Short Wraps Vipers’ Win:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

Short wraps Vipers’ win







Vipers' netminder Andrew Hammond (above) catches Vees’ forward Ryan Viselli off-guard with a well-timed poke check to deny him a scoring chance in BCHL action Tuesday night at Wesbild Centre.

His captain told him to go out and get the job done and win the game, and he listened.
Deadlocked at 1-1 with overtime looming, Vernon Vipers’ captain Chris Crowell was getting anxious for someone to score and cushion their first-place lead by three points over the Salmon Arm SilverBacks.
During a stoppage in play just two minutes into overtime, Crowell approached Robbie Short on the bench, and told him to get on the ice and score the winning goal, which Short promptly did, giving the Snakes a 2-1 B.C. Hockey League win Tuesday night at Wesbild Centre.
Short’s 16th of the year brought the 2,007 fans to their feet, cheering the most they had for the better part of the game, a slow-moving tilt from both sides.
Short’s goal came on a gorgeous play where he received a nice pass from Cory Kane. He then drove the puck up the wing, beat the defender, and made a wraparound move that caught Vees’ starting goaltender Jordan White off-guard, and shot the puck into the wide open net.
“Crow (Crowell) told me the shift before my goal to go out there and score the goal for him,” said Short. “It’s definitely nice to now be only two more points away from clinching first place in our division. From every game now down the stretch until the beginning of the playoffs we’re trying to get the playoff mode into our heads.
“Our game-plan for the rest of the season is to have a strong defence and not allow the other team’s forwards to get any easy breaks past us, and in turn, our forwards will do everything they can to outsmart their defencemen. Penticton has a good defensive core and a small gritty forward crew who grind the puck out.”
Vernon’s assistant coach Jason Williamson had lots of praise for the 19-year-old Vernon native.
“Robbie has got to be one of the fastest skaters in this league for sure. He’s got great wheels and he plays a tireless game night in and night out and always gives it his all. We’re very lucky to have him on our team.”
The Vipers (41-12-1-3) battle the Vees again Saturday night in Penticton, 24 hours after visiting the third-place Westside Warriors. Vernon closes the regular season with a Sunday matinee versus the sixth-place Trail Smoke Eaters.
Salmon Arm has weekend road games against Westside and Penticton so the Vipers can clinch the Interior pennant with a win Friday in Westside.
The Victoria Grizzlies are tied with the Vipers for the overall lead, and have two games remaining (home to Nanaimo Clippers and away at Cowichan Valley Capitals).
Tuesday’s game had a playoff-like atmosphere with only three penalties being dished out. Despite missing a couple calls on both sides, referee Kris Hartley let the boys play. Vernon outshot the Vees 30-23.
On the season series with the Vees thus far, Viper leading scorer Braden Pimm said: “We’ve definitely got their number this year, which is nice since they beat us in the playoffs last year, and this year we want to return the favour. With our playoff exit last year thanks to the Vees, it lit a fire within us and warmed us up to beat them all we could this year, and if we meet in the playoffs again.”
After being stoned by goalie Andrew Hammond on a first-period powerplay, the Vees opened the scoring just 15 seconds into the second, right off the faceoff.
Ryan Viselli, who was the victim of the Kellen Jones’ first-period penalty, as he was hit into the boards, returned for the second stanza after leaving the ice from the hit. He fed the puck to Ryan Johansen, who then went five-hole on Hammond.
The Snakes finally got on the board at the midway point of the second frame. On their first and only powerplay opportunity of the night, Crowell fed the puck to Mike Collins (24th), who then cut towards centre ice and roofed the puck past White.
On the game in general, Williamson said: “We didn’t have the start we wanted, as we kind of just sat back and waited to get our game going. We finally got our bearings by the end of the second period, where we figured out the simple things that win the game, by getting the puck deep in their zone, and ultimately turning the game over. Penticton didn’t create much offence, but when they did, Hammond was solid for us in net.
“Our d-men did a good job of clearing the pucks out when they needed to. We’ve had their number for the most part of this season, and we might face them in the playoffs again for a third straight year. But playoffs are a whole different story as the games can go either way.
“We will just have to work hard at outworking, outplaying, and out-coaching whoever it is we face in the playoffs.”
Added Penticton assistant coach David Small: “Vernon is a very good team. They came out ready to go and played a hard 60 minutes. They deserved the two points. The game did feel like a pre-playoff match with the tight defensive play and not many penalties being called. Down the stretch, special teams make a difference. Fans pay to come to these games and they don’t want to see the star player sitting in the penalty box in the most crucial part of the game, and getting his team scored on, and the team itself most certainly doesn’t want to see that either.”