I was at tonight's Game 2 of the Interior Conference Finals as Salmon Arm defeated Vernon 6-0 in front of 2,123 fans at the Wesbild Centre.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Kirby Halcrow
Salmon Arm: Kris Moore
1st Period: Patrick McGillis would get a great opportunity just a minute and a half into the opening period after beating Kris Moore at the side of the net, but hitting the far post as the Vipers come very close to getting the first lead of the game. Vernon carried the play early and often but couldnt muster any offensive chances as the Silverbacks kept the Vipers to the outside. At 7:30 Brad Reid come down the right wing and ripped a wicked shot that beat Kirby Halcrow going post and in giving Salmon Arm the 1-0 lead on their first shot of the night as Vernon was outshooting the Backs 4-1 but down 1-0. Morgan Zulinick and Mike Hammond with the assists. Salmon Arm is 9-0 when scoring first in the playoffs, while Vernon is 0-3 when giving up the first goal in these playoffs. This goal seemed to give the Backs some life as Salmon Arm slowly started to gain some momentum. Salmon Arm then caught the Vipers defence napping sending in Paul De Jersey for the breakaway, Brett Corkey showed some good hustle getting back into the play to get a stick on De Jersey who still got off a shot but was stopped by Halcrow. Just a few shifts later Brad Reid setup Clinton Atkinson on a parcial two on one as Atkinson beat Kirby Halcrow at 11:09 giving the Silverbacks a 2-0 lead. Reid with the lone helper. Salmon Arm scored two goals on just three shots. Just five minutes later the Silverbacks would get the games first powerplay and the Backs with a deadly man advantage capitalized. Josh Manson setup Brett Knowles at 17:29 giving Salmon Arm a 3-0 lead and now in full control of the game. Manson and Jayson Reardon with the assists. This was the end of the night for Kirby Halcrow who gave up three goals on just seven shots. I dont think you can blame Halcrow on any of the three goals. Blake Voth would come into goal for Vernon, seeing his first action since Game 2 of the Interior Semi-Finals vs Westside. Just a minute and a half later Salmon Arm would get their second powerplay of the night and once again make the Vipers pay. Morgan Zulinick with a nice pass setting up Jarryd Ten Vannholt at 19:29 giving the Backs a 4-0 lead. Zulinick and Mike Hammond with the helpers. Just seconds later Brett Knowles with his second of the game, beat Voth at 19:55 giving Salmon Arm a 5-0 lead. Josh Manson and Devin Gannon collected the assists. Blake Voth giving up two goals on two shots. The Backs were up 5-0 after 20 minutes of play. Salmon Arm outshot Vernon 9-5.
2nd Period: Vernon would get their first powerplay of the game just fourty seven seconds into the middle frame. The Vipers moved the puck around getting just one good scoring chance as Dylan Walchuk with a great chance in close couldnt beat Kris Moore as Salmon Arm killed off the penalty. Vernon had the better of the play for the first five to seven minutes but again didnt get alot of good quality shots or chances. The Backs would then get their third powerplay of the night and once again made Vernon pay the price. Some nice passing setup Jarryd Ten Vannholt for his second of the night at 9:31 giving Salmon Arm a 6-0 lead. Mike Hammond and Jayson Reardon with the assists. The Silverbacks didnt quit, shortly after Devin Muller and Paul De Jersey with a two on one, Muller tried feeding De Jersey but a nice defensive play by a Vernon d-man broke up the pass. Morgan Zulinick then with a low hard shot was robbed by Blake Voth who made a nice glove save. With Salmon Arm in full control of this game, the Backs sat back most of the 2nd period as Vernon controlled alot of the play but had troubles getting any kind of good quality chances. With very little stopages in play made for a quick period. Salmon Arm was up 6-0 after 40 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Silverbacks 13-4.
3rd Period: The Vipers would get an early powerplay just a minute into the final frame but couldnt get much going as the Backs killed off the minor. For the second straight period the Silverbacks sat back as Vernon carried most of the play. Not much action for the second straight period as this game was basically over after the first twenty minutes of play. With a scramble and traffic in front of Kris Moore, Patrick McGillis with his second good chance of the night somehow couldnt beat the Backs goaltender after Moore made a big save with traffic in front. The Vipers would get Moore moving just minutes later but again Moore made a nice save on Dylan Walchuk from in close. Late in the period McGillis would get another shot at breaking Kris Moore's shutout but the Calgary native couldnt beat Moore. This was all the chances Vernon could muster as in the end Salmon Arm would blowout Vernon 6-0 heading home with a 2-0 series lead. The Vipers outshot the Silverbacks 16-4.
Top Players: (Vernon)
Dylan Walchuk was one of the Vipers bright spots tonight, playing a strong game up front for the Vipers. Walchuk who was skating hard, carried the puck alot tonight and come up with a few good chances, as well as created some chances.
Patrick McGillis who works hard each game, battled and played a hard game tonight. McGillis hit the post early to start the game and come up with a few chances in the 3rd but couldnt break Kris Moore's shutout.
Top Players: (Salmon Arm)
Clinton Atkinson (1 goal) Was one of the Backs best d-men tonight. Atkinson joined the rush on a parcial two on one scoring a nice goal giving Salmon Arm a 2-0 lead.
Morgan Zulinick (2 assists) Played a strong game, noticed him alot tonight. Seemed to always be up in the play and creating chances. Looked very good.
Brett Knowles (2 goals) What can you say about Brett Knowles, a Viper killer. This kid plays very well and does very well playing against Vernon. Scored twice in the 1st to give Salmon Arm a 5-0 lead after just twenty minutes of play.
Paul De Jersey with a goal and an assist was named 1st star in last nights 5-3 Salmon Arm victory, but other then a play or two I didnt really think he played that well the entire game. Tonight De Jersey comes up with no points but I saw alot more from the former Coquitlam Express tonight over last nights game. Looked good with and without the puck tonight. Created some chances in the opening period.
Devin Muller also looked fairly good for the Silverbacks at times.
Mike Hammond (3 assists) The Vipers cant leave the BCHLs regular season scoring leader anytime alone with the puck. Hammond setup three Salmon Arm goals looked very good with the puck, has some nice hands.
Kris Moore (34 saves-Shutout) For the second straight night Moore didnt have to make any real huge saves or stand on his head, like he did against Vernon during the regular season. But give the kid credit he made a few good saves picking up the shutout.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
Did the Vipers really play that bad or were they just beat by a very veteran-skilled hockey club? For the second straight night the Vipers come up with a good chance within the first two minutes but cant capitalize, as Vernon carrys the play early but then Salmon Arm comes back with their first shot and first scoring chance of the night, and the pucks in the back of the net. I dont think you can bale Blake Voth or Kirby Halcrow on any of the goals. This is how its gone for the Vipers in all the Vernon-Salmon Arm games. I personally dont think the Vipers played all that bad, but Salmon Arm scored and capitalized on their chances and took advantage of a younger-more inexperienced Vernon team. Two real nice goals gives Salmon Arm a 2-0 lead and then back to back powerplay goals opens the flood gates and its 4-0 and the first period isnt even over. Vernon just dosnt have the sniper-goal scorers to keep up with Salmon Arm's offence. What did bother me was, for the second straight night the Vipers didnt seem to have alot of jump-energy. I also have to question why the Vipers who played a very physical game-series against Westside arnt hitting-playing physical against Salmon Arm? Use the body against some of the more skilled Silverback players. When it was 3-0 Vernon come out off the draw and started hitting everybody in sight for the next few shifts, well by now its too late. Why didnt they start the game like this? The Vipers have a huge hill to climb now, down 2-0 in the series heading to the Sunwave Centre for Games 3 & 4. Tonight could have been the Vipers last home game of the season.
Game Thoughts: (Salmon Arm)
If you give the Silverbacks opportunities or chances, their going to burry the puck or make you pay for it. Salmon Arm was the hungrier team and really wanted it. The difference in this series so far, is the Silverbacks have a very skilled team with a veteran lineup that can put the puck in the net, where as Vernon with a younger team works very hard but has had troubles finding the back of the net all season. Salmon Arm who for the second straight night gets off to a bit of a slow start, for the second straight night comes close to going down a goal or two but stays calm and comes back on their next shift and finds the back of the net. This is a very veteran hockey club with four solid lines that can all contribute in one way or another. The Backs also have a very solid blueline and one heck of a goaltender, dont forget a very good coaching staff. The Silverbacks who have a very good powerplay made the Vipers pay tonight, going 3-3. Here's a team that is now 9-1 against Vernon this season, has a ton of confidence against the Vipers and in these playoffs and is very hard to beat and stop. I wasnt expecting a 6-0 game tonight but give the Silverbacks credit, they come into the Wesbild Centre and are now going home with a 2-0 series lead and in full control. This is their series to lose now.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Max Mowat
Dane Muench (Injured)
Colton Sparrow
Salmon Arm:
Justin Elliott
Josh McKissock
Brandon Mistal
3 Stars:
1st Star: Jarryd Ten Vaanholt (2 goals)
2nd Star: Brett Knowles (2 goals)
3rd Star: Mike Hammond (3 assists)
For more on tonight's game check out the boxscore,
http://www.bchl.ca/leagues/hockey_boxscores.cfm?clientID=1413&leagueID=2393&gameID=935592&link=bchl
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