Vipers Weather SilverBack Storm:

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Vipers weather SilverBack storm

Vernon Morning Star

Scoring the first goal doesn’t always guarantee victory, but when you get goaltending like what the Vernon Vipers’ Andrew Hammond provided Friday night at Wesbild Centre, sometimes it just doesn’t matter.
Hammond turned aside 43 shots as the Snakes outlasted the Salmon Arm SilverBacks 3-0 in Game 5 of their best-of-seven B.C. Hockey League Interior Conference final.
A total of 3,300 fans watched as the Vipers weathered a storm from the Gorillas – they were outshot, outhit and, for good chunks of the game, they were hemmed in their own end – yet they didn’t buckle.
Vernon’s Robbie Short cracked the pressure relief valve with a pair of third-period goals to put the Snakes one win away from a Fred Page Cup final with either the Powell River Kings or Victoria Grizzlies.
The Vipers took it to Salmon Arm early, hitting anything that wasn’t wearing home white, building up a 9-3 shot count midway through the first frame.
Salmon Arm netminder Bryan Gillis (30 saves) was swallowing rebounds and protecting the puck like it was his first-born. He denied Braden Pimm on the doorstep after Adam Thompson rifled a point shot that dropped in front of the veteran forward.
The Vipers opened the scoring when Kellen Jones, with one hand on his stick, deflected a crisp slap pass from Cody Ikkala at the side wall at 8:20.
After that, the momentum began to swing Salmon Arm’s way, as the Vernon allowed the ‘Backs to come at them in waves.
“There’s times when they were in our zone for long periods of time... but they wouldn’t get many shots off,” said Hammond. “Our defence was strong tonight at keeping them to the outside, and any time they did get a really good chance, there were a couple guys there for me.
“The guys are making the sacrifices that are making me play better and making me want to play better for them.”
Hammond’s best save came late in the second frame when Brent Vandenberg fed Travis Briard from behind the net, only to have Hammond come out to get an arm on his one-timer from the slot.
“I didn’t have to come up with that big save too much tonight. I think I made two real big ones that helped the team out... but guys made it easy for me.”
Added Vipers’ assistant coach Jason Williamson: “Yeah, they get 40-something shots, but not too many second or third opportunities.
“If they’re going to be in our own zone with them on the outside, we’ll play that way. They weren’t getting too many grade A opportunities, so we can still take a positive from that.”
Late in the first, Vandenberg caught Vipers’ forward Mike Collins with his head down on a late hit. Collins struggled to leave the ice and did not return. He was questionable for Saturday’s Game 6 at the Sunwave Centre.
Referee Jim Maniago handed Vandenberg a minor for charging, but the Vipers have sent the video to be reviewed by the BCHL.
“Those are the kind of hits we want out of the game,” said Williamson. “It starts at the NHL level and is working its way down. Our guys don’t play that way, and it’s been all series long they’re taking runs at our guys heads.
“Our guys can step up and battle through it, but it’s tough to lose a player of (Collins’) calibre.”
This series has had more hits than Elvis, and it has taken its toll on both teams. The Snakes have lost energy forward Ryan Santana and bruising blueliner Cameron Brodie, while the SilverBacks have been without Bobby Lipsett and Travis Briard (he returned for Game 5).
“I don’t think I’ve seen a game where there’s not something after every whistle,” said Short. “We know they’re going to bring it every night, and have to match that and exceed that.
“They’re getting tired and so are we, so we’ve just got to stick to our game-plan. Whoever wants it more is going to get it.”
Added Salmon Arm’s David Killip: “Everybody’s got their bumps and bruises, but when you have a rivalry like this, it’s pretty easy to get up.
“It’s heartbreaking when you lose a game like that. We thought we played a pretty good game and created a lot of chances, but they played well enough to win tonight.”
Salmon Arm head coach Rylan Ferster was left wondering what more his players could do. It’s the second game in this series where Hammond has stolen the show.
“It was almost a carbon copy of Game 3 (3-0 loss in Salmon Arm),” said Ferster. “I liked our game tonight. I just told our guys ‘I don’t think there’s much more we can do.’
“That team over there blocked a lot of shots and they got really solid goaltending. Full marks to them.”
Cole Ikkala had the Vipers’ best chance in the second period, but had his stick lifted at the last second on his breakaway attempt.
The SilverBacks had a goal waved off midway through the third as it was deflected in by a high stick.
A few minutes later, on a rare Vipers’ foray into Salmon Arm’s zone, Short made a great second effort to strip a defender of a rebound before going top shelf with a beauty backhand over Gillis’ blocker.
James Kerr started the play with a centering pass for Cory Kane, who was denied by Gillis from the slot.
“Robbie and Kaner (Cory Kane) battle to make sure they find a way to get the puck, and when they get it, they’re in a prime scoring opportunity,” said Williamson. “That’s huge.”
Short, who has 4+5 in eight playoff games, iced it with an empty-netter with 30 seconds remaining.
“They were playing us close tonight, so it’s definitely nice to get the second one to get that insurance,” said Short. “They’ve got big slow defencemen, so we just push it in deep and try to get working down low below their net.
“We know we can shut them down, we’ve got Hammy in the back end, and we’re ready win 1-0.
“They’ve got small, fast (forwards), and we’ve got to push them to the outside, and we’ll let them stay out there because we know Hammy’s going to block shots from out there.”
Meanwhile, the host Grizzlies avoided elimination in their Coastal Conference final with a 4-1 Game 5 win over the Kings Friday night at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
The Kings held a 3-1 series lead heading into Game 6 Saturday at the Powell River Recreation Complex.
It took the Kings’ Chad Niddery just 14 seconds to open the scoring before 2,575 fans Friday, but it was all Victoria after that.
First star Jonathan Milhouse fired the first of four-straight Grizzlies’ goals at 3:44 of the second frame.
Third-period markers by Tyler Gubb, assisted by Myles McRae, Derek Lee, assisted by Shawn Stuart and Milhouse, and Gubb, on an empty-netter, put the game out of reach.
Grizz netminder Anthony Grieco made 19 saves.

SNAKEBITES: Vernon born and raised Larry Kwong, 85, received a standing ovation as he dropped the ceremonial puck before the game. Kwong broke race barriers in 1948 when he became the first player of Asian decent to play in the NHL. He played one shift in the third period with the New York Rangers. He is also the first-ever Vernon minor hockey product to reach the NHL...Vipers’ d-man Cameron Brodie (foot) took the pre-game skate in Game 5, but didn’t play. He was questionable for Game 6...Powell River has the top-three postseason scorers. Darcy Oakes leads with 11-12-23 in 10 postseason games, with Kyle Bodie (17 points) and Clay Harvey (15 points) are second and third respectively. Kellen Jones is Vernon’s top sniper with 5-6-11, with Chris Crowell, Sahir Gill and Connor Jones all at 10 points each.