Pimm And Voth Spark Vipers:

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Pimm and Voth spark Vipers

by don klepp | Added 2010-01-05


A hat trick by Braden Pimm and stellar goaltending by Blake Voth led the Vernon Vipers to a 5-0 win over the visiting Merritt Centennials on Tuesday.

Voth put on quite a show in the second and third periods as he stopped four breakaways and several other close-in chances to preserve the shutout. He was especially brilliant as he stared down Colton Sobchak, Derek Hills, and Andrew Pickering in the third period. Sobchak and Pickering each faked a deke and then shot for the upper corner, but each time the rookie Viper netminder flashed his glove hand.

The play in this game was actually closer than the score and the Viper shot advantage of 44-26 would seem to indicate. Over half of the Centennial shots on goal came on gilt-edged scoring chances as they forced several neutral zone turnovers, especially in the third period. The Cents finished the game with 14 scoring chances.

The Vipers had 19 scoring chances of their own, so Cole Holowenko had to be sharp as well. Getting the start on his 17th birthday, he was at his best in the first period, when the Vipers could get only one puck past him.

That goal came on the power play, at 16:24. From near the red line, Steve Weinstein headmanned the puck to Mike Collins. The quick pass set up a two on one from the blue line in. Collins pulled the defenceman to him and slipped a pass to Bryce Kakoske for a one-timer that Holowenko had no chance to stop.

Braden Pimm got his first goal of the night on another Viper power play at the 1:12 mark in the second period. Parked in the low slot, his quick release powered the puck just inside the right goal post before Holowenko could react.

Newly acquired Dave Robinson, who recently received his requested release from the Chilliwack Bruins, played well on a the left wing with centre Cory Kane and right winger Jonathan Milhouse. Robinson set up Milhouse’s 18th goal of the season with a determined net drive at 9:57 of the second. Robinson’s backhand went off Holowenko and over the net. Robinson then retrieved the puck and fed Milhouse in front.

First star Braden Pimm iced the game with two goals in the third stanza. The first came off a Bryce Kakoske rebound; the second came from a nice setup by Mike Collins, who finished with three assists on the night.

Once again, both Jones twins were out of the lineup for Vernon, but Robinson and Darren Robak deputized nicely for the Vipers. Pat McGillis centered Robak and Sawyer Mick.

All four Merritt lines generated scoring chances in this game, but Voth’s goaltending was the story.

Game Notes:

• The Vipers re-tooled their defence pairings as Curtis Gedig partnered Garrett Noonan, and Dan Nycholat joined Adam Thompson.

• Ex-Viper Steve Tresierra was strong on the Merritt blue line, dishing out checks and leading several rushes.

• After stopping all 26 Merritt shots, Blake Voth lowered his league-leading goals against average to 1.28 to go with a gaudy save percentage of 94.85.

• Jonathan Milhouse has now registered points in seven straight games.

• With the win, Vernon moved three points ahead of the Penticton Vees, who lost 5-4 in overtime in Trail Tuesday night.

• Attendance was a season-low 1430, although a number of fans arrived at the Wesbild Centre after the World Junior final concluded.