Johnson Nets Langley OT Winner:

This is posted on the Vipers website:

Johnson Nets Langley OT Winner
 
Sunday, February 24, 2013 - Submitted by Don Klepp

In a meeting of Castlegar-trained defencemen wearing number 29, Langley's Tanner Johnson got the better of Vernon's Ryan Renz in Langley's 3-2 overtime win at the Wesbild Centre.

Renz is a three-year BCHL veteran while the 17-year-old Johnson was playing in his 26th game after being plucked from the Castlegar Rebels of the KIJHL in late November.

Johnson played solid defence and scored twice, including the winner at 1:55 of the first overtime period. After three Vipers were unable to convert a chance in the Langley zone, the Rivermen quickly turned over the puck and Matt Ustaski moved into the Viper zone. Ryan Renz couldn't quite get back in time to defend against Johnson, who swept a low shot past Austin Smith in the Viper net after Ustaski's pass bounced off a Viper shin guard to Johnson.

Ironically, Ustaski scored the overtime winner against the Vipers in Langley on October 20 when he batted a puck out of mid air after it had bounced off the back boards.

He also scored a tying goal for the Rivermen in this game, batting a puck past Austin Smith on another strange bounce at 16:36 of the second period. During a Langley power play, Mario Puskarich's shot hit the shaft of Brett Corkey's stick and flipped in the air. Ustaski was able to bat a fluttering puck into the Viper net.

Ustaski's goal followed Tanner Johnson's first BCHL goal, which brought Langley back into the game at 5:34 of the second period. The Rivermen were much better than the Vipers in the second period after having been clearly outplayed by the Vipers in the first period.

That first period dominance gave the Vipers a first period 2-0 lead on goals by Brett Corkey and Craig Martin.

Corkey's third goal of the season culminated a high speed series of give-and-go passes with Mike Roberts as the duo came through centre ice and into the Langley zone. Corkey scored from the slot on a pinpoint shot just inside James Barr's right goal post, at 7:34.

At 19:05, TJ Dumonceaux and Craig Martin created a turnover deep in the Langley end, and Martin finished the play by coming from behind the net and stuffing the puck past Barr.

Then, for 30 minutes the Rivermen basically outworked the Vipers. Still, the home team had chances and with any puck luck at all would have taken the lead after Langley tied the contest. They had several chances where the puck consistently bounced just out of the reach of Viper sticks.

Also, James Barr played his part. In the second period, he stretched across to take a sure goal away from Mason Blacklock and then in the third period he absolutely robbed Logan Mick, who had been set up at the goal crease.

During the pre-game warm up, Tanner Johnson and Ryan Renz had exchanged a warm Castlegar welcome and a chuckle at centre ice, but the younger Johnson had the last laugh in a game that the Vipers dearly needed to win.