Vipers Take Doyle Cup Lead:

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Vipers take Doyle Cup lead

by Don Klepp | Added 2010-04-19

The Spruce Grove Saints played their best game of the Doyle Cup, but bowed 3-2 to the Vernon Vipers in overtime on Sunday in Spruce Grove.

Cory Kane decided the outcome with a power play howitzer at 15:12 of the second overtime period. Camped in the right faceoff circle, Kane met a Curtis Gedig pass with a slap shot that overpowered goalie Vincenzo Marozzi. Steven Weinstein had set up the play from the blue line.

Earlier in that period, Marozzi had robbed Sahir Gill and Kellen Jones as the Vipers buzzed throughout the second extra frame.

The crowd loudly booed the penalty call on Liam Darragh that led to Kane’s power play tally, but the Saints had squandered two power plays of their own in the first overtime period. Three great saves by Graeme Gordon and sterling defensive work by the Viper PK unit stifled the dangerous Saint power play unit.

Overtime was required because of a late third-period goal by the Saints’ Adam Henderson. At 18:56, he poked in a loose puck during a mad scramble around Gordon’s crease.

The Vipers had entered the third with a 2-1 lead, which they focused on protecting, instead of continuing on the offensive. The Saints, desperate to avoid going down two games to one in the series, poured on the pressure, outshooting the Vipers 10-4 in the third and creating nine scoring chances in the process.

A few seconds after the Henderson equalizer, Cory Kane drew an elbowing penalty and the Vipers’ character was sorely tested as the Saints went for the win. They killed off that penalty, which carried over into the overtime session. Then, at 2:53 of the first overtime, a Kevin Kraus penalty gave the Saints another opportunity to win their second game of the series with a power play goal.

The subsequent penalty kill was a major factor in the Viper victory. From that point on, they regained the momentum and dominated the second overtime session.

The Saints finished one for six on the power play and the Vipers went one for four.

Unlike the previous night when the Vipers had their way with the Saints’ defencemen, the Saints played tenacious defence and created more overall chances than the Vipers. The loss was particularly bitter for the Saints because they played their best game of the series so far.

As in Friday’s opening game, Vernon scored early in the first period. At 2:17, Dylan Walchuk notched his first of the series. The play was essentially made by Patrick McGillis, who bodied a Saint off the puck just inside the blue line, to create an opening. Marozzi stopped McGillis’s slap shot, but Walchuk buried the rebound.

After closing the first period with a surge, Spruce Grove won the second period with energetic checking and a fierce forecheck. Their pressure drew a penalty at 19:05 of the first period and Joshua Lazowski one-timed a pass past Gordon at 0:56 of the second period. Scott Allen spotted Lazowski in the left faceoff circle and the right-hand shooting Lazowski gave Gordon no chance.

Agaisnt the run of play, the Vipers regained the lead. Connor and Kellen Jones combined to win a puck battle at their blue line and Kellen raced down the left wing with the puck. He blew by a Saint at the opposition blue line and found Sahir Gill bursting through the middle. In full stride, Gill blasted the disk past Marozzi.

Discussing the high-tempo game as the Vipers packed the bus to go home, Coach Jason Williamson commented on the Vipers’ character: “After the tying goal, they didn’t get down. They kept an even keel and they dug in to kill those penalties. Then, in the second overtime, they simply would not be denied.”

The Doyle Cup now shifts to Vernon for the remainder of the series, starting with Wednesday’s 7 pm start at the Wesbild Centre. There will also be a game on Thursday and, if necessary, games on Saturday and Sunday.

Fans can expect to see intense, high-tempo hockey from the teams ranked 1-2 in Canada all year long.