Salmon Arm Spoils Viper Home Opener:

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Salmon Arm Spoils Viper Home Opener
 
Saturday, September 15, 2012 - Submitted by Don Klepp

Josh Bowes converted a rebound of a Ryan Simpson shot 1:53 in overtime to send the Salmon Arm Silverbacks to a 3-2 victory, their first of the season.

For the Vipers, it was a game of missed opportunities as they outshot the visitors 40-23 and spurned several chances to run away with the game in the first period.

Goalie Matt Clark kept his team in the contest with a series of assured saves in the opening 20 minutes, most notably on a Colton Sparrow breakaway and a Mitch VanTeeling partial break.

The Vipers did capitalize on a strange play at 3:39. While battling during a faceoff in the Silverback zone, Mike Roberts backhanded the puck, which fluttered up, over, and then behind Clark.

The two teams continued the physical intensity that had characterized their contest in Salmon Arm on Friday. Colton Sparrow and Kevin Guiltinan were the recipients of hits that sent them to the dressing room for several minutes. Both later returned to action.

Jason Trott, a favourite Viper target, was levelled by Geoff Crisfield in the first period and by Ryan Renz in the second.

In what Viper head man Jason Williamson called “a concerted lack of focus and intensity,” the Vipers let the Silverbacks into the contest in the second period and the visitors took a 2-1 lead.

A pair of undisciplined Viper penalties gave the ‘Backs a two man advantage, which they converted at 12:46. A Jason Trott point shot deflected off Troy Petrick and past Austin Smith in the Viper net.

Then, two weak clearing attempts by the Vipers’ fourth line at the end of the second period gifted Salmon Arm a second goal. Jeff Kennedy banged a rebound with less than a full second remaining in the period.

The Vipers dominated the third period, but managed just a single goal, a beauty by Aaron Hadley. At full throttle, he took a pass from Pierce Eviston outside the Salmon Arm blue line, faked left, veered to the centre and buried a wrister from 30 feet at 13:02.

Each team had a chance in the tightly played overtime period. The Vipers were unable to get the puck through to Clark, and Ryan Simpson broke out with two Viper defenders back.  Simpson’s slap shot was parried by Austin Smith, but Josh Bowes swooped in to fire the rebound past Smith.