Vipers Stop Vees:

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Vipers stop Vees

Morning Star Staff

If the road to the Fred Page Cup championship ends up going through Penticton, the Vernon Vipers are certainly stoked about taking that route.

The Vipers stopped the Vees 5-2 before 3,350 fans Saturday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre to win the season series with two wins, a loss and a tie.

The longtime B.C. Hockey League rivals share the B.C. Hockey League and Interior Division lead with 75 points. Vernon has five games left, Penticton seven. The defending champion Wenatchee Wild are two points back with five games to play.

The Vipers face a three-game road trek to the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island, starting Friday in Powell River. They close the regular season the following weekend with home tilts against Wenatchee and the fourth-place Trail Smoke Eaters.

The Vees have a home and-home with the Coquitlam Express, who will likely gain the final crossover playoff berth and take on the Interior champions in first-round action. Penticton also battles the red-hot Salmon Arm Silverbacks twice while also meeting Wenatchee, Langley Rivermen and Surrey Eagles.

"I thought we played them (Vees) well all year," said Vernon assistant coach Kevin Kraus. "We had the one game with a disallowed goal. It was a good confidence booster for us beating the top team in our division. We have another big test with Wenatchee and Trail next weekend."

Kraus says the Vipers naturally covet first place and home-ice advantage through the post-season, but they are even with the Vees in road wins.

If the Vipers finish second, they will open the playoffs in a best-of-seven series with the Interior's seventh and last seed wich is currently the Merritt Centennials.

The Vipers opened the scoring halfway through the first period Saturday after a shot from the right-wing boards deflected up in the airand landed right in front of Adam Scheel. Niko Karamanis was in the right place at the right time and fired the puck over Scheel's glove 9:51 into the period.

Early in the second, the Vipers come out flying and pressured the Vees until Cameron Trott's shot from the right circle went off Michael Camploi and barely over the goal line just 75 seconds into the middle frame. The Vees answered off a turnover in the Vipers zone.