Halcrow Anchors Viper Win:

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Halcrow anchors Viper win

by Don Klepp | Added 2011-01-16

A solid outing by Kirby Halcrow backstopped the Vernon Vipers to a 4-1 victory in Prince George on Saturday.

Halcrow had not won in two previous starts in Prince George, during his tenure with Quesnel. However, early in this contest, he established his intentions by denying Todd Skirving’s nifty effort. The ex-Viper had been sent in by Jujhar Khaira’s perceptive pass.

Halcrow snaked out his right pad to thwart Skirving’s backhand/forehand move.

Following Halcrow’s save, Adam Thompson flipped to Kyle Murphy, who sent Marcus Basara away on the right wing. Basara’s speed earned him a clear shot and he beat Cameron Large on the short side at 3:51.

A quixotic penalty call by referee Eric Martens gave the Spruce Kings a chance to equalize, which they did with a goal by Connor Tiechco at 11:43. Chase Golightly held the blue line and Tiechco quickly moved toward the Viper net. His sudden shot through traffic caught the top corner.

David Robinson restored the Viper lead with a power play goal from the low slot at 13:30.

The Vipers took over in the first two-thirds of the second period, consistently winning faceoffs and puck battles.

A good example of that persistence resulted in a Patrick McGillis goal at 3:23. Strong work by the Fitzgerald/McPhee/McGillis line created a loose puck in the left faceoff circle and McGillis lunged forward onto his stomach to bat the puck past Large.

Toward the end of the period, the Spruce Kings regained their composure and started to take the body in earnest. As a result, they created scoring chances that Halcrow snuffed out by coming to the top of his crease and leaving no openings.

Although Vernon concentrated on defence in the third period, they did generate several scoring chances. Cameron Large kept the Spruce Kings close with a superb save on Aaron Hadley, who was set up right in front.

Late in the game, Large was lifted for another skater, but the Spruce Kings could not set up in the Viper zone. Darren Nowick and Dylan Walchuk each missed the open net.

However, David Robinson did score with a 25-foot slap shot that he powered through two defenders. “I figured the safe wrist shots weren’t going, so I thought I might as well rip one and I got lucky,” he laughed.

The Vipers were unable to gain any ground on the Penticton Vees who maintained their one point lead in the Interior with a 6-5 overtime win in Langley.