Vipers on a major roll
by Kevin Mitchell - Vernon Morning Star
Feb 18, 2015
They are racking up clutch wins and with five games left in the regular season, appear poised to seriously defend their Interior Division playoff title.
The Vernon Vipers tangle with the Smoke Eaters tonight in Trail riding a three-game winning streak after grounding the Nanaimo Clippers 4-1 before 1,950 fans Saturday night at Kal Tire Place.
Vernon will be without their leading scorer Liam Coughlin tonight and Friday when they host the Smokies. Coughlin has been suspended two games for a check-from-behind on Nanaimo d-man Yanni Kaldis early in Saturday’s tilt.
The Snakes previously knocked off the league-leading Penticton Vees and the pesky Salmon Arm Silverbacks before stopping the second-place overall Clippers.
“It gives us a lot of confidence knowing we can play the best in the league,” said Viper winger Nicholas Rasovic. “So, going into the playoffs, we have to keep playing our game and we’ll end up beating every team.”
The Clippers, who had not suffered back-to-back losses since late November, lost high scoring Kaldis, a Montreal product, 3:18 after the national anthem when he was cranked into the side wall by Coughlin.
San Jose Shark draft Jake Jackson converted for Nanaimo 23 seconds into a powerplay at 12:16 of the first period. Jackson has 21 goals on the season. D-man Nick Gushue, who struck the post on an early second-period powerplay, and blue liner Austin Dick drew assists.
Kaldis, who has nine goals and 47 points and normally anchors the Clipper powerplay, stayed down on the ice for at least five minutes as trainers from both teams checked his vitals. He went to hospital for observation. Coughlin received a major and was ejected.
“We just didn’t go a good enough job of staying the course,” said Clipper head coach Mike Vandekamp, who guided Vernon to the BCHL title in 2002-03. “It was 1-1 and there was no reason to change. They did a good job of basically playing their game and waiting for us to make a mistake and they capitalized on the mistake we made, a turnover.
“It was a bad turn of events when we lost a player that we needed. You get the five-minute major but you don’t have your best defencemen on the powerplay. Our powerplay was a little disjointed after that. We played hard enough, but we weren’t smart enough for the entire game and ended up shooting ourselves in the foot.”
A wide-open Riley Brandt connected for his 11th of the year, taking a sweet feed on the right side from blueliner Luke Shiplo, levelling the score with 4:52 left in the opening period.
Rasovic netted the winner, his fifth of the season, on a nice two-on-one with Colton McMarthy at 7:16 of the third period. Rasovic, an energy winger, was named first star.
“I think we came out stronger and more mentally prepared in the third period and got pucks deep and got to the net,” said Rasovic. “It was a good play by my linemate McCarthy to drive down the wall and feed me for a perfect pass. I just had to tap it in the net. It’s been a long while since I’ve scored so it feels really good.”
Rasovic, an Anmore, B.C. (near Port Moody) product, was signed by the Vipers earlier this season after helping the Coquitlam Express claim the Fred Page Cup last year.
“I love it here,” he said. “The town and the fans are unreal. It’s a great atmosphere. We’re a pretty hard working team with some skill. I think if we all can come together, we can be a championship team. I really like the group of guys and we get along pretty well.”
McCarthy, a former Prince Albert Raider, also gives an honest two-way effort every shift and plays with an edge.
“It was a good effort,” said McCarthy. “We started off a bit slow, but we got a goal and after that, we kept it simple and finished the game well for the win.”
On the series of victories, the Salmon Arm native said: “They’re huge wins. We went on a little bit of a slump there, but these three wins give us a lot of confidence to play with the best teams in the league. When you finish off strong, usually you’ll build off the last few games for the playoffs.”
Anthony Latina registered his 15th with 2:30 left on a three-man rush with Brandt and Jagger Williamson.
Texan Thomas Aldworth, with his team-high 36th snipe of the season, into an empty net with 38 seconds remaining, completed the Vernon offence in front of third star Jarrod Schamerhorn (22-12-1). Vernon outshot Nanaimo 35-22, including a 16-5 margin in the third period.
The Vipers kept roadrunner rookie Linden Hora out for almost a full two minutes with Nanaimo’s net empty as he searches for his first BCHL goal.
Seconds after Hora headed to the bench for a change, Aldworth sprung loose for the freebee.
Vernon’s Spencer Hewson is drawing big praise from Vandekamp in his second season.
“He’s doing great,” said Vandy. “He’s one of our smartest players. He’s just a real intelligent player. He plays a lot of minutes for us, he’s a real go-to-guy. Lately, he’s even played defence because we have so many injuries on the back end. He’s managed to step up and do that because he is smart and he pays attention to the little details. He’s a great penalty killer, he’s kind of a natural leader, very focussed and he’s gonna be a big part of our team in the future and he already is.”
Hewson, who has five goals and 20 points, said the Clippers ddn’t make the necessary adjustments when they lost Kaldis. He’s high on the Nanaimo lineup which stresses a defence-first, possession style.
“We’re deep in all aspects. When one line isn’t going, we’ll have another line step it up so it’s a team win every win. It’s been good. It’s been a lot of fun winning with a great group of guys.”
All-star Guillaume Decelles went the distance in the Clipper net. He dropped to 33-12.
SNAKE BITES: Silverback D Andrew Farny had surgery to repair his left achilles after catching McCarthy’s skate Friday night...The Vipers will hand out their awards and complete the Shirts off the Back third-jersey auction after Friday’s game versus Trail.
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