Vernon 5 Merritt 0

I was at tonights BCHL game as Vernon defeated Merritt 5-0 in front of 1,430 fans at the Wesbild Centre.

Starting Goaltenders:

Vernon: Blake Voth
Merritt: Cole Holowenko

1st Period: Merritt got the play in deep off the opening draw, moving the puck well the Centenials couldnt generate any real good scoring chances. Back come the Vipers as Sawyer Mick setup Darren Robak on a two on one as Robak couldnt connect on the pass. Vernon slowly started to take control of the game. Bryce Kakoske all alone in front lost the handle on a great chance. Vernon looked very good, having lots of jump, good energy and some nice crisp passing. A very quick opening period with very few stopages in play. Cole Ikkala with some hard work, broke down the wing and then snapped a quick shot as Cole Holowenko made the save. Dylan Walchuk with a nice move inside the Merritt blueline got off a quick shot just missing the far corner. Alex Valenti broke inbehind the Vernon defence going in on the parcial breakaway, as Blake Voth made his biggest save of the period, and then had to be sharp making a huge save on the rebound. Derek Hills setup David Sabey who was stoned at the side of the net by Voth. Cory Kane with a wicked wrist shot from the circle just missed the far corner. The Vipers were by far the better of the two teams. Late in the 1st Vernon would get the first powerplay of the game, Cole Holowenko made his biggest save of the period stopping Adam Thompsons screened point shot. Just before the man advantage was coming to an end, Mike Collins setup Bryce Kakoske who beat Holowenko at 16:24 putting Vernon up 1-0. Collins & Steve Weinstein collected the assists. Off the draw Cole Ikkala was sent in alone for the breakaway but couldnt beat Holowenko who made the big pad save down low. Just over a minute later the Vipers would get another powerplay but the 1st period would come to an end before the man advantage ended. Vernon was up 1-0 after 20 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Cents 11-7.

2nd Period: The Cents would go down two men after taking an early penalty. Just as the first powerplay come to an end, Adam Thompson setup Braden Pimm just 1:12 into the 2nd. Thompson & Dan Nycholat with the assists. Shortly after the Centennials would get their first powerplay of the night, but it was the Vipers penalty kill who dominated giving up just a single shot as Vernon would kill off the minor. Just over two minutes later Vernon would get its third powerplay of the night, but it was Merritt who had the best chance. Colton Sobchak & Steve Tresierra would come in two on one, with Dan Nycholat trying to get back into the play Tresierra would keep and fire wide missing on a glorious chance. The Cents would kill off the minor. The Vipers slowly started to take over the edge in play once again, Vernon with some good chances couldnt beat Holowenko. David Robinson and Cory Kane both tried putting the puck past Holowenko on a goal mouth scramble down low, neither Kane or Robinson could beat Holowenko before Jonathan Milhouse pounced on the rebound in the crease and beat Holowenko at 9:57 putting Vernon up 3-0. Robinson with the lone assist. The play then got real sloppy with some scrambly play at both ends of the rink, neither team could get anything going. Dustin Johnson with a perfect tip in front was robbed by Blake Voth who made the big pad save. The Vipers would get two late powerplays but couldnt find the back of the net. Merritt would kill off both minors. Colton Sobachak with a quick shot from the slot late was stopped by Voth. Vernon carried the better of the play in the first half as Merritt couldnt generate much offence in the middle frame. Vernon was up 3-0 after 40 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Centennials 17-9.

3rd Period: Merritt with some good chances in the first few minutes, Dustin Johnson was stopped by Voth down low and then had to be quick to make another big save on the rebound. Back come the Vipers, David Robinson had a great chance in front early but lost the handle at the last minute. Colton Sobchak would sneak inbehind the Vernon defence going in for the breakaway but was stopped by Voth. Bryce Kakoske would setup Braden Pimm for his 2nd of the night at 8:34 putting the Vipers up 4-0. Kakoske & Mike Collins with the assists. The Vipers up 4-0 seemed to get a little lazy at times defensively giving up several odd man rushes. Andrew Pickering snuck inbehind the Viper d-men going in for the breakaway but Blake Voth come up with a big save robbing Pickering. The Cents with some good presure seemed to generate some offence getting some chances. Jeff Jones on a parcial breakaway couldnt get off a shot as Garrett Noonan showed good hustle getting back into the play to breakup the breakaway. Derek Hills & Dustin Johnson went in two on one but Voth once again stopped Johnson at the side of the net. Jeff Zmurchyk would go down after colliding with Dylan Walchuk. Zmurchyk would need help getting off the ice, and would not return. Vernon would come back with some presure of their own after stopping the Cents small attack, Cole Holowenko had to be sharp making some key saves. Patrick McGillis & Sawyer Mick would break in two on one, McGillis would keep and shoot but couldnt beat Holowenko. Braden Pimm would get his third of the night at 16:56 after a nice pass from Mike Collins. Collins with the lone assist. With just over a minute remaining Derek Hills would give Merritt its third breakaway of the night after some sloppy defence from the Vipers, but Blake Voth bailed out his defence once again. Shortly after Sawyer Mick, Patrick McGillis & Darren Rob would go in three on one, but McGillis was stopped by Holowenko. Bryce Kakoske would then be sent in all alone for the breakaway but missed the net after Holowenko played his position very well not giving Kakoske an inch. Vernon would defeat Merritt 5-0. The Vipers outshot the Centennials 16-10.

Top Players: (Vernon)

Braden Pimm (3 goals) Played a heck of a game tonight. Pimm was very danagerous with and without the puck. One of Vernons hardest workers didnt quit tonight.

Mike Collins (3 assists) Collins setup three Vernon goals, really read the ice well tonight. Had a few decent scoring chances.

Blake Voth (26 saves) Voth improves to 10-0 as a Viper in his rookie season and played very well tonight. Voth made some huge saves in each of all three periods. Made three breakaway saves all in the 3rd to preserve his shutout. Voth was very sharp, looked very strong on his rebounds and down low. This kid deserves a start Friday vs Westside.

The 4th line of Darrin Robak, Sawyer Mick & Patrick McGillis played well. Robak & McGillis had a few chances. Mick made some heads up plays on a few chances.

Dylan Walchuk looked very solid up front, in and along the boards. Walchuk hasnt been playing his best hockey as of late but really come to play tonight. Had some nice moves, was really skating hard all night.

I thought Adam Thompson and Garrett Noonan both played well on the backend.

Top Players: (Merritt)

Dustin Johnson with several good scoring chances was robbed by Blake Voth. Johnson had two real solid chances down low but couldnt get the puck up and over Voth.

Alex Valenti played well up front for the Cents. Valenti used his speed to break through the middle to create and generate some offence.

Jeff Jones played well up front for Merritt.

Game Thoughts: (Vernon)

After back to back losses with not the teams greatest performance in both games the Vipers come to play tonight for most of the game. I thought the team had lots of jump, energy and was skating hard. Some very crisp nice passes especially in the 1st period. The Vipers powerplay has been struggling but with two goals tonight, I liked seeing two players go to the front of the net. Vernon was by far the better of the two teams but was also lucky to have Blake Voth bail them out a few times. If it wasnt for Voth on a few big saves this could have been a different score. Mark Ferner was back behind the bench after missing the last two games.

David Robinson made his Vipers debut and looked pretty good up front on a line with Cory Kane & Jonathan Milhouse. Robinson collected one assist in his Vipers debut. This kid likes to drive to the net, and was used to stand in front of the net on the powerplay. Didnt look out of place. This was a good pickup by Mark Ferner.

Game Thoughts: (Merritt)

Merritt didnt generate much offence but when they did they had some great chances but couldnt beat Blake Voth. I as I was saying eariler one or two of these chances go in and its a whole different hockey game. Merritt stayed away from the physical play, a team that really played physical against the Vipers in their last meeting. A few undicaplined penalties put Vernon up 2-0. I thought the Cents had troubles keeping up with Vernons speed and skill for most of the night.

Scratches:

Vernon:

Eric Soderlund
Connor Jones (flu)
Kellen Jones (Broke Jaw)

Merritt:

Matt Mazzarolo

3 Stars:

1st Star: Braden Pimm (3 goals)
2nd Star: Blake Voth (26 saves)
3rd Star: Mike Collins (3 assists)