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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