I was at tonights BCHL game as Salmon Arm defeated Vernon 4-1 in front of 1,184 fans at the Sunwave Centre.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Blake Voth
Salmon Arm: Kris Moore
1st Period: The Silverbacks got the games first powerplay of the night early and took advantage. Brett Knowles with a cross crease pass to a wide open David Killip who got the puck past a diving Blake Voth gave the Backs a 1-0 at 1:39 Knowles with the lone assist. Off the faceoff Salmon Arm would capitalise on a funny play as Bryce Gervais looked to dump the puck into the Vernon zone, Blake Voth come out of his crease to play the puck, but the puck went into the empty net giving the Silverbacks a 2-0 lead at 2:03 Gervaiss goal was unassisted. This wasnt the start Mark Ferner and the Vipers wanted to get off too, especially playing on the road. The Vipers seemed to regroup and settle down as both teams carried the play a little but with no real quality scoring chances. Just over six minutes into the game the Vipers lost Dylan Walchuk after he was tossed from the game for checking from behind. The Vipers would kill off the minor. Just like last night, Salmon Arm laid out some huge checks and for the second night was the more physical team especially in the first two periods. Vernon though slowly started to gain a little momentum and get the play in deep, with some good cycle down low the Vipers moved the puck around well in the Salmon Arm zone but were unable to get any real good chances. Bryce Kakoske with a great chance from the circle but wired his shot over the net and into the netting above the glass. Vernon looked very strong on the forecheck late in the period carrying the better of the play in the final seven or so minutes. The Vipers with a few good chances in close, but couldnt beat Kris Moore who looked solid down low. Some minor pushing and shoving at the final buzzer drew a bit of a crowd. I thought the Vipers were the better of the two teams but gave up two early back to back goals wich gave Salmon Arm a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Silverbacks 11-5.
2nd Period: Off the opening draw captain David Robinson and Marcus Basara went in two on one, Robinson kept and shot but couldnt beat Moore on a great chance for the Vipers. Vernons defence struggled in the opening five or so minutes as the Silverbacks hemmed the Vipers in their own end several times with the Vipers having troubles clearing the zone. Philip Patenaude coughed up the puck to Bryce Gervais who fed Josh Manson who beat Voth at 2:30 giving the Backs a 3-0 lead. Gervais with the lone helper. Another early goal to start a period puts the defending National Champions down three on the road. The Vipers would get called for too many men on the ice, wich put Salmon Arm on the man advantage but it was Trevor Fitzgerald and John Knisley who went in two on shorthanded. Fitzgerald shot but couldnt beat Moore on a good scoring play. The Vipers would kill off the minor. Both teams looked a little scrambly through out the middle frame. The Silverbacks laid out a good two or three big hits in the 2nd wich gave the small crowd a chance to give a big cheer. Jayson Reardon & David Robinson got tangled up in front of the Vipers goal, some pushing and shoving occured as Robinson and Reardon exchanged words. Malcolm Lyles with a nice end to end rush, wired a lazer of a shot but missed. Salmon Arm was up 3-0 after 40 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Backs 6-4.
3rd Period: The Vipers got off to a quick start, getting the puck in deep. Vernon moved the puck around getting some good chances but couldnt couldnt get a break or any puck luck all night. The Vipers had the Backs hemmed in their own end for most of the 3rd but were unable to find the back of the net more then once. With the Vipers on the man advantage Mike Zalewski with two good chances in close couldnt beat Moore down low, then setup a wide open Steve Weinstein who wired a shot from the slot but was stopped by Moore. Salmon Arm would kill off the minor. Bryce Kakoske with a great chance, had a wide open net but Jarryd Ten Vaanholdt come out of nowhere and blocked the shot with his stick, the play would continue before Aaron Hadley would beat Moore at 7:43 giving him his first career BCHL goal. Kakoske with the lone assist. The Silverbacks with just a single shot in the first ten minutes. Charlie Vasaturo had one of just a few chances for the Backs in the 3rd. Vasaturos point shot through a few bodies in front found its way through but couldnt get past the glove of Blake Voth. Salmon Arm with very little offence in the final frame as it was all Vernon. David Robinson with a nice play in front beat Kris Moore but couldnt slide the puck into the empty net. The Vipers with some good chances just couldnt find the back of the net as Kris Moore played very well for the second straight game. In the final four and a half minutes the Backs would get a powerplay but it would be Malcolm Lyles and Elliott Richardson who went in two on one, Lyles fed Richardson in front who was robbed by the toe save from Moore. Back come Salmon Arm with some nice passing, Devon Gannon & Matt Cassidy setup Cody Michelle for his first career BCHL goal giving the Silverbacks the 4-1 lead. Cassidy & Gannon with the assists as the goal just come seconds after the man advantage come to an end. In the end Salmon Arm would defeat Vernon 4-1 and improve to 2-0 on the young season. The Vipers drop to 0-2. The Vipers outshot the Backs 15-4.
Top Players: (Vernon)
David Robinson played well tonight, had some chances, played with a bit of an edge. Tried mixing it up with a few Salmon Arm players after the whistle.
Trevor Fitzgerald played well, had a few good chances. Was really skating well, seem to get involved in the play alot.
Bryce Kakoske (1 assist) Kakoske played very well tonight. Took a hard shot off the inside of the skate early in the game, but seemed to skate it off and stayed in the hockey game. Made some very nice, yet smart plays through out tonights game.
Malcolm Lyles played a heck of a game on the Vernon blueline. Lyles was by far the Vipers best d-man tonight. Lyles from Flordia really likes to jump up into the play alot, last night he got caught two or three times but seemed to make the right decisions tonight, playing it safe. Had a real nice end to end rush in the 2nd period. Laid out a few big checks.
Mike Zalewski I thought looked very strong for the Vipers up front. Zalewski was in and around the Backs net all night. Had a few good chances in close on the powerplay. Was hard to knock off the puck down low, seemed to get the Vipers going with some good cycle down low.
Colton Sparrow The young Vernon product made his BCHL debut tonight and looked fairly impressive in the opening period. Sparrow with a few good chances in close, looked very comfortable in his Viper debut. I didnt see him though in the 2nd or 3rd periods.
Top Players: (Salmon Arm)
Bryce Gervais (1 goal & 1 assist) Gervais was one of if not the Silverbacks best player tonight. Scored a bit of a fluke goal early in the opening period but played hard all night.
Josh Monk played well on the Salmon Arm backend.
Spencer Samuel looked good up front. Seemed to play well at both ends of the rink.
Kris Moore (33 saves) For the second straight night Moore only gave up a single goal against the Vipers. Made atleast two real nice saves tonight, but looked very solid down low. Moore was very hard to beat in close. I thought Moore gave up a few big rebounds on a few long shots, but as the game went on, he seemed to settle down and handle them more easily.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
The Vipers didnt get any bounces or puck luck, a bounce here or there and the Vipers could have come home with the win. For most of tonights game I thought Vernon was the better of the two teams. Unlike last night the Vipers didnt quit and played fairly well in all three periods. The 2nd was a little scrambly and the defence had troubles in their own end at times but other then that I thought the Vipers looked good. This is a very young team, you can see these kids are going to need sometime to gel, get to know one another and adjust to the new league. Viper fans are going to have to be paitent. Losing veteran Dylan Walchuk early to start the game didnt help, nor giving up two quick goals just over two minutes into the game. The Vipers gave up three early goals, two in the first and one in the second wich is always tough to get back playing on the road. I thought the boys battled hard and competed more then last night, they still need to be and play a little more physical, in both games now they have been knocked around. Blake Voth falls to 0-2, last year Voth lost all of two games all year. The Vipers now face off against Penticton in a home and home next weekend, it will be interesting to see how Vernon stacks up against the Vees.
Game Thoughts: (Salmon Arm)
This wasnt the same team I saw play last night in Vernon. Other then a few shifts or nice plays the Vipers were the better team. The Backs didnt get much offence going and played most of the game in there own end. The Silverbacks played physical laying out some big checks early in the game but couldnt seem to generate much offence. Kris Moore made some big saves to keep his team in tonights game. The attendance has sure dropped off in Salmon Arm the last two years, another small crowd tonight. I really like the Silverbacks new 3rd set jerseys, very sharp looking.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Taylor Love
Gus Correale
Kyle Murphy (Injured)
Adam Thompson (Injured)
Salmon Arm:
Chris Hoe
Josh McKissock
Morgan Zulinick
3 Stars:
1st Star: Kris Moore (33 saves)
2nd Star: Mike Zalewski
3rd Star: Bryce Gervais (1 goal & 1 assist)
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