Surging Vipers Welcome Stretch Pennant Battle:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

Surging Vipers welcome stretch pennant battle

By Kevin Mitchell - Vernon Morning Star
Published: January 27, 2009

Officially, the B.C. Hockey League playoffs will start Friday, March 6 for the Vernon Vipers.
After last weekend’s sweep of the Penticton Vees and Salmon Arm SilverBacks, the Vipers are in post-season mode now. And veteran goalie Andrew Hammond believes the strength of the Interior Conference only makes Vernon mentally tougher.
“I think it keeps you humble if there’s a race,” said Hammond, moments after recording 22 saves in a 4-2 Viper victory over the Vees Saturday night at Wesbild Centre.
“A lot of times, if you’re up front, it will keep you a little lackadaisical. I’m not saying we don’t want first place. If you look back through history, first-place teams haven’t necessarily won championships every year.
“Penticton won the title last year and we took them to seven games so it doesn’t mean that Salmon Arm or Westside or Penticton couldn’t take us to seven games and really push us.”
Hammond said the Vipers, who are one point back of the SilverBacks with one game in hand, were determined to win every shift after a mediocre sweep in Quesnel and Prince George the previous weekend.
“We were just making those sacrifices, those small things, chipping pucks, taking hits to make plays, blocking shots and it’s worked out well. We got four points.”
Special teams pushed the Snakes before 2,300 fans. Sahir Gill scored his 13th of the season, on a first-period powerplay, captain Chris Crowell supplied his 12th, on a second-period man advantage, and Connor Jones counted the winner, shorthanded, late in the second. Jones has 16 goals on the year.
The Snakes (34-11-1-3) seem to find a new hero every night with a well-balanced roster which basically beat Penticton using a methodical style. Their fourth line has the potential to outplay their top line.
“That’s the great thing about our team,” said Hammond. “We have four lines and everybody plays. Every night, it’s a new guy stepping up. It’s happened all season and it’s really worked out well for us. Salmon Arm is more of a two-line team. We’re more built for a seven-game series and even if you look at the start of the first to the end of the third, we’re wearing teams down. That’s what we’re going to try and do in the playoffs and go from there.”
Jones, who beat Penticton goalie Jordan White after picking up a loose puck near centre, wasn’t totally sure about his breakaway strategy.
“It just came to me. I saw him moving, and tried to get him moving and slid it in five-hole,” said Jones, named first star.
The veteran 5-foot-9, 165-pound roadrunner chipped in physically as well, crunching a much heavier Derik Johnson into the side boards in the second period. Johnson took a number, and ended up taking a holding penalty while pursuing Jones midway through the third period.
“These last 15 games are all pretty much like playoff games, getting into the thick of things,” said Jones. “Each game is so intense so you gotta love it.”
Mike Collins picked Devon Krogh’s pocket and buried an empty-netter with 12 seconds remaining. Collins is the second Viper to reach the 20-goal mark.
Newly-acquired defenceman Cameron Brodie looked solid in earning third star. He and fellow 20-year-old Mike Leidl have quickly settled in with the Snakes.
“We have great chemistry,” said Jones. “The new guys that have come in, Brodie and Leidl, are great team guys and they’re great leaders. They both bring a lot of experience. They’ve helped us out in that category.
“It definitely helps having them on the back end. I don’t even like going against them in practice.”
The Vees, who with the Westside Warriors clipping the SilverBacks 3-2 in overtime Saturday, fell one point back of the third-place Warriors, got goals from Ryan Viselli (18th) and Adam Zamec (seventh).
Veteran workhorse/sniper Curtis McKenzie said the Vees couldn’t find their groove, fizzled on the powerplay (0-for-6) and simply got outworked in the end.
The soon-to-be 18-year-old Golden product realizes where the Vees have to challenge the Vipers consistently.
“Their intensity level is through the roof, and that’s what we really have to match every game,” he said. “We just have to learn, to stay up and be prepared every game.”
McKenzie, who shares the team lead with 19 goals, also loves having a tough Conference run.
“It’s real exciting to have four top teams. Other divisions you have one or two top teams, and we have four who can win on any given night, so that makes it real exciting for the players, fans and everyone who follows the BCHL.”
McKenzie believes the Vees (27-15-0-6) are where they want to be for the stretch:
“We made some great moves at the deadline. (Max) Grassi is a heck of a player, and everyone’s starting to come together in the last month or so and we’re playing a lot better hockey from where we were in November.”
SNAKE BITES: The Vipers visit the Trail Smoke Eaters Friday night and then host Salmon Arm Saturday night. The SilverBacks are ranked No. 4 and the Vipers No. 5 in the Canadian Junior A League...Vernon has four games left versus the Smokies, two each with the Vees and Warriors, and single games with Prince George and Merritt...Viper grad Matt Watkins had 1+2 as the host North Dakota Fighting Sioux slammed Denver Pioneers 8-3 in NCAA play before 11,748 fans.

EXTRA MCKENZIE QUOTES...SAVE....

On the difference between last year’s team, led by veterans Brett Hextall and Zac Dalpe:
“Our team’s a lot younger this year. We had a very mature team last year and that’s probably the biggest difference between the two years. You always miss players like (Hextall and Dalpe) that who are that good, but we have players like (Denver) Manderson and (Brodie) Reid here who are stepping up really nicely, and rookies like (Garrett) Milan and (Travis) Ouellette and (Ryan) Viselli that are playing really well too.”