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 10 million viewers. I have had season tickets since 1990 and missed 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 from every game since 1988. I worked with the Vipers as colour commentator for a few home games 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 was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-Blackfalds Bulldogs game as the Vipers won 4-1 in front of 1,623 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Samuel DiBlasi
Blackfalds Bulldogs: Oliver Kiraly
1st Period: The Vipers were the better team, carried and controlled the better of the play, had more puck possession, more zone time, more pucks to the net & more opportunities. Toms Trockis would open the scoring 2:37 into the hockey game but other wise Vernon couldn't capitalize on their chances. The visiting Bulldogs had a couple of good shifts but other wise saw a lot of time in their own end, were chasing the puck/Vipers, forced to defend a lot, struggled to keep the puck on their stick, struggled to get any sustained pressure and didn't get a whole lot of scoring chances. Oliver Kiraly made a couple of big stops, or the Snakes could have been up by a couple of goals. It was 1-0 Vernon after 20 minutes of play. Shots were 12-9 Vipers.
2nd Period: Both teams were pretty even in the first half but again the Snakes were still the better team. The play was a lot more back and fourth but the Vipers were able to do a lot more with the play when having puck possession. Vernon generated a lot more offence/opportunities, while the Dawgs struggled offensively, couldn't generate or create a ton of chances when having puck possession. The hometown Vipers caught a huge break just before the halfway mark, when it looked like the Bulldogs tied the game, but the goal was quickly waived off and blown down on a Blackfalds penalty. The Vipers would quickly make the Bulldogs pay, scored with the man advantage and making it 2-0. This was a big turning point in the hockey game. The Snakes weren't very sharp, made some mistakes and got a little sloppy at times, letting Blackfalds to hang in the hockey game. Vernon's power play struggled or the Vipers could have blown this game open. A lengthy delay towards the end of the period with a video review and then both officials talking to both benches, took close to ten or so minutes. Afterwards the final five minutes seemed to drag on with lots of stoppages and whistles, really dragged things out. It was 2-0 Vipers after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 14-4 Vernon.
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