zone and carried a bit more of an edge in play. The Shipmen are very quick and their overall speed and quickness showed early in the contest. I thought Clippers starting netminder Eliot Seguin-Lescarbeau didn't look very sharp, which showed in the score at the time. The hometown Vipers improved and were the better team in the second half. Vernon seemed to get their legs going, had a little more puck possession, zone time and played with some jump. It got a little chippy now and again as a couple of scrums broke out after the stoppage in play. It was 3-2 Vernon after 20 minutes of play. Shots were 15-10 Clippers.
2nd Period: The visiting Clippers were by far the better team and controlled most of the entire period, outplayed Vernon for most of the period. The Shipmen carried the edge in play, played most of the period in the offensive zone, had the puck on their stick often, outskated and outplayed the Vipers, capitalizing on their chances. Nanaimo looked very good and played a very good 2nd period on the road. This period got carried away with a ton of penalties as tempers heated up in a hurry. The Snakes took way too many penalties, spent a lot of time on the penalty kill and a lot of time in their own end. The Vipers didn't see a whole lot of time with the puck or in the offensive zone, didn't look good or play good. The Snakes with some undisciplined penalties, didn't play a very smart 2nd period. Lane Maarhuis was pulled from the crease after the 6th goal, as Oliver Kanat would finish the remainder of the hockey game. It was 6-3 Nanaimo after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 21-8 Clippers.
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