I was at tonight's exhibition game as Vernon defeated Salmon Arm 7-5 at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Harrison Whitlock
Salmon Arm: Adan Clark
1st Period: Just like last night the Silverbacks come out with some good jump, getting the puck in deep Salmon Arm with two quick shots forced Vipers starting goaltender Harrison Whitlock to make two decent saves in the opening few shifts. Vernon responded coming back with a hard working shift of their own after Demico Hannoun setup Dallas Calvin who beat Backs starting Goaltender Adam Clark at 1:24 Hannoun and Ryan Renz picked up the helpers on the Vipers first shot of the game. Shortly after Harrison Whitlock had to be sharp as Salmon Arm would get an early two man advantage, with some good pressure the Silverbacks with four shots on goal but some timely saves by Whitlock and a good penalty kill by Vernon, the Vipers managed to kill off the two man advantage. Both teams looked pretty good in the first half before the play become very scrambled for a good three or four minutes before the Vipers just about went ahead by two after Matty Saharchuk setup Brendan Persley from behind the net but Adam Clark with a huge blocker save in close kept this a 1-0 game. Salmon Arm just like last night come out hitting and was the more physical team. With both teams playing a little four on four, Vernon would get a late powerplay. Michael Statchuck's point shot was kicked out by the left pad of Clark who made a nice pad save as the Backs would kill off the minor. Some pushing at shoving occured after a whistle or two before tempers started to heat up in the final minute after a minor scrum occured deep in the Salmon Arm zone. A pretty evenly matched period as Vernon was up 1-0 after 20 minutes of play. The Silverbacks outshot the Vipers 11-9.
2nd Period: Brendan Persley and Zach Urban exchanged words before the opening faceoff as the referee and linesmen come in to break the two players up. Mason Blacklock with a great chance to give Vernon a 2-0 lead in the opening few minutes was stopped by Adam Clark who made a nice blocker save from in close. The Vipers who didnt play that physical in the 1st come out hitting more in the 2nd and looked to have a little more jump early on. Harrison Whitlock made a huge save off Landon Smith on a wrap around before somehow making a tough pad save on the rebound with a ton of players in and around the crease. The Vipers would clear the zone before Colton Sparrow fed Logan Mick who drove hard towards the goal beating Clark low giving the Vipers a two goal lead at 4:00 Sparrow and Ryan Renz with the assists. Two big saves by Whitlock before Mick comes back the other way and gives Vernon a 2-0 lead. The Vipers were looking good at this point but just over two minutes later Dallas Calvin with a turnover inside his own end resulted in a goal. Connor Brown Maloski setup Vernon product Harlon Orr who tapped the puck into the wide open cage as Whitlock didnt have a chance. It was 2-1 Vernon at 6:04 Brown Maloski with the lone assist. The Backs would eventually tie the game just over a minute later. On the powerplay Colton Thibault tipped the puck past Whitlock at 7:40 tying the game 2-2. Thomas Plese with the only helper on the goal. Vernon who looked good in the opening few minutes slowly started to fall apart defensively as Salmon Arm turned the tables, gaining momentum and eventually taking over the period. The Silverbacks with lots of pressure in the Vernon zone carried the better of the play from here on in. The Vipers would re-take the lead after Demico Hannoun with a parcial breakaway went high on Adam Clark giving Vernon a 3-2 lead at 12:50 Dallas Calvin with the assist. But Salmon Arm responded under two minutes later with there second powerplay goal. Thomas Plese at 14:29 tied the game three all with Taylor Maruya picking up the helper. On the next stoppage in play Gunnar Neilson replaced Harrison Whitlock who allowed three goals on 25 Salmon Arm shots. The Vipers with two powerplays in the middle frame couldnt generate any offence getting a single shot on each powerplay. Late in the period Cole Golka with a chance in front couldnt beat Clark down low. Other then the opening four minutes it was all Silverbacks as Salmon Arm controlled the play and took it to the Vipers. It was tied 3-3 after 40 minutes of play. Salmon Arm outshot Vernon 16-6.
3rd Period: Just nine seconds into the final frame Adam Nanji dropped the gloves with Joey Colatarci in a spirited scrap. Both players were tossed from the game. (Only allowed one fight in exhibition) Just thirteen seconds later Taro Hirose with a nice individual effort went high on Neilson giving Salmon Arm there first lead of the night twenty two seconds into the 3rd. Hirose's goal was unassisted. Logan Mick then dropped the mits with Jack Berezan as both players were given the boot and tossed from the hockey game. The Vipers would get an early powerplay and capitalize after Mason Blacklock in front tied the game 4-4 at 6:35 Dallas Calvin with the assist. Vernon with some good pressure worked hard for this goal. Under three minutes later Vernon on another man advantage and again the Vipers moving the puck well, found the back of the net with there second powerplay goal of the period. Jason Bird's hard shot from the point got through traffic beating Adam Clark low at 9:12 Michael McNicholas and Ryan Renz (third) with the helpers. The Vipers wernt done just yet as Vernon who was playing very well this period re-took there two goal lead back after Dean Allison with a high shot that beat Clark at 10:32 giving Vernon a 6-4 lead. Cole Golka with the lone assist. But under two minutes later Salmon Arm come right back, Jordan Levesque beat Neilson at 12:03 cutting it to a one goal game. Taro Hirose with the assist. Vernon played very well for most of the third playing smart. Salmon Arm with not alot of great offensive chances couldnt generate much offence late. With time running down the Backs would get Adam Clark to the bench for the extra attacker with fourty four seconds remaining. With some pressure in the Vernon zone but the clock winding down the Silverbacks setup Zach Dixon who was alone in the circle but ripped his shot wide as the puck come around the boards, Demico Hannoun setup Dallas Calvin who hit the empty net at 19:55 giving Vernon a 7-5 lead. Hannoun with the only assist on the play. Vernon come back with a strong physical performance in the final period to knock off the backs 7-5. The Vipers outshot the Silverbacks 17-8.
Top Players: (Vernon)
Dallas Calvin (2 goals & 2 assists) Looked very good for the second straight night. Calvin really sees and reads the ice well.
Ryan Renz (3 assists) Played a very solid game on the Vipers blueline.
Harrison Whitlock (22 saves) I thought kept the Vipers in the game early making some timely saves in the opening period when Vernon was only up 1-0.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
Well other then the 2nd period I thought the Vipers played pretty good for just their second pre-season game of the season. Vernon who wasnt that physical early took a few liberties from Salmon Arm before coming back with some physical play of their own in the 2nd and 3rd periods. The Vipers powerplay like last night struggled early but looked very good in the 3rd scoring twice with the man advantage. In both games over the weekend I still noticed the Vipers having troubles clearing the zone in their own end. A few turnovers or pucks thrown up the middle tonight. After scoring just once and not capitalizing on there chances last night, it was nice to see the Vipers score seven goals tonight. Word around the rink tonight is that both Danny Todosychuk and Austin Smith are out of the lineup with injuries.
Top Players: (Salmon Arm)
Joey Colatarci played very well for the second night in a row. I like the way this kid plays, looks calm and confident at both ends of the rink. Dropped the gloves with Adam Nanji in the third period.
Zach Urban also played very well on the Backs backend. Urban who played with the Vipers as an "AP" a few years ago was recently aquired in a trade with the AJHL Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
I was very impressed with the line of Taro Hirose (1 goal & 1 assist), Thomas Plese (1 goal & 1 assist) & Taylor Maruya (1 assist). These three I thought were the Silverbacks top unit tonight. Very good with and without the puck and had several opportunities all night.
Colton Thibault (1 goal) Played very well in both games this weekend.
Game Thoughts: (Salmon Arm)
The Silverbacks have a pretty veteran-older club and it shows at times. Salmon Arm in both games show they like to hit and play physical, very good down low and along the wall. The Backs won alot of the one on one battles and races to the puck, especially in the opening period. This team has some good size and quickness up front, they move the puck well and have a very good coaching staff. I was a little surprised that the Vipers scored six on Adam Clark. Clark last year who went 6-0 vs Vernon was almost impossible to score on gave up six tonight. I thought both teams were pretty evenly matched in the 1st, Salmon Arm was by far the better team in the second and Vernon was the better of the two come the 3rd.
Here is a look at both teams lineup
Vernon:
Kenny Citron (95)
Michael Statchuk (94)
Steven Fehr (97)
Demico Hannoun (95)
Matt Halvorson (96)
Matty Saharchuk (95)
Mason Blacklock (94)
Adam Nanji (93)
Dean Allison (94)
Logan Mick (96)
Dallas Calvin (94)
Cole Golka (94)
Jason Bird (93)
Colton Sparrow (93)
Michael McNicholas (94)
Tyler Povolofskie (96)
Brendan Persley (93)
Ryan Renz (93)
Harrison Whitlock (96)
Gunnar Neilson (97)
Salmon Arm:
Joey Colatarci (95)
Zach Urban (93)
Zach Dixon (94)
Blake Box (94)
Cole Arcuri (96)
Connor Brown Maloski (96)
Josh Bowes (94)
Conor Andrie (93)
Taro Hirose (96)
Jordan Levesque (95)
Landon Smith (93)
Sam Wolfe (93)
Evan Anderson (94)
Colton Thibault (95)
Taylor Maruya (95)
Thomas Plese (94)
Jack Berezan (95)
Harlon Orr (95)
Angus Redmond (95)
Adam Clark (93)
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