This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:
Collins caps Snakes’ comeback
By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning Star
Published: January 02, 2009 4:00 PM
After a four-game holiday series, it’s no surprise the net gain between the ultra-talented Vernon Vipers and Salmon Arm SilverBacks is a single point.
After Monday's dismal 7-3 loss in Salmon Arm, the Snakes staged a late rally Tuesday night at Wesbild Centre to stun the Gorillas 2-1 in a double-overtime thriller before a season-high 3,000 B.C. Hockey League fans.
The end result is the Backs (29-8-1-2) sit atop the BCHL with 61 points. The Vipers (27-10-1-2) are four points back with a firm hold on second place in the Interior Conference.
"You've got two good teams playing each other, and I don't think we solved anything after four games," said SilverBacks' head coach Rylan Ferster. "I guess we're up by one point, but we let it slip away tonight.
"We took some foolish penalties. Special teams are all about momentum – whether you score or whether you don't. When you take some foolish penalties like we did, even though we didn't get scored on, it can hurt you down the road.
"So many times people say 'What did you do wrong?,' but sometimes you have to give the other team credit. They battled hard the whole game."
The Vipers came out determined from the start, with twins Connor and Kellen Jones along with rookie Sahir Gill setting the tone with a relentless forecheck.
Viper d-man Kevin Kraus then denied Colin Lidster a clear breakaway with a diving pokecheck. The Garden Grove, Calif. product also set up the tying goal with under two minutes remaining in the third period. He dished a pass to Cory Kane (16th goal), who cruised through the slot to unleash a top-shelf backhand to beat netminder Bryan Gillis (39 saves).
"Our coaches got us ready from (Monday) night to tonight," said Kraus, who earned second star. "They got us in the right attitude, and then we come out and we've got almost 3,000 fans, and it's hard not to have a good game.
"They went on an 11-game streak, and good for them, but we're going to get them down the stretch."
Mike Collins (15th) capped the comeback 44 seconds into double-overtime when he walked in off the wing to go roof daddy on Gillis.
"We wanted to get them back after (Monday) and we got the job done,” said Collins. "We played a full 60 hard, and it paid off. We just knew what we needed to do after losing 7-3.
"If felt like playoffs. It was a great atmosphere tonight, which helped a lot."
Vipers' netminder Andrew Hammond (26 saves) was on his game, flashing a left pad to deny Keenan Desmet midway through the first, and minutes later, sticking with Backs' sniper Mark Zengerle as he swarmed the crease looking for an opening.
Despite the Vipers controlling the early play, it was Salmon Arm's Travis Statchuk (fifth) who opened the scoring. He broke down the wing to thread a snap shot over netminder Hammond's left shoulder, nearside, at 16:06.
"We just had to calm the storm for the first 10 minutes, and we ended up going into the second period with a one-goal lead," said Statchuk. "But the last five to 10 minutes... we got a little panicky and were following the puck and weren't doing the little things that we had to do."
There were chances at both ends in the second frame, but both goalies were sharp, and had some help from the red iron.
Hammond robbed Justin Cseter on a great feed from Bobby Lipsett seven minutes in, and Christopher Hoe on a one-timer later in the period.
In the third frame, Gillis stymied Collins twice on the powerplay, once with his mask, and again with a stretched left pad to deny him the open-net rebound.
But the Vipers were persistent, and created no end of havoc in Salmon Arm's in the final 10 minutes.
"They go about two to two-and-a-half (lines) all game, and I think it just caught up with them. We've got four good lines and six good dee, and it pays off," said Kraus.
Added Vipers' head coach Mark Ferner: "We were disappointed with (Monday) night's effort and the result as well. We just talked about the way we want to be as a hockey team and as individuals.
"I can't question anyone's effort tonight. We found a way and we never gave up.
"We've got a hockey team that we're not afraid to match anybody against anybody, and we talk about being the same way as a team, wave after wave of the same thing. Once we got that game deeper and deeper... we rolled four lines for the most part, and they shortened their bench quite a bit, and it benefitted us in the long run."
Ferner applauded Kane's work ethic, but wants to see more of it as the season wears on.
"Cory Kane came up with a huge goal for us. He probably deserved a little more ice time than he got, but when he was out there, he was ready.
"He needs to understand that for him to make that next step to college or even pro hockey that he has to play like that every night. That goes for all our guys. It's not just some-of-the-time, it's an all-of-the-time thing."
The Snakes continue a five-game home stand tonight against the Westside Warriors. They then entertain the Trail Smoke Eaters Saturday before Sunday's exhibition matinee (2 p.m.) against the talented Swedish Under 17 national team.
After Monday's dismal 7-3 loss in Salmon Arm, the Snakes staged a late rally Tuesday night at Wesbild Centre to stun the Gorillas 2-1 in a double-overtime thriller before a season-high 3,000 B.C. Hockey League fans.
The end result is the Backs (29-8-1-2) sit atop the BCHL with 61 points. The Vipers (27-10-1-2) are four points back with a firm hold on second place in the Interior Conference.
"You've got two good teams playing each other, and I don't think we solved anything after four games," said SilverBacks' head coach Rylan Ferster. "I guess we're up by one point, but we let it slip away tonight.
"We took some foolish penalties. Special teams are all about momentum – whether you score or whether you don't. When you take some foolish penalties like we did, even though we didn't get scored on, it can hurt you down the road.
"So many times people say 'What did you do wrong?,' but sometimes you have to give the other team credit. They battled hard the whole game."
The Vipers came out determined from the start, with twins Connor and Kellen Jones along with rookie Sahir Gill setting the tone with a relentless forecheck.
Viper d-man Kevin Kraus then denied Colin Lidster a clear breakaway with a diving pokecheck. The Garden Grove, Calif. product also set up the tying goal with under two minutes remaining in the third period. He dished a pass to Cory Kane (16th goal), who cruised through the slot to unleash a top-shelf backhand to beat netminder Bryan Gillis (39 saves).
"Our coaches got us ready from (Monday) night to tonight," said Kraus, who earned second star. "They got us in the right attitude, and then we come out and we've got almost 3,000 fans, and it's hard not to have a good game.
"They went on an 11-game streak, and good for them, but we're going to get them down the stretch."
Mike Collins (15th) capped the comeback 44 seconds into double-overtime when he walked in off the wing to go roof daddy on Gillis.
"We wanted to get them back after (Monday) and we got the job done,” said Collins. "We played a full 60 hard, and it paid off. We just knew what we needed to do after losing 7-3.
"If felt like playoffs. It was a great atmosphere tonight, which helped a lot."
Vipers' netminder Andrew Hammond (26 saves) was on his game, flashing a left pad to deny Keenan Desmet midway through the first, and minutes later, sticking with Backs' sniper Mark Zengerle as he swarmed the crease looking for an opening.
Despite the Vipers controlling the early play, it was Salmon Arm's Travis Statchuk (fifth) who opened the scoring. He broke down the wing to thread a snap shot over netminder Hammond's left shoulder, nearside, at 16:06.
"We just had to calm the storm for the first 10 minutes, and we ended up going into the second period with a one-goal lead," said Statchuk. "But the last five to 10 minutes... we got a little panicky and were following the puck and weren't doing the little things that we had to do."
There were chances at both ends in the second frame, but both goalies were sharp, and had some help from the red iron.
Hammond robbed Justin Cseter on a great feed from Bobby Lipsett seven minutes in, and Christopher Hoe on a one-timer later in the period.
In the third frame, Gillis stymied Collins twice on the powerplay, once with his mask, and again with a stretched left pad to deny him the open-net rebound.
But the Vipers were persistent, and created no end of havoc in Salmon Arm's in the final 10 minutes.
"They go about two to two-and-a-half (lines) all game, and I think it just caught up with them. We've got four good lines and six good dee, and it pays off," said Kraus.
Added Vipers' head coach Mark Ferner: "We were disappointed with (Monday) night's effort and the result as well. We just talked about the way we want to be as a hockey team and as individuals.
"I can't question anyone's effort tonight. We found a way and we never gave up.
"We've got a hockey team that we're not afraid to match anybody against anybody, and we talk about being the same way as a team, wave after wave of the same thing. Once we got that game deeper and deeper... we rolled four lines for the most part, and they shortened their bench quite a bit, and it benefitted us in the long run."
Ferner applauded Kane's work ethic, but wants to see more of it as the season wears on.
"Cory Kane came up with a huge goal for us. He probably deserved a little more ice time than he got, but when he was out there, he was ready.
"He needs to understand that for him to make that next step to college or even pro hockey that he has to play like that every night. That goes for all our guys. It's not just some-of-the-time, it's an all-of-the-time thing."
The Snakes continue a five-game home stand tonight against the Westside Warriors. They then entertain the Trail Smoke Eaters Saturday before Sunday's exhibition matinee (2 p.m.) against the talented Swedish Under 17 national team.
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