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-Rivermen game as Vernon defeated Langley 5-1 in front of 2,529 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Anthony Yamnitsky
Langley: Braedon Fleming
1st Period: The Langley Rivermen used their team speed and quickness early, jumped on the Snakes off the opening faceoff. Just 1:36 into the contest Eric Butte beat Anthony Yamnitsky on the Rivermen's first shot of the night, giving Langley a 1-0 lead at 1:36 Tanner Versluis drew the lone assist. The RivNation would jump out to a quick 2-0 lead in shots, about a minute and a half later the Vipers would get a lengthy five on three. Twenty one seconds into the man advantage Jagger Williamson ties the game 1-1 at 4:33 Michael Ufberg and Cameron Trott collected the helpers. Sixteen seconds later with Vernon still on the powerplay, former Chilliwack Chiefs forward Jesse Lansdell setup captain Jagger Williamson giving Vernon a 2-1 lead at 4:49 Lansdell picked up the assist. Shortly after Michael Ufberg with a strong defensive play, hustled back to stop Nicholas Ponak who was in for the breakaway. Ufberg got back in time to bat the puck away from Ponak before able to getting a shot off. About seven and a half minutes in Michael Young's point shot missed the net, before the puck come off the back boards hitting Braedon Fleming in the back of the leg/pads, was very close to being put into his own goal. Less then a minute later Jordan Sandhu spotted Derek Brown, who beat Braedon Fleming giving Vernon a 3-1 lead at 8:08 The Vipers with three shots-three goals. Sandhu picked up the helper. Two minutes later Langley would jump on their first PP of the evening. The Rivermen unable to capitalize as the Snakes killed off the minor. Seconds after the penalty kill, Mitch Andres setup Derek Brown on an odd man rush, Brown beat Braedon Fleming giving Vernon a 4-1 lead at 12:28 The Vipers with four goals on four shots. Andres drew the lone assist. This was the end of the night for Rivermen starting goaltender Braedon Fleming. Fleming was already making his way to the bench before Chad Cromar even had his mask on. Fleming gave up four goals on four Vernon shots. In the second half Chad Cromar was put to the test, making his biggest save early off Viper captain Jagger Williamson. The Snakes setup Williamson on a three on two attack, Cromar come across the blue paint to make a huge glove save. The Rivermen would get their second powerplay but again come up empty handed. In the final seconds Jesse Lansdell and a Rivermen player exchanged a few wacks on the back of the legs, going to the bench, before Lansdell was pushed into the open gate/Rivermen bench. A minor scrum formed, with several players pushing and shoving. Both players each received two minute minors just seconds before the buzzer. It was 4-1 Vernon after 20 minutes of play. Langley got off to a quick start, used their speed & quickness to jump on Vernon early. The Riv opened the scoring a minute and a half into the game. Just like the Vipers/Chiefs game Wednesday, tonight it was Langley that got into penalty trouble, the Rivermen went down two men, with the Snakes capitalizing in a hurry on both powerplay's to grab their first lead of the night. The Vipers didn't get many quality chances but whatever was thrown towards the goal, went in. The Snakes with four goals on four shots, chased Braedon Fleming from the contest. Specialty teams was the difference with the Vipers going 2-2, while Langley was 0-2 with the man advantage. I thought both teams were fairly even for most of the period, the Vipers just buried their chances. Both teams didn't really get a lot of pucks to the net-quality opportunities. The Riv didn't get any help from their netminder, needing a save or two on the PK. Instead Langley is down three heading into the middle frame. The Rivermen playing with a bit of an edge, levelled two Vipers from behind, with no calls on the play. Langley outshot Vernon 8-7.
2nd Period: The Riv would get an early powerplay, and get some good pressure. Langley firing pucks to the net, either missed the goal or couldn't solve Vipers starting goaltender Anthony Yamnitsky. The Snakes with a big kill early, would kill off the penalty. The Rivermen seemed to have the early jump on Vernon, but once in the offensive zone, struggled with the puck. The Vipers off on their passing early, allowing Langley to break out and gain puck control. Seven and a half minutes in Daneel Lategan blew by Michael Ufberg, going in for the parcial breakaway missed the far corner on a missed opportunity. The Vipers would then jump on back to back powerplays. On a goal mouth scramble in front, Niko Karamanis couldn't connect on a pass in front, looked to have an open cage. The Rivermen would kill off both minors. Mitch Andres got lucky, getting away with a check from behind. Late in the second half Colin Bernard looked to take a high stick off a faceoff, Bernard went down to one knee looking for a call, as the play continued. With Bernard down and out of the play, Jimmy Lambert spotted Brett Stapley in front beating Chad Cromar fivehole giving Vernon a 5-1 lead at 15:02 Lambert collected the assist. Bernard not happy with the non call, went straight to the linesmen pointing at his mouth, before going to an official. Vernon catches a break, no call on the play and the goal stands. Shortly after Jagger Williamson alone at the faceoff dot, ripped a low shot that was swallowed up by Chad Cromar, making a tough save off a Williamson release. Shortly after with the Snakes pressing, Niko Karamanis in front couldn't solve Chad Cromar. The Vipers with some good looks/chances late. With under two minutes remaining Keyvan Mokhtari with a bad-late hit along the side wall, was called for boarding giving Langley a late PP. The Rivermen pressing late forced former Wenatchee Wild goaltender Anthony Yamnitsky into flashing the leather in the dying seconds, making a great glove save off Jayden Lee with 0.8 seconds remaining. It was 5-1 Vernon after 40 minutes of play. I thought the Rivermen carried more of the play early in the frame, had a slight edge in play through out most of the second period. Langley was moving the puck up ice in a hurry, but struggled offensively. It seemed everytime the Riv would get across the Vernon blueline, they froze/didn't know what to do. The Rivermen missed the net often, didn't really create/generate much for offensive opportunities. The Snakes had troubles early with their passing, just couldn't connect on a pass seemed to play a little better towards the second half. I thought the Vipers come on towards the end of the period, had some good looks/quality chances. Vernon outshot Langley 11-7.
3rd Period: About two minutes into the final frame, Eric Butte with a nice spin o rama move forced Anthony Yamnitsky into having to make a quick reaction save with the left pad. A big stop early into the 3rd. About five and a half minutes in Lumby product Jagger Williamson went hard towards the goal, looking for his third goal of the evening, was denied in close after backup goaltender Chad Cromar took a bump from Williamson, somehow kept the puck out. Williamson would get a goaltender interference penalty on the play, wasn't happy with the call on his way to the penalty box. The Vipers with a big PK would kill off the penalty. About a minute or so later Shane Kelly levelled Angus Crookshank inside the Viper blueline, allowing Tanner Versluis to get in behind the play, would be stoned in front after Anthony Yamnitsky made another big stop in the third. Crookshank not happy with the call, picked up a misconduct on the play, sending the Snakes to the man advantage. Just seconds before the penalty expires, Ethan Leyh took a lengthy run towards former Victoria Grizzlie forward Keyvan Mokhtari levelling Mokhtari into the side boards. Shane Kelly was one of the first to jump in, before everyone on the ice gets involved minus the goaltenders. A full on minor brawl erupts with everyone throwing punches, trying to grab onto someone. Mokhtari was lying on the ice during all of this before wasn't seen due to the pile of players involved in the brawl in and around him. After a lengthy delay sorting out the penalties, Leyh would get tossed from the contest, picking up a five minute major for checking from behind. John Wojciechowski, Shane Kelly and Jack Judson would also pick up ten minute misconducts and gone from the game. I didn't notice if Keyvan Mokhtari stayed in the game. Viper Fans disgusted with the hit, were now getting involved calling out Langley players and letting the Rivermen know what they think of them. The Rivermen received a loud chorus of boos after the hit/play. With the Snakes on a five minute major powerplay, the Vipers up four goals, basically passed the puck around and around not wanting to run up the score. Two minutes and fourty three seconds later with the Vipers still on the man advantage, Jesse Lansdell would be stopped in close before a Rivermen player gives Lansdell a crosscheck, then another Langley player gives Lansdell a glove to the face before the two Riv players wrap their arms around Lansdell's head. Several players jump in as everyone is pushing and shoving before one Vernon player starts throwing punches. A second fight breaks out with a linesmen tangled between the two, as all three hit the ice. A Rivermen player then tries egging on Jagger Williamson. By now everyone minus the goaltenders are involved in another donny brook. The Langley bench was fired up as their captain had one leg over the boards, looking to jump into the mix but didn't. Several Rivermen players on the bench were jacked up, banging their sticks along the boards, yelling and screaming towards all the fights/activities on the ice. One linesmen tried sending a Langley player towards the bench and off the ice, while former Vernon Viper assistant coach and current Rivermen assistant coach, along side another member of the Rivermen coaching staff were seen pushing the Rivermen player away from the bench and back onto the ice. Two Langley players on the bench were trying to push the one player that was being tossed, back into the scrum/activities on the ice. Things at this point were now getting ugly as two players were seen teaming up on one player from the opposite team. Fans were now booing the Rivermen, several coarse words were being heard through out the rink. After another lengthy delay, once the penalties were finished being sorted out, Niko Karamanis, Chris Jandric, Jesse Lansdell, Jagger Williamson, Cameron Trott, Coleton Kovich, Brady Berger, Daneel Lategan and Alec Capstick were all given ten minute misconducts and tossed from the game. The Rivermen were down to just seven players and a goaltender remaining on the bench. With the Vipers still on the five minute major penalty, other then a few decent looks and maybe two or three decent opportunities, the Riv were able to kill off the major. With just over a minute remaining the Rivermen weren't finished. Brendan Budy tried going after a Viper defenceman, would be interfered with by a linesmen and then given a ten minute misconduct and tossed from the game. Langley would get a late powerplay, but with no real pressure and less then a minute left, the Rivermen would run out of time. The Vipers would come away with the 5-1 victory. Langley had at least two or three real quality chances early before things got ugly in a hurry. Two separate scrums/line brawls took place. Both started after a brutal hit from behind on Keyvan Mokhtari and the second started after the Rivermen went after Jesse Lansdell while killing a five minute major. Not much of a third period with all the fights/line brawls. I know Mark Ferner doesn't like to run up the score on teams, and it showed again tonight. The Vipers passed the puck around and around, limiting their shots/chances on the five minute major. Vernon up 5-1 basically was running down the clock. Their was no need for the charge/hit from behind and the line brawl/scrum, especially in a 5-1 game. Vernon outshot Langley 9-3.
Top Player's: (Vernon)
Shane Kelly I thought stood up for his team mates on two separate occasions. Kelly was one of if not the first to jump in on two separate occasions. Kelly played physical, laid out some of the bigger hits tonight.
Derek Brown (2 goals) Scored the Vipers 3rd and fourth goals just over four minutes apart, seems to be gaining more confidence as the season goes along. This kid and can skate and shoot the puck. Will be called apon to replace Josh Prokop who is out for the season.
Jagger Williamson (2 goals) The Viper captain returned to the lineup after missing the past three games with a concussion. Scored Vernon's first two goals on the powerplay, sixteen seconds apart. Williamson was skating hard, going to the net, played with a ton of jump/energy. Played hard, didn't back down from the rough stuff in the 3rd.
Jack Judson I thought played a heck of a game on the Snakes blueline. The young rookie d-man looked very confident tonight, was even involved in the scrum/line brawl in the 3rd period.
Anthony Yamnitsky (18 saves) Didn't see a ton of rubber, made the saves when called apon. After giving up the games first goal on Langley's first shot just a minute and a half into the 1st, Yamnitsky bounced back and played well the remainder of the game. Was forced into making at least two big stops early into the 3rd. After losing four straight, has now won back to back games.
Game Thought's: (Vernon)
After giving up the games first goal about a minute and a half into the opening frame, the Vipers seemed to settle down before capitalizing on a lengthy five on three. Two quick back to back goals from captain Jagger Williamson, just sixteen seconds apart, got the crowd into the game, the Vipers into the game and put Langley back on their heels. I wouldn't say Vernon dominated tonight. I thought both teams were fairly even in the opening frame. Both teams didn't get many pucks to the net, or create/generate many opportunities. The Vipers capitalized on their chances and whatever was shot on goal, seemed to go in. I thought Langley had a bit of an edge and carried more of the play early in the 2nd period but the Vipers didn't quit. The Snakes seemed to get better as the period went on and looked good late in the second half. I thought the Vipers had some good looks/chances late in the 2nd were able to head to the 3rd up by four. Things got ugly in the 3rd. A charge/hit from behind on Keyvan Mokhtari quickly turned into a scrum/line brawl, before the Rivermen started a second scrum/line brawl while killing a five minute major. Tempers heated up in a hurry as things escalated. Give Vernon full credit for standing up for their team mates and taking action for the dirty hit/plays the Rivermen were dolling out tonight. I'm not saying the Vipers were perfect in any way, Mitch Andres got away with a check from behind/boarding call that was missed/not called in the 1st, while Keyvan Mokhtari was given a boarding minor in the middle frame on a late/bad hit you don't like to see. I hope the Vipers don't receive any suspensions from any of the altercations from tonight. The Snakes have a big game tomorrow night in Penticton and don't need any players out of their lineup. The Vipers have now won five of their last six home games and nine of their last eleven games on home ice. The Vipers win the regular season series vs Langley going 2-0 vs the Rivermen this season. The Snakes have won three straight and five of their last six games. With the win Vernon remains 2nd in the Interior Division improve to 34-13-1-4 are now eight points up on 4th place Trail after the Smoke Eaters 3-0 loss in Penticton Friday. The Vipers move three points up on 3rd place Wenatchee after the Wilds 4-1 loss in Nanaimo. Vernon is only two points back of Division/League leading Penticton. Both teams will meet for the final regular season meeting, tomorrow in Penticton.
Top Player's: (Langley)
Angus Crookshank Had two goals in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Vipers back in November in Langley was one of if not the Rivermen's best player tonight. I thought Crookshank was dangerous with and without the puck, one of if not Langley's more offensive minded forwards, create's/generates chances.
Daneel Lategan I thought played fairly well in the loss. Was involved in the play often, made things happen now and again. Created/generated a few opportunities.
Chad Cromar (23 saves) Replaced Rivermen starting netminder Braedon Fleming after giving up four goals on four Vernon shots. Cromar come in relief and was forced to make a big stop off Jagger Williamson on a Viper three on two attack, made several key saves through out the remainder of the game. Didn't get much offensive support tonight.
Game Thought's: (Langley)
The RivNation used their speed and quickness early, to open the scoring on their first shot of the game just 1:36 into the 1st period. Langley would get into penalty trouble early, surrendered two quick back to back powerplay goals, fell behind in a hurry and couldn't recover. The Rivermen were down 4-1 after the first period. Langley didn't fold the tents, pressed early to start the 2nd carried the better of the play early, had troubles finding their offence. The Riv struggled offensively, had troubles creating/generating opportunities. Langley was a step ahead of the Vipers early, then had troubles defending against Vernon's speed/skill. As the game went on it was now the Rivermen who were a step behind Vernon. Langley plays with an edge and got away with at least two check from behinds/boarding penalties that weren't called in the 1st were physical but crossed the line on several hits tonight. Langley played with an edge and come close/crossed the line on several hits. The Riv players entering the penalty box, were very upset with most calls, looked to be very angry/hyper. Things got very ugly in the 3rd with a brutal hit charge/hit from behind. Ethan Leyh charged-then hit Keyvan Mokhtari from behind, started a full on scrum/line brawl. This was a play you don't want to see in a hockey game. The Rivermen didn't quit, then looking for more, started a second scrum/line brawl while killing off a penalty. Two players went after Jesse Lansdell before everyone got involved, minus the goaltenders. I was in shock when one linesmen was trying to force a Langley player towards the Rivermen bench and off the ice, when Chris Shaw and another member of the Riv coaching staff, were yelling and screaming, pointing at this player to get back into the activities/line brawl. Assisntant coach Chris Shaw was then shoving the player back towards the melay on the ice, when two or three other Rivermen players on the bench were pushing the same player back towards the brawl. Langley's captain was even looking to jump over the boards and join in, having one leg over the bench, but decided to stay on the bench. It's been a while since I've seen something like this at a Vipers game and something that shouldn't be in hockey. I'm all for fighting and a good fight/scrap but not into dirty hits/teams/players trying to injury other players or wanting to start line brawls. Bobby Henderson and the Rivermen coaching staff should have had better control of their hockey team, not trying to push players back out into the scrum/brawl when he should have been making his way to the dressing room. Langley showed no class and disrespect to their opponents. This seems to be nothing new for the Rivermen. After a 7-2 loss in Wenatchee last Saturday, the Riv took three straight penalties in the 3rd and not just your average penalty. Slashing, crosschecking etc. On February 2nd the Rivermen lost 8-1 in Trail and looking at the boxscore/game summary the same kind of antics that happened tonight, looked to have taken place that night in Trail. A lengthy penalty report that night with one Langley player receiving a spearing penalty in the 2nd period before a brawl come the 3rd period with suspensions on both sides. On January 27th after a 3-2 loss in Chilliwack a fairly lengthy penalty report come the 3rd period. The Rivermen are second in the league with penalties, have 816 penalty minutes this season, second behind the Cowichan Capitals (836). Langley finishes their four game road trip going 0-4 have lost six straight on the road, have just two wins in their last fifteen road games. Langley has now lost four straight, has just three wins in their last eleven games. With the loss Langley remains in 3rd at 21-18-10-2 are two points up on Chilliwack, one point back of Surrey and ten points back of Division leading Prince George.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Josh Prokop (Out for the season)
Coleton Bilodeau
Langley:
Jordan Dawson
Sean Gulka
Carter Stephenson
Energy Player of the Game:
Jesse Lansdell (1 assist)
Three Star's:
1st Star: Jagger Williamson (2 goals)
2nd Star: Derek Brown (2 goals)
3rd Star: Anthony Yamnitsky (18 saves)
Boxscore/Game Summary,
http://bchl.ca/stats/game-summary/8279
Game Report,
https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=bchl&game_id=8279
Text Boxscore,
https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/text-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=bchl&game_id=8279
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