For anyone who could not attend or watch tonight’s Vipers game here are my thoughts and views from tonight’s game. You may agree or disagree but we all have our own view and opinion on any game we watch. This is my opinion and my thoughts on how I saw tonight’s game. I try to be unbiased and give a fare recap on both sides. Thanks for stopping by & visiting my blog.
I was at tonight's BCHL game as Vernon tied Prince George 4-4 in front of 1,773 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Austin Smith
Prince George: Alex Murray
1st Period: A very quick and fast opening period with very little whistles but the only problem was that both teams couldnt get much anything going as the play went back and forth with no scoring opportunities at either ends of the rink. It took the Vipers six minutes to record their first shot on goal while Prince George needed almost eleven minutes for their first shot on Vipers starting goaltender Austin Smith. No scoring chances or even any real threats in the first ten minutes but Vernon would get the games first opportunity just past the halfway mark after a win on the faceoff in the PG zone Michael Statchuk who was playing forward tonight went hard to the goal but couldnt connect on the shot in front. Braiden Epp would leave the PG bench and head to the dressing room but would return later in the second period. Vernon would then get the games first powerplay, moving the puck around the Vipers setup assistant captain Jason Bird who jumped up into the play but was robbed after Alex Murray come up with a huge glove save keeping this game scoreless. In the dying seconds of the powerplay Mark Hamilton fell at the blueline allowing Spruce Kings leading scorer Chad Staley in for the shorthanded breakaway went topshelf over Austin Smith giving PG a 1-0 lead at 14:27 Staley's goal was unassisted. This was just the Spruce Kings second shot on goal as Vernon was outshooting Prince Goerge 7-2 at this point. Less then a minute later a hit behind the Viper goal would chatter the end glass wich delayed the game for one hour while the rink crew tried replacing the broken glass. At first they replaced the end glass and then took it out and replaced it with another sheet of glass. There was atleast a thirty minute delay while both teams were still on the benches before both teams headed to the dressing rooms with 5:17 remaining in the period. The rink crew would replace the broken glass and the ice was cleaned before both teams returned to the ice for the remainder of the opening period. Both teams were pretty evenly matched in the final five minutes with not alot of great scoring chances. It was 1-0 PG after 20 minutes of play and an hour delay. Other then the long delay to replace the broken glass there wasnt alot of scoring opportunities at both ends of the rink. The Vipers outshot the Spruce Kings 8-4.
2nd Period: After a two minute break both teams would continue to play instead of having another intermission. The Vipers come out hitting to start the second period laying out some big checks. Prince George would get their first shot with the powerplay just over four minutes into the middle frame and capitalize. Karan Toor setup Chad Staley for his second goal of the night giving Prince George a 2-0 lead at 5:27 Toor and Brent Lashuk collected the assists. The Vipers would come right back with a hard working shift, got the puck deep in the Spruce Kings zone and with some hard work Liam Couglin fed Michael McNicholas out front who was robbed by Spruce Kings starting goaltender Alex Murray who made a quick glove save off McNicholas in close. The Vipers kept pressing and would be reawarded after Dexter Dancs fed Liam Coughlin who with a few nice moves paitently outwaited Alex Murray to go down before roofing the puck up and over Murray's glove getting Vernon on the board at 8:46 Dancs and Jason Bird with the helpers. The Vipers kept working and putting pressure on the Spruce Kings and it paid off again. Just three and a half minutes later Vernon would tie the game after TJ Dumonceaux with all the work beat his man along the boards before chipping the puck up and over into the PG zone wich allowed Tyler Povolofskie to come in one on one, Povolofskie couldnt get by his man so threw a backhand back towards the net the puck would hit and go in off a Spruce Kings defenceman and into the net tying the game 2-2 at 12:37 Povolofskie's first career BCHL goal would be unassisted. Vernon would get their second powerplay of the night a few minutes later. Jason Bird thought he gave the Vipers a 3-2 lead but the goal was waived off due to incidental contact as Chase McMurphy bumped into Alex Murray on the play. Murray who was fired up after being taken out of the play by McMurphy was talking with the referee about the play and was given a ten minute misconduct. Prince George would excape and kill off the penalty. At the buzzer Alex Murray would exchange words with the Vipers bench. It was tied 2-2 after 40 minutes of play. The Vipers carried the better of the play but were down two goals before coming back two quick back to back goals to tie the game. The Spruce Kings outshot Vernon 10-8.
3rd Period: Vernon come out strong to start the third and carried the early edge in play but just over four minutes into the period the Vipers couldnt clear the zone as the puck rolled along the dasherboards before coming out to the point where Christian Weidauer walked in from the slot and beat Austin Smith giving PG a 3-2 lead at 4:37 Jeremiah Luedtke and Chad Staley picked up the helpers. The Vipers come right back and again carried the play as Vernon was all over Prince George. Most of the play was in the PG zone for most of the 2nd and 3rd periods. The Vipers carried the edge in play but didnt get alot of great opportunities. Just past the midway mark the Spruce Kings would get their second powerplay and capitalize. After the Vipers did a great job at keeping PG to the outside and cutting off the shooting lanes PG would finally get a shot towards the goal before Chad Staley banged home the loose puck in the crease that just snuck by Austin Smith as Prince George re-gained their two goal lead at 12:12 Mitch Eden and Karan Toor picked up the assists. Less then a minute later the Vipers would come right back with a hard working shift and cut the Spruce Kings lead to within a goal after Dexter Dancs setup Michael McNicholas in front at 13:07 Dancs and Liam Coughlin with the helpers. Just over a minute later Matty Saharchuk would hit a Spruce Kings player from behind wich set off some anger as a minor scrum formed with some pushing and shoving going on. One of the linesmen took a punch from TJ Dumonceaux and would have to leave the game with a bleeding lip or nose. Dumonceaux would get a ten minute misconduct and a game misconduct. With the Spruce Kings on the man advantage Brendan Persley and Colton Sparrow would go in on a two on one rush but the Vipers couldnt get a shot off on a good defensive play by the PG d-man. The Vipers with a good penalty kill would kill off the penalty before tying the game on the next shift. Liam Coughlin setup Michael McNicholas for his second of the night at 17:02 tied the game 4-4. Coughlin and Jared Wilson with the assists. The Vipers for the second time tonight come back from down two goals to tie the game. In the dying seconds Austin Smith and the Vipers miss communicated as Smith's pass up the ice landed right on the stick of a PG player who had a wide open cage as Smith was behind the Vernon goal. The PG player took a second too long to shoot and missed as Smith was able to get back between the pipes at the last second. It was tied 4-4 after 60 minutes of play. The Vipers outplayed and dominated the Spruce Kings but had to fight their way back down two goals to force overtime. Vernon outshot Prince George 16-6.
Overtime: Danny Kiraly and Brogan O'Brien would get a great chance in the extra frame with a two on one in the opening minute. Kiraly would keep and shoot but get robbed by Smith who made a huge glove save. The Spruce Kings with all the jump carried the play in OT. Brogan O'Brien would get a chance in the slot was stopped by Smith who made a big pad save before making another big glove save off Brent Lashuk's shot from the high slot. Vernon back on their heels a bit were getting outplayed. PG had their best opportunities of the night here in overtime. Prince George carried the play and was the better team but couldnt beat Austin Smith as PG outshot Vernon 4-3. It was tied 4-4 after 65 minutes of play.
Double Overtime: Riley Guenther with the best chance halfway through went end to end before being stopped by Alex Murray who flashed the leather making a quick glove save off the Viper defenceman. The Vipers looked much better in the second overtime especially late generating some of their more better chances in OT. Dexter Dancs and Liam Coughlin with two good chances could score the game winner. Josh Bryan made a solid defensive play to break up a Spruce Kings odd man rush. In the final minute the Vipers with good pressure couldnt capitalize before Michael McNicholas with two good chances couldnt burry the OT winner as the game ended in a 4-4 tie. Vernon outshot Prince George 9-4.
Top Players: (Vernon)
The Vipers top unit of Liam Coughlin (1 goal & 2 assists), Dexter Dancs (2 assists) & Michael McNicholas (2 goals) was the Vipers best line tonight. I thought this line started off slow but once they got rolling they were very hard to stop. Coughlin had a heck of a game was all over the ice creating several good scoring plays. Dancs worked very hard was driving to the net most of the net, looking for opportunities. This line has really come along latley and played very well as of late. PG had lots of troubles containing this line all night.
The line of Logan Mick, Matty Sharchuk and TJ Dumonceaux I thought was another line that played very well for Vernon tonight. Saharchuk and Dumonceaux played with alot of energy, showed alot of hustle as all three played hard tonight.
Tyler Povolfskie (1 goal) Played very well for a second straight night. Scored his first career BCHL goal in front of his family was another kid that didnt stop working tonight.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
Both teams couldnt seem to get much of anything going early as it took both teams a long period to record their first shot on goal. After a long hour delay I thought the Vipers got their game going and carried the edge in play actually outplayed and outworked Prince George most of the night. Both teams had troubles generating opportunities in a tight checking game. Give the Vipers credit they didnt panic, quit or stop working, battling back twice to tie the game down two goals. One thing I noticed about this years Vipers is they dont quit, they work extremely hard and battle hard all night. Also dont count the Vipers out, how many games have we seen this team come back in the third to tie a game or win a game after being down a few goals. I thought Vernon played very well but just didnt get the bounces or capitalize on some of their chances. With a Merritt win tonight the Vipers dropped to second place in the Interior Division. I didnt think it took an hour to replace a broken peice of glass at a hockey game. Wow was that painfull to watch. At first they had troubles getting the forklift onto the ice and then replaced the glass with a wrong sheet before having to replace it again. You think they would have more then just two guys out there replacing the glass. I also dont get why they didnt send both teams to the dressing rooms in the first place. Both teams stayed on the benches for atleast thirty minutes or so before going to the dressing rooms.
Top Players: (Prince George)
Christian Weidauer (1 goal) Played very well on the PG blueline. Was physical, played well at both ends of the rink and jumped up into the play.
Karan Toor (2 assists) Also played very well on the backend. Was good at both ends of the rink and also liked to jump up into the play.
Brent Lashuk (1 assist) A bigger kid played well up front for the Spruce Kings. Was hard to knock off the puck, was always in and around the net.
Chad Staley (3 goals & 1 assist) Was by far Prince George's best player tonight. The Spruce Kings leading scorer is very dangerous with and without the puck. This kid has some wheels and good hands. Has a nice shot. The Vipers had troubles containing Staley all night.
Alex Murray (37 saves) Kept the Spruce Kings in tonight's game making several big saves. Very quick on his feet looked to get rattled through out tonight's game but give the kid credit he battled hard making the saves when needed.
Game Thoughts: (Prince George)
It took the Spruce Kings almost eleven minutes to record their first shot on goal were outplayed and outworked for most of the game especially in the 2nd and 3rd periods but give PG credit they battled hard earning a point on the road. The Spruce Kings who didnt generate much offence at all scored on their opportunities and capitalized on their chances. Specialty teams was the difference as PG went 3-4 on the powerplay as well as scoring once shorthanded. I thought Prince George was good in the faceoff circle winning alot of draws and blocked alot of Vernon shots. The Spruce Kings with very little scoring chances had their best opportunities in the overtime periods. The Spruce Kings were also missing some key veteran players who can put the puck in the net. This was a game where PG has to be happy with the single point but also dissapointed giving up two two goal leads. Prince George won the season series this year going 1-0-1 winning once and tying once.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Mason Blacklock (Injured)
Demico Hannoun (Playing at the WJAC)
Prince George:
Jake LeBrun
Bryant Christian
Mitchell Barker
Cole Todd
Sean Landrey
Jesse Jenks
Energy player of the game:
Dexter Dancs (2 assists)
Three Stars:
1st Star: Chad Staley (3 goals & 1 assist)
2nd Star: Michael McNicholas (2 goals)
3rd Star: Liam Coughlin (1 goal & 2 assists)
For more on tonight's game visit the boxscore,
http://www.bchl.ca/leagues/hockey_boxscores.cfm?clientID=1413&leagueID=2393&gameID=1231302&link=bchl
For more on tonight's game and the Prince George Spruce Kings visit Ron Gallo's Spruce Kings Crusaders Blog,
http://sprucekingscrusader.blogspot.ca/
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