Vipers One Win From Title Shot:

This was in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

Vipers one win from title shot

By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning Star

The only thing tighter than the Vernon Vipers’ defence Wednesday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre was the security.
Too bad the Penticton Vees never really got the chance to test it in Game 4 of the B.C. Hockey League’s Interior Conference semifinals.
From shift one through to minute 60, the Vipers simply outhustled the Vees, riding a four-line tsunami to swamp Penticton 7-2.
With their 3-2 win in Game 3 Tuesday night at the Events Centre, the Snakes hold a 3-1 series lead and will try to book a date to the Conference finals as they entertain the Vees for Game 5 tonight at Wesbild Centre.
“We got off to a good start, we got pucks deep early, we tried to be as physical as possible, we got a few lucky bounces... our guys played hard for 60 minutes,” said Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner. “At times our guys lost their composure a little bit, but at the same time, they’re young guys full of enthusiasm, and that’s part of the game.”
After recording the winner late in the third period Tuesday night, Vipers’ rookie Cory Kane fired a goal and two assists Wednesday.
“It’s nothing like this,” grinned Kane, of his previous playoff hockey experience. “This is another level. It’s great, I love it.”
Midway through the first period, Vipers’ forward Ryan Santana did some great work to keep the puck deep in the Vees’ zone, and wound up drawing a holding penalty.
On the ensuing powerplay, Mike Collins wheeled in from the side board to snap a shot on Vees’ netminder Sean Bonar, who was screened by Chris Crowell. The puck barely trickled over the line.
“We want wave after wave of the same thing. Our lines don’t play any differently,” said Ferner.
“You look at the scoresheet tonight, and the only line that didn’t chip in offensively was Ryan Santana’s line, but they had their opportunities, they were great defensively, and a lot of times that’s the line that gets momentum for us.”
Goals by Kellen Jones, batting a puck out of mid-air, Cameron Brodie, on a long point shot that fooled Bonar, and Bryce Kakoske, on a slick cross-crease backhand feed from Rob Short (3A), had the Vipers up 4-0 early in the second frame.
“Obviously we’re disappointed,” said Vees’ head coach Fred Harbinson. “Vernon took it to us and we couldn’t find an answer no matter what we did. Tonight they were just a much better team.
“You gotta just hope the guys can find a way to muster a way to be a little stronger on their sticks and play a little harder. It’s going to be an uphill battle, but if you grab a win on the road, then it can change the whole momentum of the series.”
The only time the Vipers did look vulnerable was when they took penalties, which has been the case all series.
The Vees got on the board with the man advantage at 16:50, as Garret Milan – easily the Vees’ best player in this series – danced in from the slot to pounce on a rebound before netminder Andrew Hammond had a chance to cover.
Hammond recorded 27 saves for the win, while Bonar (five goals on 25 shots) was pulled in favour of Jordan White (seven saves on nine shots) after 40 minutes.
Goals by Kane (the scoresheet credits Short) and Collins, on a gorgeous 2-on-1 with Braden Pimm, padded the lead before the Vees collected another powerplay goal courtesy of a Zac Josepher point shot.
Late in the second, the Vipers’ Kyle Bigos dropped the mitts with Curtis McKenzie. The Vees’ captain hung in with the much bigger Bigos, but couldn’t land anything solid. The slo-mo video replay on the score clock showed Bigos connecting on several stiff shots.
When the Vees did get pressure in the Vipers zone, which was seldom, Vernon’s dee corps was there to contain it.
Mike Leidl, who has yet to record a point as a Viper, has been an unsung hero all series. Late in the second frame, Leidl made a great diving play to break up a 2-on-1 with McKenzie and Ryan Viselli.
“That’s always been a strong part of my game, a good solid defence,” said Leidl, sporting the team’s honourary hard hat for being the team’s hardest working player. “I try to make a good first pass and just keep the pucks out of our net.”
Leidl, a 20-year-old Fort St. James product, has only been to the playoffs once in five BCHL seasons. His Williams Lake Timberwolves got swept by the Vees.
“They were a bit of a different team back then,” grinned Leidl. “They had (Gary) Sylvester and (Mike) Towns, a few big boys that were pretty intimidating.
“We can’t be too high on this win. We’ll enjoy it for a little bit tonight, but we’ve got to start looking forward to (Game 5), and bringing the same effort we brought tonight.”
If necessary, Game 6 goes Saturday in Penticton, with Game 7 returning to Wesbild Tuesday night.