Snakes Squander First-Period Lead:

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Snakes squander first-period lead

By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning Star
Published: January 18, 2009

Momentum can be an elusive thing. Just ask the Vernon Vipers after their 4-3 double-overtime B.C. Hockey League loss to the Nanaimo Clippers Friday night at Wesbild Centre.
The Snakes looked virtually unstoppable in building a three-goal, first-period lead before 2,237 fans, but wound up surrendering three consecutive powerplay goals to let Nanaimo back in it.
Nick Chartier pocketed the winner at 1:42 of the second OT when Connor Krukowski fed him a pass from the corner. Chartier (fifth goal) went up high on netminder Graeme Gordon.
“It just showed the character of our team. We were down 3-0 and no one quit,” said Chartier, a Binscarth, Man. product. “It’s good for the team to come back and get a few goals.
“It’s a good confidence booster because Vernon’s got a good team. But hard work can go a long way if you’re working as hard as you can.”
So, instead of riding the bus north on a two-point high, the Vipers (30-11-1-3) visited the Prince George Spruce Kings (19-20-3-5) Saturday night at the Coliseum having suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since October.
Vernon tangles with the Quesnel Millionaires (14-29-0-3) this afternoon at the Vault.
Mike Collins (17th) got the Vipers rolling at 7:14 when he snapped a shot past netminder Jonathan Jobin on the powerplay, assisted by Kyle Bigos and Cam Brodie, who earned his first points as a Viper.
Vernon then started pouring on pressure, getting the better scoring chances. Braden Pimm missed on a giftwrapped pass from Chris Crowell on an odd-man rush.
At 12:43, Rob Short (12th) collected a loose puck in front of the net and went with a high backhander to beat Jobin (five saves), who was pulled by head coach Bill Bestwick in favour of Evan Smith. Bestwick said it was more to shake up the team than to single out Jobin.
“We didn’t get off to the start we wanted, and sometimes you wonder if you should wait and see what happens and who gets the next one.”
Smith didn’t fair much better, as second star Kellen Jones (11th) ripped one past him from the right faceoff dot at 17:00. Sahir Gill showed some good hustle along the boards to create the play.
“Penalty trouble killed our momentum and we never really got it back,” said Short. “You give a team like that an opportunity on the powerplay and they get some lucky shots that are tipped or deflected, a team like that is going to run away with it.
“We want every point we can get. We need two points every night to keep up with Salmon Arm (SilverBacks). Every point we lose is a point we can’t get back.”
The Clippers (24-18-1-3), who grounded the Trail Smoke Eaters 2-1 Thursday night at Cominco Arena, replied late in the first period when Matt Betker (ninth) wristed one past a screened Gordon on the powerplay.
“Our kids gave Vernon a tremendous amount of respect,” said Bestwick. “We knew they were a large team, a hard-hitting team, and a team committed physically.
“The kids responded with a better effort, and we knew that 3-1 goal was huge. All we wanted to do in the second period was score the next goal. It didn’t matter about the three that went in already.”
Vernon took a string of penalties in the second frame, and Nanaimo took advantage.
Eric Filiou (12th) got in behind the Vipers’ dee on a pass from Carson Schell and wired a shot past Gordon (27 saves), high glove side at 7:59.
At 17:48, Michael Boivin (seventh) tied the game with a seeing-eye shot from the left point that gave Gordon no chance.
“They thought they could win this game in 20 minutes, and we forgot to play the second and third period,” said Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner. “There are no easy nights, and just because we had a half-decent first period doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again.
“We had some guys that just didn’t want to do it. And it’s frustrating because we’re not asking these guys to be world leaders. We want it to be simple. We want them to move pucks when guys are open, we want them to move their feet, we want to gain red lines, we want to get pucks deep and chase it down.
“We can’t have too many of these nights or it’s going to be a short run in the playoffs.”
Vernon did get quality chances in the second frame. Pimm slipped a gorgeous pass to Crowell, who was denied by Smith’s left pad, and later, Jones fed his brother Conner on a 2-on-0, but he missed the open net.
Nanaimo’s Ander Franzon beat Gordon on an odd-man rush, but hit the post.
The Snakes had a powerplay to start the third period, but couldn’t get established. After that, Nanaimo played a smart, tight-checking game, holding Vernon to just three shots.
“We’ve really worked hard on our positional play, and if we’re sound positionally, we make it difficult for our opponent, and hopefully capitalizing when we get the chance,” said Bestwick.
The Vipers visit the SilverBacks (34-9-1-2) Friday night at the Sunwave Centre before hosting the Penticton Vees (25-14-0-6) Saturday at Wesbild.