This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:
Snakes go six straight
By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning Star
Published: February 03, 2009
It might be a bit soon to start drawing comparisons to fellow Alaskan Hunter Bishop, but Kory Roy’s second goal as a Vernon Viper was huge.
Roy, an Anchorage product who turns 19 in March, bagged the insurance marker midway through the third period as the Vipers stopped the Salmon Arm SilverBacks 2-0 before a season-high 3,006 fans Saturday night at Wesbild Centre.
Coming in on an odd-man rush, Roy ripped a wrister past netminder Bryan Gillis (33 saves) to help give the Vipers (36-11-1-3) a foothold on first place in the B.C. Hockey League.
Netminder Andrew Hammond recorded 37 saves for first star and his third shutout of the season.
Vernon, who have won six straight, lead the ‘Backs (35-13-1-2) by three points in the Interior Conference with nine regular-season games remaining.
“I’ve only played 11 games this year, and I hadn’t gotten one in a while,” grinned Roy. “And against Salmon Arm it’s huge. That was an insurance goal to seal the deal for first place, so it was an awesome feeling.”
The Snakes are two points clear of the Victoria Grizzlies (35-12-1-3), and will now look to secure home-ice advantage for the playoffs. But Roy says they’re not about to let this accomplishment go to their heads.
“We still gotta come to the rink and work hard every day. You can’t let it get to your head, or you’ll end up losing it right away.”
Both teams played a tentative first period, and when the game did open up, Vernon had the better chances. Salmon Arm’s top line of Mark Zengerle, Connor Morrison and Keenan Desmet – normally a threat on any given shift – were kept in check by the Vipers’ stingy defensive play throughout the night.
“We were matching lines out there fairly well,” said Roy. “That was the Joneses (Connor and Kellen) and Giller (Sahir Gill). (Chris) Crowell, (Braden) Pimm and (Mike) Collins also did a great job against their top lines and matched really well tonight.
“We found their quit button, and they couldn’t work with anything.”
Added Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner: “They’re a very offensive-minded hockey group. We talked before the game that we had to look after the puck. They’re a team that thrives on turnovers, and we did a pretty good job in the neutral zone. If we’re going to turn pucks over, we want it to be behind their goal line.”
Ferner praised his team for coming out with a solid effort, especially considering they didn’t get home from a Friday night game in Trail (a 4-1 win over the Smoke Eaters) until 4 a.m.
“Everyone worked as hard as they could, and that’s something they should be proud of against a really good hockey team.”
Scoreless after 20 minutes, play started to open up in the second. Hammond was tested early, making a few quick saves on Justin Cseter and Bobby Lipsett in close.
Crowell and Pimm then worked the puck up ice where Crowell fed a back pass from behind the net to a wide open Pimm (23rd goal) for the easy tap in.
On the very next shift, Viper d-man Kevin Kraus fed Bryce Kakoske on an odd-man rush, but the Vernon product shot high.
“I don’t think our team played terrible,” said Salmon Arm head coach Rylan Ferster. “We ended up getting enough shots, we just didn’t end up getting it done.
“It’s about making your game a little bit more simple at this time of year, and realizing that it’s about getting pucks deep and getting pucks at the net.”
“They did more of the little things to win tonight than we probably did. Full marks to Vernon.”
Added Salmon Arm d-man Jason Beattie: “It’s playoff hockey out there. The two towns have a pretty good rivalry, and each game always seems fairly important.
“Everybody in this room has a little bit to prove now, so the next nine game should be interesting.”
The Vipers start February on a four-game road trip, starting Friday night against the Trail Smoke Eaters (25-23-2-2), followed by a visit to the Westside Warriors (30-16-1-4) Saturday at Royal LePage Place. They host the Prince George Spruce Kings Saturday, Feb. 14.
Roy, an Anchorage product who turns 19 in March, bagged the insurance marker midway through the third period as the Vipers stopped the Salmon Arm SilverBacks 2-0 before a season-high 3,006 fans Saturday night at Wesbild Centre.
Coming in on an odd-man rush, Roy ripped a wrister past netminder Bryan Gillis (33 saves) to help give the Vipers (36-11-1-3) a foothold on first place in the B.C. Hockey League.
Netminder Andrew Hammond recorded 37 saves for first star and his third shutout of the season.
Vernon, who have won six straight, lead the ‘Backs (35-13-1-2) by three points in the Interior Conference with nine regular-season games remaining.
“I’ve only played 11 games this year, and I hadn’t gotten one in a while,” grinned Roy. “And against Salmon Arm it’s huge. That was an insurance goal to seal the deal for first place, so it was an awesome feeling.”
The Snakes are two points clear of the Victoria Grizzlies (35-12-1-3), and will now look to secure home-ice advantage for the playoffs. But Roy says they’re not about to let this accomplishment go to their heads.
“We still gotta come to the rink and work hard every day. You can’t let it get to your head, or you’ll end up losing it right away.”
Both teams played a tentative first period, and when the game did open up, Vernon had the better chances. Salmon Arm’s top line of Mark Zengerle, Connor Morrison and Keenan Desmet – normally a threat on any given shift – were kept in check by the Vipers’ stingy defensive play throughout the night.
“We were matching lines out there fairly well,” said Roy. “That was the Joneses (Connor and Kellen) and Giller (Sahir Gill). (Chris) Crowell, (Braden) Pimm and (Mike) Collins also did a great job against their top lines and matched really well tonight.
“We found their quit button, and they couldn’t work with anything.”
Added Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner: “They’re a very offensive-minded hockey group. We talked before the game that we had to look after the puck. They’re a team that thrives on turnovers, and we did a pretty good job in the neutral zone. If we’re going to turn pucks over, we want it to be behind their goal line.”
Ferner praised his team for coming out with a solid effort, especially considering they didn’t get home from a Friday night game in Trail (a 4-1 win over the Smoke Eaters) until 4 a.m.
“Everyone worked as hard as they could, and that’s something they should be proud of against a really good hockey team.”
Scoreless after 20 minutes, play started to open up in the second. Hammond was tested early, making a few quick saves on Justin Cseter and Bobby Lipsett in close.
Crowell and Pimm then worked the puck up ice where Crowell fed a back pass from behind the net to a wide open Pimm (23rd goal) for the easy tap in.
On the very next shift, Viper d-man Kevin Kraus fed Bryce Kakoske on an odd-man rush, but the Vernon product shot high.
“I don’t think our team played terrible,” said Salmon Arm head coach Rylan Ferster. “We ended up getting enough shots, we just didn’t end up getting it done.
“It’s about making your game a little bit more simple at this time of year, and realizing that it’s about getting pucks deep and getting pucks at the net.”
“They did more of the little things to win tonight than we probably did. Full marks to Vernon.”
Added Salmon Arm d-man Jason Beattie: “It’s playoff hockey out there. The two towns have a pretty good rivalry, and each game always seems fairly important.
“Everybody in this room has a little bit to prove now, so the next nine game should be interesting.”
The Vipers start February on a four-game road trip, starting Friday night against the Trail Smoke Eaters (25-23-2-2), followed by a visit to the Westside Warriors (30-16-1-4) Saturday at Royal LePage Place. They host the Prince George Spruce Kings Saturday, Feb. 14.
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