Friday, March 25, 2011

Interior Conference Finals-Game 6: Vernon 5 Salmon Arm 4

I was at tonight's Interior Conference Finals Game 6 as Vernon defeated Salmon Arm 5-4 winning the series 4-2 and their 16th Interior Division-Conference Championship in front of 1,590 fans at the Sunwave Centre.

Starting Goaltenders:

Vernon: Kirby Halcrow
Salmon Arm: Kris Moore

1st Period: The Vipers had the Silverbacks pinned in their own end early and often as Salmon Arm couldnt get the puck through the neutral zone. Very little action to start the game as it took the Vipers almost four minutes to record their first shot on goal while almost eight minutes for the Silverbacks to get their first shot on net. Dylan Walchuk would open the scoring beating Kris Moore at 4:18 giving Vernon a 1-0 lead. Walchuks goal was unassisted. Vernon is 7-0 when scoring first in the playoffs, while Salmon Arm is 0-4 when giving up the first goal in the playoffs. Just about a minute later Salmon Arm would get the games first powerplay. The Backs were unable to get much going as the Vipers killed off the minor. Salmon Arm slowly started to come out and carry the better of the play. The Backs were really forcing Vernon in their own end getting some good pressure. The Silverbacks moved the puck around well creating chances but no shots on goal. Jayson Reardon with a shot from the point was stopped by Kirby Halcrow before Silverbacks captain, David Killip wacked away at the rebound before Devin Gannon driving hard towards the net beat Halcrow at 10:20 tying the game. Killip and Reardon with the assists. Vernon was up 3-1 in shots before the Backs with three straight shots took the lead 4-3 and tied the game. Off the draw the Silverbacks would get the play back in deep, forcing Halcrow to come out of his crease to play the puck, but Halcrow's pass from behind the goal ended up hitting Steve Weinstein as the puck come out front as the Vipers quickly cleared the puck and the crease on a close call. Salmon Arm continued to control the play as the Vipers managed to get a few shifts and plays in the Backs zone but not for very long as the Silverbacks continued to press with some good pressure. Vernon who couldnt seem to get out of their zone had just two shots in the second half of the period before Bryce Kakoske and Mike Hammond collided at the Vipers blueline, this forced a turnover sending Kakoske and Patrick McGillis in on the two on one, McGillis setup Kakoske who beat Moore at 19:38 giving Vernon a 2-1 lead. McGillis with the lone assist. Off the draw the Vipers come right back with another two on one, Dylan Walchuk used Marcus Basara as the decoy before Walchuk beat Kris Moore low to the glove side at 19:51 giving Vernon a 3-1 lead stunning the Silverbacks and the Sunwave Centre. After Salmon Arm had the Vipers on their heels, Vernon comes back with two late goals just thirteen seconds apart to take a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes of play. The Vipers got off to a good start but the Silverbacks controlled most of the opening period. Salmon Arm outshot Vernon 9-7.

2nd Period: Off the draw the Vipers would get the play in deep and with a scramble in front Kyle Murphy couldnt beat Moore on a great chance in the opening minute. Vernon would get an early powerplay, moving the puck well Bryce Kakoske's one timer from the point was stopped by Kris Moore who come across the crease to make a huge pad save. The Vipers looked good with the man advantage getting some pressure but Salmon Arm would kill off the minor. The Vipers looked very good to start the 2nd really moving the puck well, and making some real nice plays breaking into the Backs zone. David Robinson with a hard shot from the high slot was stoned by Kris Moore who made a nice glove save. The Vipers with several good chances in the offensive zone. Ryan Renz setup Dylan Walchuk who dangled through the neutral zone and then through three Salmon Arm players before beating Moore in close at 5:57 giving Vernon a 4-1 lead. Renz with the only helper. This was a highlight reel goal as Walchuk was having his best game as a Viper. Vernon would then get it's second powerplay of the night after the Backs were caught with too many men on the ice. The Vipers really moved the puck around well, setting up some nice plays, Darren Nowick with a shot from the side corner had Kris Moore beat but hit the post on the far side as the Vipers almost went up by four. Salmon Arm was really pinned in their own end for most of the man advantage but the Silverbacks with a huge penalty kill excaped down three goals. Just a minute and a half later Brett Knowles beat Halcrow at 13:02 cutting the Vernon lead to two goals. Knowles goal was unassisted. The Silverbacks would get a late powerplay, Jayson Reardon dumped the puck into the Vipers zone, the puck would hit the side boards before taking a funny bounce hitting the empty net at 19:03 making this a one goal game. Kirby Halcrow stepped out of his crease to get the puck before the puck hit the boards and found the empty cage on a lucky goal. Reardon's goal was unassisted. Vernon was the better team carrying the better of the play getting some good chances. The Vipers were up 4-3 after 40 minutes of play. Vernon outshot Salmon Arm 14-8.

3rd Period: Not much action early as Salmon Arm tried getting the offence going but couldnt get much past the Vipers blueline as Vernon looked to be sitting back a little. David Robinson and Kyle Murphy did a great job at killing off some valuable time off the clock early pinning the puck along the boards eating a good minute and a half off the clock as the Silverbacks couldnt win the battles along the boards. Some nice passing allowed Patrick McGillis to setup Dylan Walchuk with his fourth of the night at 6:05 giving Vernon a 5-3 lead. McGillis and Basara collected the assists. Not alot of scoring chances at either ends as Salmon Arm was really trying to tie the game and Vernon was trying not to make a mistake and play well defensively. The Backs would get the play in deep and setup James Friedel's blast from the point that beat Kirby Halcrow at 11:53 making this a one goal game. David Killip and Devin Gannon picked up the helpers. From here on in the Silverbacks would carry the better of the play but it was Vernon's defence and hard work that did a great job at keeping the Silverbacks to the outside and away from the goal as Salmon Arm was unable to really get any quailty chances. The Vipers would just chip the puck out into the neutral zone or off the glass and out of the zone, keeping things simple. With time winding down and down a goal the Backs were making some poor passes, bumping into one another and at times had troubles getting the play deep in the Vernon zone. Kirby Halcrow was forced to make a few good saves but no real great chances. Mark Ferner would call a timeout with 1:24 remaining and a faceoff just outside the Vernon blueline, Kyle Murphy would win the draw and from here on in Salmon Arm had all kinds of trouble getting the play in deep as Kris Moore was forced to stay between the pipes as the 20 yr old goaltender couldnt get to the bench for the extra attacker. The Vipers playing a strong defensive game were shutting down the Silverbacks before finally Moore would get to the bench with about fourty three seconds remaining on the clock, Salmon Arm would get the play in deep and with a scramble in front get off a shot but somehow Halcrow kept the puck out. The puck would come back to the point where a huge blocked shot by captain David Robinson got the puck out of the zone and deep into the Backs end where Salmon Arm would make one last push but couldnt get the puck past the neutral zone as the buzzer sounded Mike Hammond and Jarryd Ten Vannholt started to mix it up with a handful of Vipers before the small scrum was broken up as the Vernon Vipers would hang on for a thrilling 5-4 victory and come back down 2-0 win four straight to win the 2011 Interior Conference Championship and the Ryan Hatfield trophy for the 16th time in franchise history. (1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1996,1997,1999,2000,2002,2003,2005,2007,2009,2010 & 2011) Vernon outshot Salmon Arm 7-4.

Top Players: (Vernon)

Malcolm Lyles for the second straight night played a very solid-non flashy game. Lyles didnt jump up into the play and carry the puck, setting up some scoring chances like in Game 5 last night but played a real solid defensive game on the Vipers blueline.

The line of David Robinson, Kyle Murphy and Bryce Kakoske (1 goal) was very strong for the Vipers tonight. What can you say about the Vipers captain, Robinson has basically carried this team all season and once again played a strong game. Was very strong on the forecheck and penalty kill. Battled and competed hard all night. Kyle Murphy dosnt get alot of goals or makes alot of great plays but does alot of the little things that go unnoticed through out a hockey game. Murphy was very good on the draw and also played very well on the forecheck and penalty kill. Bryce Kakoske who didnt look like he was in Game 5, really stepped up his play tonight and played a strong game up front for the Vipers. Had a few chances, was skating hard tonight and battled hard in and along the boards. Made some real nice heads up plays through out tonights game, chipping the puck out, clearing the zone etc. Played a smart game.

The line of Dylan Walchuk (4 goals), Marcus Basara (1 assist) & Patrick McGillis (2 assists) was another solid, hard working line for Vernon. Walchuk Was by far Vernon's best player tonight. Walchuk who has played well most of the playoffs started off a bit slow, but got better as the playoffs went on. Walchuk's third goal was a highlight reel goal as he went through three Silverbacks to record his hattrick. McGillis who has really come along and proved to be one of the Vipers better players come playoff time worked hard and made some real nice plays.

Steve Weinstein & Adam Thompson also played very well logging alot of minutes on the Vipers backend.

Top Players: (Salmon Arm)

Jayson Reardon (1 goal & 1 assist) I thought played very well in his final game as a Salmon Arm Silverback. Scored a very lucky goal late on the powerplay in the 2nd period that took a funny bounce off the side boards and into the open cage.

Morgan Zulinick looked good in the 1st period and 2nd but didnt really stand out as much in the 3rd.

Brett Knowles (1 goal) What can you say about Brett Knowles, this kid has played very well and done very well against the Vipers in his career and played a heck of a strong game up front for the Backs. Works, battles and competes game in, game out and it showed tonight.

David Killip (2 assists) The Silverbacks captain I thought played very well up front for Salmon Arm. Didnt get alot of scoring chances but created and setup chances offensively.

Game Thoughts: (Vernon)

First off Id like to take this time to congradulate the Vernon Vipers, the coaching staff, Duncan Wray and everyone involved with the hockey club as well as the Viper fans for winning the 2011 Interior Conference Championship-Ryan Hatfield Trophy for the 16th time in franchise history. I will admit that heading into this series with how well the Salmon Arm Silverbacks played and did against the Vernon Vipers through out the regular season, I didnt give the Vipers a whole lot of chances to win the series. Then after going down 2-0 with both losses at home I thought the series was over. Just the way the entire series and games played against Salmon Arm all year have gone, I didnt think Vernon could recover down 2-0 heading to Salmon Arm. & now Im totally shocked and speachless after the Vipers have won four straight to win the series and head back to the BCHL league finals for a third straight season. Just before training camp I never ever would have picked the Vipers to even come close to finishing first nor win the Interior Division Pennant yet alone their third straight Interior Conference Championship. Again Im shocked and yet very happy to see how well our boys have come since the start of the season. Mark Ferner and Jason Williamson have done a tremendous job and should be patted on the back for one heck of a job. Also to the hard work of the Viper players for never giving up and making the city of Vernon and the Viper fans so proud to be Viper fans! Back to the game, I thought the Vipers played a very well game on the road, scoring on their chances, playing very well defensively and shutting down the Backs offence most of the night. I really liked the passing and puck movement, I thought the Vipers looked very good with and without the puck tonight. Vernon built up a three goal lead and made the Silverbacks have to work to try and complete the comeback. I also thought Vernon did a great job at shutting down Mike Hammond, Brad Reid as well as a few other top players. A very solid road win against a very good Silverbacks hockey club. The Vipers are now playing some of their best hockey of the season and playing with alot of confidence right now.

Game Thoughts: (Salmon Arm)

Id like to take this time to congratulate the Salmon Arm Silverbacks for a great season and a heck of a playoff series. What can you say about Tim Kehler and Colin O'Hara, these two young men really turned around this franchise and made it one of the Interior's top teams. All season the Silverbacks come to play and ready to battle winning seven of eight games against the Vipers. It looked like for just the second time in franchise history the Silverbacks would win the Interior Conference Championship. Thanks for a great entertaining series. Id like to wish all the veteran players or players that wont be back next season, all the best in your hockey or life futures. Thanks for some great memories this season. For the second time in three years the Vipers have ended the Silverbacks season at the Sunwave Centre. After going 7-1 against Vernon during the regular season and then take a 2-0 lead on the road before losing the next four straight, you have to wonder what happened? Did the Silverbacks get over confident? Run out of gas? Or just beat by a better hockey team? Some of these questions will haunt the Backs for a while and some of these questions may never be answered. I can tell you this, this is going to take a long time for alot of the veteran players to try and get out of their heads. Alot of the veteran players have seen the Vipers win back to back National Championships and then blow a 2-0 series lead in wich was supose to be their year for a long playoff run, this one has to hurt just a little more. Last night's Game 5 overtime loss was a crucial and very tough loss to swallow. After outplaying the Vipers for most of the opening period, giving up two late quick back to back goals has to be a turning point? From here on in the Backs had to claw and fight their way back all night. Salmon Arm had to try and battle back all night and just ran out of time, the Silverbacks who I thought didnt really look all that great battled back but in the end couldnt hold off the Vipers who are playing with alot of confidence right now. The Silverbacks made some poor passes at times, were bumping into one another at times, just seemed to be rushing the play and couldnt really get alot of good quality chances. The Backs couldnt get much past the Vernon defence and get alot towards or in and around the goal. Give Salmon Arm credit they battled right till the end and made it one heck of a hockey game.

Scratches:

Vernon:

Max Mowat (Injured)
Phillip Patenaude (Injured)
Dane Muench (Injured)
Colton Sparrow (Injured)

Salmon Arm:

Justin Elliott
Josh McKissock
Brandon Mistal

1st Star: Dylan Walchuk (4 goals)
2nd Star: Brett Knowles (1 goal)
3rd Star: Patrick McGillis (2 assists)

For more on tonight's game check out the boxscore,

http://www.bchl.ca/leagues/hockey_boxscores.cfm?clientID=1413&leagueID=2393&gameID=935596&link=bchl

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