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-Warriors game as Vernon defeated West Kelowna 4-2 in front of 805 fans at Royal Le Page Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Ty Taylor
West Kelowna: Nik Amundrud
Before tonight's game their was a five minute delay as the Warriors welcomed the parents onto the ice for parents weekend.
1st Period: Just twenty one seconds into the opening frame Connor Marritt on a wrap around caught Nik Amundrud out of position, Marritt's shot got caught up in between the legs-skates of the Warriors netminder before being cleared from the blue paint, as Marritt & the Vipers come very close to opening the scoring. A minute and ten seconds later, Jimmy Lambert wearing Les Reaneys old #23 come down the left wing, one on one before cutting hard to the goal, forced Nik Amundrud back into his crease, was forced into making a difficult save on a sharp angle. Two great chances for Vernon less then two minutes into the contest. The Snakes with good early pressure early, the Warriors needed four minutes to record their first shot of the night. Jesse Lansdell took two huge open ice hits in the first three minutes. Six and a half minutes in, Stephen Kleysen with a quick shot from the blueline, forced Ty Taylor into flashing the leather, made a nice glove save on West Kelowna's first good opportunity of the evening. Less then two minutes later Connor Marritt lead a two on one rush, tried setting up West Kelowna native Brandon Whistle who couldn't connect on the pass, on a missed opportunity for the Vipers. Just before the midway mark Jake Harrison took an undetected high stick from Brett Stapley (I think) on a scrum in the corner. Harrison went down before getting back into the play, charged at Stapley twice before the play continued. On the same play/shift Harrison hauled down a Viper in the slot, was given a minor, giving the Snakes their first powerplay of the night. Once in the penalty box Harrison complained to the one official, while holding an ice bag to his head. The second official come over, before the two officials and linesmen gathered in front of the time keepers box, confirmed another penalty. Niko Karamanis would be sent to the penalty box, was given four minutes for high sticking. For some reason, Coleton Bilodeau was also sent to the box to serve the other two minutes. Mark Ferner and the Viper bench a little upset with all of this, wanted to chat with the official. After a lengthy delay the Warriors would come out on top with the powerplay, their first of the game. The Tribe struggled with the extra attacker, only managed one shot as the Vipers killed off the minor. Just minutes after killing off the games first powerplay, Jack Judson's point shot missed the goal, took a favorable bounce, come right back out front to Josh Prokop who buried the rebound, giving Vernon a 1-0 lead at 14:01 Judson & Jagger Williamson with the helpers. Just minutes later the Tribe looked to tie the game after a shot from the point found its way through a crowd and into the back of the net, but the one official at the side of the goal, waived off the goal immediately. Their was no announcement from the pa announcer on why the goal was called off. The Warriors would argue the call, but the game would continue after a small delay. I'm guessing their was goaltender interference, but if this was the case, why wasn't their a penalty on the play-goal? The Snakes catch a big break. Shortly after West Kelowna would get their second powerplay of the night. Ty Taylor made a big pad save off a shot from the slot before stretching across the blue paint, to rob Willie Reim with a huge glove save. Reim and the Warriors were stunned. A massive glove save, keeping this a one goal game. The Vipers would kill off the minor. Inside the final minute, Chris Jandric would jump into the play, walk in down the left wing before being denied by Nik Amundrud who made a big shoulder save with thirty six seconds to go. It was 1-0 Vernon after 20 minutes of play. This was a pretty entertaining period with chances at both ends of the rink. At times the Snakes carried the play, before the Warriors come back and had their fare share of puck possession. Both teams looked pretty evenly matched at times through out the frame. Shots were even 11-11.
2nd Period: The Vipers with a quick start to the middle frame, jumped on WK early. After some early pressure, second year Viper Shane Kelly's seeing eye point shot found its way to the back of the net, giving Vernon a 2-0 lead at 1:50 Brett Stapley and Sol Seibel drew the assists. Just over two minutes later the Tribe would get their third powerplay of the night and first of the period. The Snakes with a strong penalty kill, would kill off the minor. Vernon with a ton of puck possession early, carried a lot of the play, early and often. Just befoe the halfway mark Sol Seibel lost the puck in his skates, couldn't recover allowing former Viper forward Chase Stephenson to break in for the two on one attack. Stephenson couldn't solve Vipers starting goaltender Ty Taylor who made a nice save off the odd man rush. On the same play-shift, Jake Harrison would get control of the puck, tried beating Ty Taylor on the wrap around was stopped. Two solid back to back chances for West Kelowna. This seemed to be a turning point, after the Vipers had most of the flow of play, the Warriors got some life after the back to back opportunities and changed the momentum of the game. The Tribe pressed hard and often, had the Vipers reeling in their own end. Vernon having all kinds of trouble getting out of their own end/through the neutral zone. WK with an aggressive attack, had a ton of looks, were once outshot by a fair margine, were now outshooting the Snakes. The Vipers without a shot in at least six-seven minutes. Minutes past the midway mark with the Tribe pressing, Ty Taylor made the first save before Cavin Tilsley buried the rebound, cutting the Vernon lead to 2-1 at 14:01 Jared Marino & Chase Stephenson collected the helpers. But back come the Vipers. Shane Kelly carried the play, deep into the Warriors end, before Warriors starting goaltender Nik Amundrud was forced to made several stops down low, as Vernon was banging away at the loose puck at the side of the goal. The puck ended up in the corner, before Brett Stapley fired the puck towards the front of the net, somehow the puck had eyes, found its way through the bodies in front and into the back of the goal. Vernon with a 3-1 lead at 15:19 Shane Kelly & Jimmy Lambert picked up the assists. The Warriors bench wasn't happy, the officials gathered in front of the time keepers box, after a small delay they awarded Stapley with the goal. 3-1 Vernon. Fourty seconds later the Snakes would jump on a late powerplay. The Tribe with a big kill, would kill off the minor. It was 3-1 Vernon after 40 minutes of play. The Snakes with a quick start, jumped on WK early before Shane Kelly with a huge goal just 1:50 in gave Vernon a 2-0 lead. It was all Vipers early before the Warriors battled back just before the halfway mark and carried most of the play for the remainder of the period. West Kelowna with a ton of solid looks, couldn't solve Ty Taylor. The Warriors had alot more jump/energy, were winning the races-battles. WK outplaying and outworking Vernon for a lot of the 2nd period. The Tribe got to within a goal, before Brett Stapley with a huge goal late to regain the two goal lead. The Warriors were the better of the teams for a lot of that period. West Kelowna outshot Vernon 13-12.
3rd Period: WK jumps on Vernon off the opening faceoff. The Vipers playing their third game in four days look a little sluggish early. Ty Taylor has to be sharp, makes two big stops early before captain Jagger Williamson with a heads up play, springs Josh Prokop for the breakaway. Prokop blows by the lone defender before beating Nik Amundrud fivehole, giving Vernon a 4-1 lead at 2:03 Williamson drew the lone helper. Three minutes later West Kelowna springs Chase Dubois for the breakaway, but its Ty Taylor who comes up with the large save, keeping this a three goal game. Vernon looking tired, has trouble changing lines, gets caught on back to back icing plays, forces Mark Ferner into calling an early timeout. The Tribe using their speed and aggressive forecheck, are quick on the Vipers early. The Warriors would get a powerplay at the midway mark and capitalize. Chase Stephenson's shot was denied by Ty Taylor, Taylor would lose sight of the puck, that come way up in the air before dropping in behind the Vernon goaltender, rolls off his back and into the back of the cage, cutting the Vernon lead to 4-2 at 11:26 Chase Dubois & Michael Ryan collect the assists. Stephenson rewarded with the goal, get a huge break, are back in the game. Minutes later Michael Lombardi breaks in for the breakaway, Shane Kelly tries getting back either tugs at Lombardi or slashes him, but Lombardi is still able to get a shot off, was stopped by Ty Taylor. The referee's arm goes up and Lombardi is rewarded with a penalty shot. Lombardi would be denied by Ty Taylor on one of several different turning points in the 3rd period. Minutes later Josh Prokop and Jake Harrison are both racing into the offensive zone, going for a loose puck. Prokop behind Harrison tries several times to try and go around the West Kelowna defender, before getting around Harrison at the last second. Harrison hits Prokop from behind into the boards. Prokop goes head first into the end boards, was slow getting up, was holding his arm/or either shoulder on his way off. Prokop looked to be in a lot of discomfort was attended to by the team trainer immediately before the two went to the Viper dressing room. The trainer was gone from the bench for several minutes, while Prokop didn't return. Harrison was given two minutes for boarding, before the officials gathered in front of the penalty boxes, after a minor delay Harrison was tossed from the hockey game, given five minutes for checking from behind and a game misconduct. Rylan Ferster and the Warriors bench upset with the call, wanted an explination. After a lengthy delay the game continued. With Vernon on the powerplay, it was the Tribe who jumped on the Snakes shorthanded. Ty Taylor had to be alert was forced into making two big stops before captain Jared Marino was left all alone in the blue paint, somehow couldn't slide the puck in and around Ty Taylor, on a missed opportunity. The Vipers under siege on the powerplay early. Brett Stapley would take a penalty of his own before the Warriors looked to be breaking out on a two on one attack. Spencer Hora almost took Jagger Williamson's head off holding back the Viper captain, clipped Williamson in the mouth with his stick, would head to the penalty box, giving the Snakes a two man advantage. Williamson setup Keyvan Mokhtari on a two on one, but it was Nik Amundrud who come across the blue paint to make an unbelievable stop with the toe-pad robbing Mokhtari in front. Minutes later with Vernon pressing, Jimmy Lambert setup Niko Karamanis on another odd man rush but once again Nik Amundrud sprawled across the crease this time robbing Karamanis. Amundrud with back to back stops, keeping the score from getting out of hand. The Snakes kept pressing, had several good looks, Jimmy Lambert in for the breakaway couldn't beat Nik Amundrud fivehole. The Snakes carried the remainder of the period with full possession of play before the final buzzer. Vernon come away with the 4-2 victory. As the Vipers were coming off the ice, the team was celebrating the win, giving each other high fives, while at the same time, the Warriors skated to centre ice to salute the crowd. One official skated over to the Vernon bench, telling the Snakes to get off the ice. The other referee and linesmen then skated over, giving the Vipers heck for still being on the ice. Several Vipers looked to say something back to the officials, before one official gave someone in the group a misconduct. Jagger Williamson is shown on the boxscore as given a misconduct at the end of the game. The Tribe jumped on the Vipers early, had a few good looks-opportunities couldn't solve Ty Taylor before Jack Judson with a huge goal on the breakaway, gave Vernon a three goal lead. This was big as the Warriors would eventually get a powerplay marker to get within two. For a second straight period, West Kelowna was the better of the two teams. The Warriors playing with more jump/energy, were quicker to the puck, had several good looks-chances. The Snakes looking sluggish early, looked tired, playing their third game in four days. Vernon was caught with the same line on back to back shifts, iced the puck twice before finally able to changing lines. Ty Taylor made several big stops in the 3rd, keeping the Vipers in the contest. Towards the end of the game, a barrage of penalties on both sides, Nik Amundrud kept the Vipers from running up the score, made several fantasic saves late on the penalty kill, or this could have easily been a 6-2-7-2 final. Vernon outshot West Kelowna 14-12.
Top Player's: (Vernon)
Michael Young I thought played a very smart game. Young played well defensively but I really noticed him jumping into the play offensively, was getting pucks to the net, made several smart plays defensively at the blueline. Was very good in the win.
Shane Kelly (1 goal & 1 assist) The big man scored a huge goal early into the 2nd period, giving the Snakes a 2-0 lead. Kelly kept his cool, played very well at both ends of the rink. Made a heads up play in the 2nd after West Kelowna's first goal. Kelly carried the play into the offensive zone, opened up some ice, wich ensued started a scoring chance in front, wich eventually resulted in Brett Stapley's goal, to give Vernon a 3-1 lead.
Josh Prokop (2 goals) I thought was another standout. Was quick on his feet, was hard on the puck, played hard before going heads first into the boards in the 3rd period. I hope Josh is ok. Would be a big loss for the Vipers. Prokop has really come into his own as of late and been one of the more productive forwards on the team.
Jagger Williamson (2 assists) The Viper captain lead by example, played-battled hard all night. Blocked shots, was aggressive on the penalty kill, was in the battles along the boards, made several heads up plays, wich resulted in goals. Competed-battled hard.
Connor Marritt Another kid that stood out/played hard. Created/generated some good opportunities through out the night. Another young kid who has slowly started to come into his own and playing his best hockey of the season.
Jimmy Lambert (1 assist) I thought had several good looks-opportunities through out the game.
Ty Taylor (37 saves) Getting his first start in four games, was solid between the pipes. Made several big stops through out the night. His biggest save was off Willie Reim on a Warriors powerplay. Taylor made the first save before having to come across the blue paint to rob Reim with the big glove save. Was sharp, alert and played with a ton of confidence. Felt bad for the kid on West Kelowna's second goal. Just a tough break.
Game Thought's: (Vernon)
I thought the Vipers played hard, looked good in the opening frame. Opened the scoring-held the lead heading into the 2nd period. It was the 2nd and 3rd periods where Vernon looked to be running out of gas. Playing their third game in four nights, the Vipers looked sluggish at times, were hemmed in their own end at times, somehow managed to battle through it, scored three big goals at key times in the game, to change the momentum. Shane Kelley's goal early into the 2nd period, Brett Stapley's goal late in the middle frame and Josh Propkop's goal early into the 3rd were all game changers. I thought the penalty kill was good-played well, managed to kill off four out of five minors. How big was Ty Taylor at times? Made several large saves at key times in the game, when the team was struggling, managed to keep his mates in the game. Some strange calls from the officials tonight. I didn't think Michael Lombardi deserved the penalty shot in the 3rd, Lombardi was able to get off a shot on the breakaway, you could have given Kelly a two minute minor. I also didn't understand why Coleton Bilodeau had to help serve Niko Karamanis's penalty in the opening period. I was confused on that call. Why didn't Karamanis sit for the full four minutes? The Vipers come home winning three of the four games on their four game road trip, get a huge victory/two points after the Smoke Eaters loss in Merritt and Salmon Arm's win in Wenatchee. Give the Vipers credit for responding with back to back wins on the road after a 2-1 loss in Wenatchee Wednesday. Vernon shutouts Division leading Trail last night, to pass the Smoke Eaters in the standings. Vernon gets home around 3:30am and then playing their third game in four days, pull out a huge 4-2 win in West Kelowna, in a rink where the Warriors have been very strong on home ice this season. The Snakes improve to 4-0 vs West Kelowna this season. With the win Vernon improves to 19-6-0-4 sit atop the Interior Division and first overall through out the league.
Top Player's: (West Kelowna)
Jake Harrison I thought had a heck of a game on the WK blueline before being tossed in the 3rd period. Harrison carried the puck often, jumped into the play, created/generated several good looks-opportunities. A tough play-hit on Josh Prokop in the 3rd, something you don't want to see happen to anyone.
Jordan Todd Caught my attention, played with a ton of jump/energy, was a spark plug for the Warriors. Never quit skating, was involved in the play, showed a lot of hustle, worked-played hard through out the night.
Chase Dubois (1 assist) Played well, was stopped on a 2nd period breakaway, another kid that plays hard, not the biggest kid, but always in and around the net.
Chase Stephenson (1 goal & 1 assist) The former Vipers forward picked up two points in the loss. Had several good looks-chances, played with a ton of speed, is quick on his feet, has good hands, can create/generate opportunities in a hurry. Always dangerous with the puck.
Jared Marino (1 assist) The Warriors captain, had a strong night. Was left all alone in the crease late in the 3rd somehow couldn't bury his chance, would have cut the Vernon lead to a goal. A big body, plays physical, leads by example.
Nik Amundrud (36 saves) Made his biggest stops late in the contest with the Vipers on the powerplay. Made two unstoppable saves off Keyvan Mokhtari and Niko Karamanis at point blank ranges. This game-score could have got out of hand if it wasn't for some big stops late in the 3rd.
Game Thought's: (West Kelowna)
I thought the Warriors played hard, held their own against the Vipers in the 1st period. Other then being down a goal after twenty minutes, I thought WK had some looks-opportunities, were fairly evenly matched with Vernon. In the 2nd and 3rd it was when West Kelowna stepped up their play or was it the Vipers just running out of gas? Either way the Tribe were very aggressive, had several looks-chances, couldn't solve Ty Taylor. West Kelowna outplayed-outworked Vernon in that middle frame, only managed the lone goal. Giving up the goal just 1:20 after cutting the Viper lead to 2-1 the Warriors allow Vernon to regain that two goal lead with five minutes remaining in the 2nd. Down 3-1 then give up a crucial goal just two minutes into the final frame, find themselves down three goals just minutes into the 3rd. WK has to now try and battle back, get within two but couldn't get any closer. I thought the Warriors were the better team at times in both the final two periods, needed a save on either Vernon's 3rd or fourth goal. The Tribe played without a lead the entire night, was playing catch up hockey all night. Playing the top team down three goals is going to be hard fighting back. A pretty decent size crowd on hand for the Warriors, on parents weekend. Warriors wearing their third jerseys tonight. This being the Vipers first game in West Kelowna this season, I really like the new additions added to Royal Le Page Place. I like the new VIP-lounge area, along with the new beer and wine tables. I also like the new signs-logos added through out the rink. West Kelowna who has been very hard to beat on home ice, falls to 11-4 at home remain in 5th place in the Interior Division drop to 16-11-1-0
Scratches:
Vernon:
Tanner Wishnowski (Injured)
Jordan Sandhu (Injured)
West Kelowna:
Matt Kowalski
Bennett Norlin
Parm Dhaliwal (Injured)
Energy Player of the Game:
Jared Marino (1 assist)
Three Star's:
1st Star: Brett Stapley (1 goal & 1 assist)
2nd Star: Michael Ryan (1 assist)
3rd Star: Josh Prokop (2 goals)
Boxscore-Game Summary,
http://bchl.ca/stats/game-summary/8079
Trevor Miller's West Kelowna Warrior's Blog,
https://westkwarriors.wordpress.com/
Game Report,
https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=bchl&game_id=8079
Text Boxscore,
https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/text-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=bchl&game_id=8079
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