Vernon 6 West Kelowna 3

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 Vipers-Warriors game as Vernon defeated West Kelowna 6-3 in front of 2,024 fans at Kal Tire Place.

Starting Goaltenders:

Vernon: Danny Todosychuk
West Kelowna: Andy Desautels

1st Period: Off the opening faceoff both teams already started chirping back and fourth, with each team giving a few crosschecks to one another before the puck was even dropped.  The Vipers with a great opportunity just fifteen seconds into the game.  Nicholas Rasovic with a parcial breakaway couldnt hit the net before back come the Warriors.  West Kelowna with the first early pressure of the night.  Two and a half minutes into the game Johnathan Desbiens setup Captain Andrew Johnson going to the net was stopped by Danny Todosychuk.  On the same shift off a faceoff win by the Warriors Kristian Blumenschein's point shot was redirected on its way to the net by Andrew Johnson who again was stopped by Todosychuk.  The Warriors would get the games first powerplay just over three minutes into the contest.  West Kelowna couldnt seem to generate much offence would get a great chance after Johnathan Desbiens was robbed by Danny Todosychuk who come across the crease to make a huge pad save keeping this game scoreless.  Shorthanded Thomas Aldworth with a parcial breakaway couldnt hit the net on a missed opportunity as Vernon with a good penalty kill would kill off the minor.  Shortly after Andy Desautels got caught wandering outside of his crease managed to get back into position to make a huge save off Blaine Caton who thought he had a chance at a wide open cage.  West Kelowna having the better of the play early were outshooting Vernon 8-2 at this point.  The Vipers couldnt get any sustained pressure, were missing the net on lots of their shots.  As the period started to move along so did the Vipers who managed to get a few more chances.  Thomas Aldworth with his second parcial breakaway of the period was stopped by the blocker of Desautels.  Riley Brandt and Johnny Coughlin would get a rare two on one, Brandt decided to keep and shoot but missed the net.  Just past the halfway mark Liam Blackburn would open the scoring.  Blackburn down the right wing was stopped by Todosychuk before finding the back of the net on the rebound giving West Kelowna a 1-0 lead at 13:28 Andrew Johnson & Jason Cotton with the helpers.  Vernon who couldnt get set in the Warriors zone seemed to get a shot off but couldnt hold on for any real sustained pressure.  The Vipers with lots of pucks on goal but had troubles hitting the net missing on several shots.  The Warriors would get a late powerplay but a strong penalty kill by the Vipers would kill off the minor.  West Kelowna was up 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.  The Warriors with a good start to the game, had the better of the play, had good pressure in the Vernon zone was creating and generating chances only managed the one goal.  The Vipers on the other hand couldnt get much offence going.  Three parical breakaways missed the net on two couldnt get anything going offensively.  Vernon with very little zone time missed the net alot this period.  A very chippy period with both teams doing alot of chirping, getting in their shots in and after the stopage in play.  The Warriors had the better of the play outshot the Vipers 13-8.

2nd Period: The Warriors would get their third man advantage of the night just 1:24 into the middle frame.  WK with a few looks couldnt beat Vipers starting goaltender Danny Todosychuk couldnt capitalize on another strong penalty kill by the Vipers.  Just seconds after the powerplay Josh Bly's tip in front put the Warriors up 2-0 at 3:39 Brayden Gelsinger and Kyle Marino collected the assists.  A penalty filled period saw specialty teams go to work this frame.  Just after killing off a penalty the Vipers would get their first look with the PP.  Liam Coughlin with a nice move in close couldnt beat Warriors starting goaltender Andy Desautels who made a huge save.  West Kelowna would go down two men giving Vernon a shortened two man advantage.  The Vipers would capitalize before the first penalty expired.  Thomas Aldworth at 6:36 from the high slot got Vernon on the board cutting the West Kelowna lead to 2-1.  Luke Shiplo and Liam Coughlin with the assists.  Still with the man advantage Vernon was unable to tie the game.  Just as the penalty expired the Warriors spotted Josh Bly coming out of the box, Bly tried going in for the breakaway couldnt get by the Vernon defence who were quick enough to get back into the play.  Bly would stick with the play and end up having the puck come out front where he was able to get off a quick shot from in tight but couldnt beat Danny Todosychuk.  The Warriors would then go back to the powerplay but it would be Luke Voltin who would go in for the breakaway, with a Warriors defenceman hot on his trail Voltin would miss the net on another missed opportunity.  Kylar Hope with two good chances on the man advantage couldnt put the Warriors up by two before West Kelowna would get a shortened two man advantage.  WK with a few looks couldnt beat Todosychuk and another solid penalty kill by the Vipers would kill off both minors.  The Warriors would once again head back to the PP and this time capitalize.  Brayden Gelsinger beat Danny Todosychuk in front put West Kelowna up 3-1 at 13:23 Nicholad Rutigliano and Johnathan Desbiens with the helpers.  Just over a minute and a half later Thomas Aldworth on a wrap around looked to catch Andy Desautels napping scored his second of the night got Vernon to within a goal at 14:56 Liam Coughlin with the helper.  More pushing and shoving through out the game as both teams have a hate on for one another in a pretty chippy game.  The Vipers would get a late powerplay but unable to capitalize.  Vernon seemed to gain a little momentum late come on strong to finish the period.  Anthony Latina with a great opportunity couldnt beat Desautels.  Liam Coughlin with a great chance was stopped by the Warriors netminder who made some big saves late.  Then at the buzzer Liam Coughlin with a shot from the circle beat Desautels but hit the post as the buzzer sounded on a very close call.  West Kelowna was up 3-2 after 40 minutes of play.  A ton of penalties really slowed the game down took away any momentum from either side.  It seemed like as soon as one penalty expired another was called within minutes.  It seemed like anytime a West Kelowna player hit the ice a Vernon penalty was called.  Several poor and missed calls on both sides of the rink.  Neither team could really get much going as specialty teams played most of the 2nd period.  The Warriors up by a goal had a great opportunity to bury the Vipers on the powerplay couldnt capitalize.  The Vipers were able to hang around and only down a goal heading into the final frame.  Vernon outshot West Kelowna 14-12.

3rd Period: The Vipers come strong with a ton of energy jumped on the Warriors early and often.  Vernon playing their most physical period of the night were really laying the body all period.  Getting a ton of pressure in the WK zone Vernon controlled and carried the play.  Thomas Aldworth with his third goal of the game tied the game 3-3 at 3:23 TJ Dumonceaux & Riley Guenther with the assists.  Less then a minute later the Warriors would get an early powerplay.  Another solid penalty kill by the Vipers and would kill off the minor.  Just after the penalty kill Thomas Aldworth and Anthony Latina would get a two on one, Aldworth setup Latina who went back to Aldworth decided to try and go back to Latina couldnt reach the pass on a missed opportunity.  West Kelowna would get a great chance to break the tie after Johnathan Desbiens setup Brayden Gelsinger who was robbed by Danny Todosychuk who come across the crease to make a huge pad save keeping this game tied.  Just minutes later the Vipers would break this game open with two back to back goals in thirty nine seconds.  Mitchell Oliver playing up front was in alone was stopped by Andy Desautels who looked to make the save before Blaine Caton come hard to the net tapped the loose puck from behind the Warriors goaltender put Vernon ahead for the first time tonight giving the Vipers a 4-3 lead at 10:05 Oliver and Mitch Meek picked up the helpers.  Thirty nine seconds later Liam Finlay's shot beat Desautels gave Vernon a 5-3 lead at 10:44 Luke Voltin picked up the assist.  Two quick goals got Kal Tire Place rocking as the Warriors were being outplayed and now down two goals.  Just after Liam Coughlin would be sent in for the breakaway couldnt beat Desautels who just got a peice of Coughlin's shot with the edge of his pad.  On the same play Desautels had to be alert to stop TJ Dumonceaux in close as the Vipers were pouring on the pressure.  Less then two minutes later Kyle Marino pushed Nicholas Rasovic into Andy Desautels.  Right away Desautels went after Rasovic as the two started throwing punches while Marino jumped in.  In come Riley Brandt as tempers heated up in a hurry.  In the end West Kelowna would come out with a powerplay.  The Vipers with another strong penalty kill were able to kill off the minor.  This powerplay seemed to give the Warriors a little life.  At this point it was all Vernon but West Kelowna didnt quit and come on strong for the following few minutes.  The Vipers looking a little too lose had troubles clearing the zone at times.  The Warriors couldnt seem to generate any real threats late would get Desautels to the bench for the extra attacker with 1:48 to go before Luke Voltin sealed the victory with an empty netter at 18:17 Riley Guenther with the assist.  The Vipers would come away with a hard fought 6-3 win.  The Vipers with their best period of the night totally dominated the Warriors for most of the frame.  Off the opening faceoff the Vipers carried the play, had some good chances tied the game early before scoring two quick back to back goals midway through the period to come away with the win.  West Kelowna couldnt get much of anything going didnt have much zone time managed one or two good chances but didnt give Vernon much of a scare in the final twenty minutes.  The Vipers outshot the Warriors 15-5.

Top Players: (Vernon)

The Vipers #1 line of TJ Dumonceaux (1 assist), Thomas Aldworth (3 goals) & Liam Coughlin (2 assists) was by far Vernon's best players.  Aldworth looked to be a man on a mission scored three goals also had two parcial breakaways was all over the rink, giving West Kelowna's defenders all kinds of trouble.  Aldworth was hard to slow down and contain all game.  Dumonceaux was very good on the penalty kill, good on the draw and played a very spirited and physical 3rd period laying out lots of hits.  Dumonceaux was flying all night, played with alot of jump and energy was buzzing.  Coughlin with two assists had lots of good quality chances tonight couldnt find the back of the net.  Couldnt beat Andy Desautels on a 3rd period breakaway, hit the post at the buzzer at the end of the 2nd period was very good down low and in and around the net.

Anthony Latina I thought looked very good at times.  I thought was creative with the puck was hard to contain at times did some of the little things.

Johnny Coughlin played well on the blueline.  I thought didnt do to much with the puck, was quick to clear the zone, played well defensively jumped up into the play at times too.

Danny Todosychuk (27 saves) Played very well through out the game.  Other then Liam Blackburn's opening goal I thought Todosychuk was very good with his rebound control, was good in close and made atleast three big stops tonight.  No bigger then a 1st period save on the penalty kill off Johnathan Desbiens and then a huge game saver off Brayden Gelsnger in the 3rd in a 3-3 tie. 

Game Thought's: (Vernon)

The Vipers didnt look like they were very sharp through the first two periods.  Vernon with just eight shots in the opening period, one of their lowest shot totals for a first period didnt get much zone time were getting lots of shots towards the net but missed on over half of them.  The Vipers couldnt get any real sustained pressure didnt have much puck luck in the 1st period.  Give Vernon's specialty teams credit they played and worked extremely hard through out the game, especially in the 2nd period.  A period that was filled with penalty after penalty.  The Vipers giving up just one powerplay goal were very strong on the penalty kill in the second period but strong overall through out the game.  The Vipers then played their best period of the night in the 3rd and come out strong.  Vernon took it too the Warriors all period were really flying, creating and generating opportunities were playing very physical and with an upbeat tempo.  The Vipers really stepped up their game in the 3rd, down a goal tied the game early before scoring two quick back to back goals to come away with the win.  This was a huge game and a huge win now puts the Vipers ten points up on West Kelowna in the standings.  A strong character win as Vernon wins their fifth in a row.  How hot are the Vipers at home, pick up their seventh straight win at Kal Tire Place.

Top Players: (West Kelowna)

Ryan Yaremko I thought had a strong game on the West Kelowna blueline.  A big strong physical d-man played very well tonight.  Always seems to play tough against the Vipers and did that tonight again. 

Andrew Johnson (1 assist) The Warriors captain was very strong up front, a quick skater moves the puck in a hurry creates and generates chances was always in and around the net.  One of the more dangerous players for West Kelowna had some good looks tonight.

Kristian Blumenschein was another defenceman that I thought was very good for the Warriors.  Was involved in the play, has a quick shot from the point, likes to jump into the play is also quick on his feet, can get back into position in a hurry also has some skill with the puck.

Brayden Gelsinger (1 goal & 1 assist) Was one of the better Warriors this evening.  Put West Kelowna up 3-1 in the 2nd period had a great opportunity to break a 3-3 tie in the 3rd was robbed by Danny Todosychuk.  This kid is quick, can also move the puck, shifty is always on the move.

Josh Bly (1 goal) Played very well, had some chances was going hard to the net.  Another player that has some wheels can really move in a hurry was hard to slow down.

Kylar Hope played with an edge all night, was in the face of the Vipers all night.  Getting under the skin of almost every Vernon player Hope was always in the middle of a scrum or after a stopage in play getting his gloves up in the face, giving a guy a jab with his stick was a superpest tonight.

Johnathan Desbiens (1 assist) Was the Warriors best player tonight, I thought played with a ton of energy was all over the rink.  Stood out in the opening period played with lots of jump, created and generated lots of good chances was a sparkplug for West Kelowna.

Liam Blackburn (1 goal) Had a strong game for the Warriors.  This kid is always dangerous and hard to stop.  Scored the first goal of the game played very well.

Kyle Marino played well on the blueline, played with an edge also wasnt afraid to get under the skin of the Vipers.

Andy Desautels (31 saves) Didnt see alot of action after one period of play made his biggest saves of the night in the second period.  Made some big game savers gave his club a chance to win.

Game Thought's: (West Kelowna)

I thought West Kelowna come ready to play, was in the face of the Vipers all night played with an edge.  The Warriors had the better of the play and alot more zone time over Vernon in the first twenty minutes had some good quality chances only managed one goal.  With alot of powerplays at both ends of the rink the Warriors missed a great opportunity in the 2nd period to really put away the Vipers on the powerplay but couldnt.  West Kelowna failed on the man advantage could have easily been up by three or four goals after fourty minutes of play if the powerplay was clicking.  Im not sure what happened to WK in the 3rd but the wheels fell off.  Only getting five shots on net blew the lead before giving up four goals in the final frame to fall ten points back of Vernon for 2nd place.  West Kelowna cant seem to win in Vernon as the Warriors now have just two wins in Vernon in their last eighteen games.  I thought West Kelowna did a great job at limiting the Vipers time and space in the first two periods boxed the Vipers to the outside shutting down the shooting lanes.  Vernon had troubles generating offence in the first two periods due to some solid defensive play and zone coverage by the Warriors.  Up 3-1 late in the 2nd and up one heading into the 3rd I dont think West Kelowna will be happy with the outcome tonight.

Scratches:

Vernon:

Jagger Williamson (Injured)
Mackenzie Bauer

West Kelowna:

Jordan Masters

Energy player of the game:

Riley Guenther (2 assists)

Three Stars:

1st Star: Thomas Aldworth (3 goals)
2nd Star: Liam Coughlin (2 assists)
3rd Star: Brayden Gelsinger (1 goal & 1 assist)

BCHL Boxscore,

http://www.vipers.bc.ca/leagues/hockey_boxscores.cfm?clientID=1413&leagueID=2393&gameID=1358412&link=bchl

Kyle Anderson's West Kelowna Warriors Blog,

http://wkwarriors.blogspot.ca/