Vipers Home Opener: Vernon 6 Salmon Arm 5

I have had season tickets for the past 28 years and been following Junior hockey in Vernon for close to thirty five years. I've missed only three home games since 1998-99 season. 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-Silverbacks game as Vernon defeated Salmon Arm 6-5 in front of 2,139 fans at Kal Tire Place.

Starting Goaltenders:

Vernon: Ty Taylor
Salmon Arm: Bo Didur

1st Period: Just a minute and a half into the Vipers home opener Marcus Mitchell redirected a shot from the point, just missed the far corner as the Silverbacks with a good opportunity early. About a minute later Keyvan Mokhtari wearing Jarrett Metz's old #19 was denied just outside of the crease, after Bo Didur stood tall making a tough save from in close. Salmon Arm would get the games first powerplay just over three minutes into the game, after Alex Swetlikoff run Riley Hayles hard into the end boards. Hayles was slow to get up, looked a little woozy would be ok and stay in the hockey game. With good pressure the Backs created a goal mouth scramble in close. Ty Taylor made the first save, couldn't handle the rebound before the Silverbacks had two or three cracks at the loose puck before Marcus Mitchell gave Salmon Arm a 1-0 lead at 4:54 Mitch Stapley & Logan Mostat collected the helpers. Just over two minutes later the Snakes would get their first look with the man advantage. Tanner Wishnowski wearing Dustin Whitecotton's old #9 would be stopped before tying the game shortly after at 7:24 Jimmy Lambert and Brett Stapley drew the assists. On the following play SA would get their second PP of the night. The Silverbacks couldn't seem to generate much with the man advantage, were unable to get a single shot on the powerplay. Just as the powerplay expired Riley Hayles point shot had eyes, beat wich looked like a screened Ty Taylor giving Salmon Arm a 2-1 lead at 10:54 Trey Thomas and Ryan Hogg picked up the assists. Just over two minutes later the Backs went back to the powerplay. The Vipers running into penalty trouble in the opening frame. Max Wutzke's shot from the blueline forced Ty Taylor into making a difficult pad save. Taylor had to be sharp on the penalty kill was then forced into making two huge game savers after diving across the blue paint on two separate opportunities robbing the Silverbacks of a goal. Salmon Arm with a ton of pressure on the PP couldn't solve Ty Taylor as the Snakes got some goaltending and killed off the minor. A huge momentum swing as on the following play Michael Young sprung Brett Stapley in close, got behind the Salmon Arm defence before getting in alone, couldn't beat Bo Didur who somehow stoned Stapley in the crease. On the following play Jimmy Lambert setup Brett Stapley who tied the game 2-2 at 15:44 Lambert & Jesse Lansdell picked up the helpers. With just over three minutes remaining Mitch Andres looked to lose the puck before getting back in the play, making a strong defensive effort-play to break up a Salmon Arm breakaway. With just over a minute remaining Jagger Williamson levelled a Salmon Arm player into the end boards, giving the Backs a delayed powerplay. On the play Williamson made his way to the Viper dressing room holding his wrist. Williamson would be ok and return for the 2nd period. With a late powerplay to finish the 1st Akito Hirose's point shot beat Ty Taylor giving Salmon Arm a 3-2 lead at 19:44 Riley Hayles with the lone assist. The Vipers couldn't clear the zone, were only sixteen seconds away from getting out of the period. It was 3-2 Salmon Arm after 20 minutes of play. The Silverbacks opened the scoring and played most of the period with the lead. SA looked good and played very well on the road in a rink where they haven't won in since 2015. The Backs powerplay looked very good scoring twice with the man advantage. The Silverbacks were the better of the two teams, carried more of the play, & had the better scoring opportunities. SA was going to the net, getting bodies in and around the Viper goal, making it difficult for Ty Taylor. The Vipers ran into penalty trouble, took some undisciplined penalties, had trouble with Salmon Arm's powerplay. Vernon looked sloppy at times, had troubles making passes, looked disorganised at times, had very little zone time. The Snakes with a few good looks-chances but overall didn't look all that good. Salmon Arm outshot Vernon 15-10.

2nd Period: The Backs jumped on the Vipers early off the opening faceoff as it was all Salmon Arm in the opening few minutes. The Silverbacks would jump on an early PP and once again capitalize. Mitch Stapley on the Backs first shot of the middle frame found the back of the net, giving Salmon Arm a 4-2 lead at 2:21 Hudson Schandor and Noah Wakeford drew the assists. Vernon down two goals looked to be in trouble needed close to five minutes to re group before slowly getting their game going. The Vipers turned it up and would eventually get some good pressure in the offensive zone. With the Vipers on an odd man rush Akito Hirose made a huge defensive play, breaking up a scoring play. With no real quality opportunities the Snakes would get a powerplay just before the midway mark. Needing just eight seconds Brett Stapley scored cutting the Salmon Arm lead to 4-3 at 7:31 Tanner Wishnowski & Jimmy Lambert collected the assists. Less then two minutes later Alex Swetlikoff setup Josh Prokop who looked to beat Silverbacks starting goaltender Bo Didur fivehole sending Kal Tire Place into a frenzy but the goal was immediately waived off. The referee's and linesmen had a lengthy discussion at the penalty box before over turning the call, calling it a goal. Prokop with his first career BCHL goal at 9:13 tied the game 4-4 Swetlikoff and Coleton Bilodeau drew the helpers. This was a goal I think Didur would like back. Backs captain Grayson Constable wanted an explanation from the referee on why the goal was over turned. This was a huge turning point-momentum changer. The Snakes seemed to build some confidence and really took over the edge in play in the second half. Other then a few shifts-plays it was all Vernon. It was 4-4 after 40 minutes of play. A strong start from the Silverbacks, who had all kinds of heat-pressure on the Vipers, before jumping out to an early 4-2 lead, looked to be in full control of the hockey game. Salmon Arm didnt look like the same team from the 1st period into the 2nd period. Give credit to Vernon, who didn't quit. The Snakes battled back and with two quick goals of their own, rallied to tie the game before taking the game/period over. It was all Vipers most of the 2nd period. The Backs with just a few shifts-plays, didn't have much time in the offensive zone other then the first five minutes. The Vipers played much better in the 2nd seemed to have a little more step in their game. Vernon outshot Salmon Arm 11-2.

3rd Period: A lengthy delay of about three-five minutes before the opening faceoff as both teams looked to wait for the ice to dry. The Vipers had some early pressure but no real quality chances. With Salmon Arm breaking through the neutral zone, the  Silverbacks had too many men on the ice, with no call on the play, the play continued up ice, Logan Mostat come down the right wing break the tie beating Vipers starting goaltender Ty Taylor fivehole giving Salmon Arm a 5-4 lead at 4:47 Marcus Mitchell and Mitchell Stapley with the assists on a goal Taylor would like back. The Salmon Arm bench was fired up after re taking the lead early. Just over three minutes later Shane Kelly stepped into one, beat Bo Didur but rang his shot off the crossbar as the Vipers come within inches of tying the game. Just over a minute later on a non missed call the Vipers bench was upset with the referee's. Just before the faceoff Vernon was given a two minute minor after Tanner Wishnowski was given an unsportsmanlike minor, sending SA to the powerplay. Shorthanded Shane Kelly sprung Jimmy Lambert for the breakaway who beat Bo Didur shortside tying the game 5-5 at 10:16 as the fans erupted. Kelly and Jordan Sandhu picked up the assists. The Vipers with a huge boost would kill off the minor before Jagger Williamson come very close to giving the Snakes the lead, just as the penalty expired the Vernon/Lumby product beat Bo Didur but couldn't beat the post. Shortly after with Vernon pressing, Tanner Wishnowski driving down the left wing, beat Riley Hayles who lost his footing, cut hard to the net setup Jimmy Lambert going to the front of the net, giving Vernon their first lead of the night 6-5 at 12:39 Wishnowski & Brett Stapley drew the helpers. Kal Tire Place was rocking after this goal. Both teams were fairly even for a lot of the 3rd but in the second half the Vipers slowly come on. SA struggling offensively come close to tying the game after Ryan Hogg's quick shot from the circle forced Ty Taylor into making a big stop. Vernon with a strong forecheck killed a lot of the clock late in the period, had the Backs hemmed in at times. The Snakes strong on the puck, were battling hard with a one goal lead late. Salmon Arm having troubles getting the goaltender to the bench would eventually get Bo Didur to the bench for the extra attacker with 1:20 left. Ty Taylor had to be alert was forced into making two difficult saves with bodies in front, I don't think saw one of them. The Silverbacks had troubles getting full control of the puck while the Vipers were able to clear the zone a few times. Salmon Arm shooting them selves in the foot, went offside twice inside the final minute. The Silverbacks called a late timeout before Shane Kelly took a good run at a Salmon Arm player inside the final minute. In the dying seconds Kelly and Justin Wilson dropped the gloves. Both players would get tossed from the game with just eight seconds to go. The Snakes would hang on for the 6-5 win and improve to 2-0 on the season. This was a pretty wild 3rd with the Backs jumping out to an early lead before Vernon tied the game shorthanded and then scored the winner minutes later. Both teams looked even at times but the Vipers also had a slight edge in play at other times. Salmon Arm had troubles getting pressure-puck possession while the Vipers compete level stepped up a notch in the 3rd and really played well down low and along the boards. Vernon outshot Salmon Arm 9-7.

Top Player's: (Vernon)

The line of Brett Stapley (2 goals & 2 assists), Tanner Wishnowski (1 goal & 2 assists) & Jimmy Lambert (2 goals & 3 assists) were the Vipers go to line. This line had chemistry, played very well together, picked up eleven points in the victory. Stapley scored twice but didn't really stand out for me. Wishnowski does a lot of the little things, that most people-fans don't see. Is very strong down low-along the wall, a bigger body, that goes to the net, creates havoc for the goaltender. You can see the leadership Wishnowski brings to this hockey club, talking to the young kids-other guys on the team, during and before faceoffs. Leads by example. Lambert who was suppose to be going to university this season, opted to return to Vernon late in the summer. How big was that. Lambert with a monster game, collected five points, was all over the ice. A real game changer at times. How big was his shorthanded breakaway goal in the 3rd? TSN turning point?

Jordan Sandhu (1 assist) I thought played his best game as a Viper to date. Didn't really stand out much during training camp/exhibition games, had a strong game this evening. Was skating hard, competed and played with a strong work ethic. Never quit skating, was hard on pucks, finishing his checks, played very well.

Game Thought's: (Vernon)

After a pretty convincing 5-1 victory in Salmon Arm last night, the Vipers sure didn't look like the same team tonight. Vernon fell behind early and had to play catch up all night. The Snakes took way too many penalties, had troubles on the penalty kill, were sloppy-disorganised for a lot of the opening period. The Vipers were flat footed a lot of that 1st period, were standing around, watching Salmon Arm skate-move the puck. Ty Taylor didn't get much help in the first twenty minutes, had all kinds of traffic-bodies in and around the Vernon goal, but no Viper defenders were their to move Salmon Arm players from the front of the goal. After being outplayed for the first five minutes, Vernon fell behind 4-2 early and it didn't look good for the Snakes. I thought maybe Salmon Arm was going to run away with this one. But of the Vipers finally seemed to gain some confidence-momentum and play-look much better in the middle frame. Two quick back to back goals just minutes apart looked like a different team. The Snakes battled and competed had to fight back to tie the game-get the eventual winner in the 3rd in a period where I didn't think they played all that bad. I thought the boys seemed to get a little better as the game went on but still sloppy-disorganised through out the game. This was a game where the Vipers didn't deserve to win but were lucky enough to win. Give the team credit for not quiting, even though they didn't play well, they managed to find a way to come from behind and win. What happened to the same Viper team I saw play-win 5-1 in the season opener last night in Salmon Arm? The Vipers weren't skating-moving their feet nearly as much as last night, standing around a lot tonight, caused them to make mistakes at both ends of the rink. I didn't think the compete level was the same as last night. Was it nerves-the home opener? Maybe they figured tonight was an easy two points after last nights convincing win? Vernon needs to be better and play much better if they want to be successful. Michael Young played with a cage and Niko Karamanis played with a full face shield. I was surprised to see Ty Taylor get the start in goal after veteran 20 yr old Anthony Yamnitsky played last night-got them the win. You think the Vipers would go back to the guy that got you the win? The Snakes will now begin an eight game road trip starting Friday in Merritt. Will see what this team is made of and what kind of character this team has. This will be a good time to bond-build-grow as a team. The Vipers play nine of their first ten games of the season away from home. The Vipers unveiled their new home jersey's tonight (Florida Panthers old road jersey's) All white with red-navy blue sleves and red numbers-name bars. This now matches Vernon's road jersey's as the Vipers wear the Florida Panthers old red home jersey's. When the Vipers unveiled their red road jersey's a few years ago, I always wondered why they didn't have-wear the matching home jersey to go with it. I really like the new home jersey's. I like both Viper home-away uniforms. Former Vipers forward-captain David Robinson was at tonight's game. A big crowd on hand for the home opener! A great atmosphere and great turnout!

Vernon Vipers new home jersey's (minus the Panthers logo)

http://www.icejerseys.com/products/Florida-Panthers-Reebok-Premier-Replica-Road-NHL-Hockey-Jersey-p5144/

Vernon Vipers away jersey's (minus the Panthers logo) The Vipers have worn these for the past two seasons.

http://shop.nhl.com/Florida_Panthers_Kids_Jerseys

Top Player's: (Salmon Arm)

Max Wutzke I thought had a heck of a game on the Silverbacks blueline. Was getting pucks to the net, was stead defensively, finished his checks, was strong at both ends of the rink.

Mitchell Stapley (1 goal & 2 assists) The older brother of Viper forward Brett Stapley collected three points in the loss, was another d-man that played very well.

Riley Hayles (1 goal & 1 assist) I thought was very calm, confident and strong on the backend. Took a pretty big hit just minutes into the game, was slow getting up but seemed to be ok, stayed in the game and played well.

Ryan Hogg (1 assist) Played very well. Quick on his feet, can move-get the puck up ice in a hurry, had some good looks-chances.

Akito Hirose (1 goal) Made two-three solid defensive plays in the loss, was another key defenceman on the Salmon Arm point.

Game Thought's: (Salmon Arm)

After being outplayed and falling 5-1 in their home-season opener Friday the Silverbacks were looking for revenge and got off to a strong start. I thought SA come out hard, were skating, jumped on the Snakes early and often. Salmon Arm played very well in the 1st were really clicking with the powerplay, went 3-6 with the man advantage. The Backs played with the lead most of the night, until the final frame. Salmon Arm couldn't hold the lead, blew a two goal lead in the middle frame gave up a tough game tying goal shorthanded midway through the 3rd. SA couldn't seem to recover, before giving up the game winner minutes later. The Silverbacks need to dig deep and somehow try and get that fifth goal, to put the Vipers away. Instead they give up the next goal, giving the Snakes life and back to within a goal. Salmon Arm should have buried Vernon when they had the opportunity. Give the Backs credit, they caused a lot of havoc in and around the Viper goal. Ty Taylor didn't see a lot of the shots from the point, as the Silverbacks had lots of traffic in front of the Vernon netminder. SA was skating hard, had more puck possession and zone time, couldn't hold off the Vipers line of Brett Stapley, Jimmy Lambert & Tanner Wishnowski. This wasn't a great night for either goaltender. Both goaltenders had a lot of traffic in front of the goal, didn't see a lot of shots-pucks from the point, had several goal mouth scrambles as well. I think both goaltenders would like at least one goal back. Overall I don't think either teams will be happy with their performances-game. Both teams looked sloppy at times, disorganised and didn't play as well as they could. It's also the second game of the regular season. Teams are still working on drills, figuring out new line combinations, working on specialty teams etc and players are still getting use to new team mates etc. Both Salmon Arm goaltenders were wearing player jerseys. Both goalies had a players jersey on with the name bar blacked out. Bo Didur was wearing #20 while backup netminder Nic Tallarico was wearing #18. Fred Harbinson and several members of his coaching staff were in attendance tonight. The Backs & Vees will meet Friday in Salmon Arm. The Silverbacks are now winless in nine games vs the Vipers (7 losses-2 ties). The Silverbacks last regular season win in Vernon was a 5-2 victory on Wednesday, December 9th 2015.

Scratches:

Vernon:

Sol Seibel
Connor Marritt
Adam Panacci

Salmon Arm:

Rhett Kingston
Nick Unruh

Energy Player of the Game:

Tanner Wishnowski (1 goal & 2 assists)

Three Star's:

1st Star: Jimmy Lmbert (2 goals & 3 assists)
2nd Star: Brett Stapley (2 goals & 2 assists)
3rd Star: Mitchell Stapley (1 goal & 2 assists)

Boxscore-Game Summary,

http://bchl.ca/stats/game-summary/7858

Game Report,

https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?client_code=bchl&game_id=7858

Text Boxscore,

https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/text-game-report.php?client_code=bchl&game_id=7858