I was at tonight's Vipers-Centennials game as Vernon defeated Merritt 5-2 in front of 1,964 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Max Palaga
Merritt: Ryan Winter
Tonight's game didn't start until around 8:25ish due to the Centennials bus breaking down and Merritt getting to Kal Tire Place late.
1st Period: About thirty seconds into the hockey game, newly acquired Josh Kagan tried setting up Thomas Manty on a Centennials odd man rush, but Manty just missed the net on an early scoring chance for the visiting Merritt Centennials. The Vipers responded with a quick push back shift. With a ton of pressure in the offensive zone, the Snakes moved the puck around, had some good looks before Landon Fuller's shot hit traffic in front of the goal, before Ben Sanderson wacked away at the loose puck at the top of the crease, before Keigo Hachisuka buried the rebound, getting his first career BCHL goal, giving Vernon an early 1-0 lead at 0:53 Fuller and Sanderson with the helpers. The Vipers continued to pour on the forecheck and offensive attack, were swarming the offensive zone. With the Centennials back on there heels, Elan Bar-Lev-Wise with a clear shot from the circle forced Ryan Winter into making a tough save. On the following play/shift Connor Marritt setup Vernon product Matt Kowalski on an odd man rush, giving Vernon a 2-0 lead at 5:58 Marritt & Brendan Kim collected the assists. It was all Snakes early as Vernon was outshooting Merritt 6-2 and 9-3 in the first half. Just before the midway mark the Centennials tried sending the high forward in for the breakaway, but Brendan Kim with a solid defensive play, broke up the partial breakaway. About a minute later, the Cents tried to send Wyatt Marlow in for the breakaway, this time Doug Scott with some hustle, made a solid defensive play, as Marlow was still able to get a shot off that would be stopped by Max Palaga. Both Marlow and Scott went crashing into Palaga and the Viper goal on a play Scott may have got away with one. All three players got up but it would be Palaga who looked to be in a little discomfort towards the end of the period, was spotted leaning to one side, placing his catchers glove on his hip/thigh area. Former Kamloops Blazers defenceman Jackson Caller took a puck to the face and was holding his glove over his mouth, in the meantime still on the ice, trying to get to the bench. Caller was finally able to get to the bench and make his way to the dressing room for some assistance. Caller didn't return. Around the halfway mark the Vipers come very close to opening a three goal lead on a wild goal mouth scramble but somehow Ryan Winter was able to track the puck, before smothering the puck/play. Merritt seemed to finally get there legs going and slowly gain some traction in the second half. Newly named captain Rylan Van Unen with a great individual effort, somehow managed to get around the Viper defender before ripping a low hard shot along the ice, that beat former Western Hockey League goaltender Max Palaga five hole, cutting Vernon's lead to 2-1 at 13:45 Wyatt Marlow drew the lone assist. This was a goal I thought Palaga may want back, but then again maybe Palaga was thinking Van Unen was going for the deke, instead wired the low shot along the ice, maybe fooled the Vernon netminder. This goal gave some life to the Merritt bench and a little confidence to the Cents who were outplayed in the first half. Just over three minutes later the Cents tie the game. Thomas Manty's shot would be stopped by Max Palaga, who got a piece of the shot with his glove, that then went up hitting his shoulder and then into the back of the net, tying the game 2-2 at 16:56 Payton Matsui and Troy Quinn collected the assists. It was tied 2-2 after 20 minutes of play. After being shutout in three straight games, the Vipers only needed fifty three seconds to find the back of the net this evening. Vernon gave up an odd man rush off the opening puck drop, before carrying the play, were all over Merritt for most of the first half. The Snakes jumped out to a 2-0 lead looked very good in the first half. The Centennials were outskated and outplayed for most of the first ten minutes, slowly got there legs going, gained some life after getting on the board, slowly started to take control of the hockey game and were the better of the two teams in the second half. Merritt had the Vipers back on there heels on a few occasions, rallied down two goals, to tie the game. I thought the Cents didn't look good at all in the first ten minutes, played much better and looked good in the second half. Merritt was outshot 9-3 at one point outshot Vernon 11-10.
2nd Period: Newly acquired Reilly Herbst started the middle frame, making his Vernon Vipers debut after starting goaltender Max Palaga was on the bench to start the 2nd period. Palaga looked to be in some discomfort after being crashed into about half through the 1st period on a Centennials breakaway, allowed two goals on eleven Merritt shots. Herbst landed in Vernon just hours before tonight's game after a long flight from Colorado. Herbst was tested early off the opening faceoff. Inside the opening minute was forced to make a quick snag with the glove off a shot from the top of the circle and then shortly after had to be alert made a quick reaction save off a wrap around. On the same play/shift Vernon took the puck up ice and on a scramble in front of the Centennials goal, Ryan Shostak buried the loose puck at the top of the blue paint, giving Vernon a 3-2 lead at 1:34 Brett Fudger & Brendan Kim picked up the assists. Jackson Caller returned to the Vipers bench and was sporting a full face shield after taking a puck in the chops in the opening frame. Caller was now wearing jersey #4 with no name bar on the back. Close to five minutes in tempers heated up a little as Doug Scott & Rylan Van Unen got involved in some after the whistle activity as both players got tangled up, threw a few punches at each other, before wrestling with one another. Shortly after former Wenatchee Wild d-man Nicholas Kent would be tossed from the game for checking from behind (I didn't catch the Merritt player who was hit) This sending the Cents to the games first power play. Merritt with very little chances as Vernon killed off the minor. Shortly after Logan Cash on a wrap around couldn't beat Merritt Centennials starting goaltender Ryan Winter as the Snakes tried banging home the loose puck on a goal mouth scramble. Less then two minutes later Connor Sleeth setup Connor Marritt giving Vernon a 4-2 lead at 9:20 Sleeth and Matt Kowalski with the helpers. Minutes past the halfway mark the Vipers would get a four minute PP after Brett Roloson took a double minor for high sticking. Brett Roloson is the son of former NHL goaltender Dwayne Roloson. The Snakes on there first power play of the night, had good pressure early, looked good on the man advantage early. Connor Sleeth with a quality opportunity seconds into the PP. Vernon with several good looks, were moving the puck around, were getting pucks to the net often, creating chances in and around the goal. Merritt would kill off the first two minutes of the double minor. The Vipers then couldn't seem to get much of anything going as the Cents with a very solid penalty kill, were clogging up the neutral zone, giving Vernon all kinds of trouble coming through the neutral zone. Towards the end of the penalty, Payton Matsui & Ben Ward on an odd man rush shorthanded missed the net on a missed opportunity as the Snakes catch a break. Merritt scores here and it's now a one goal game. The Centennials escape and kill off the double minor. Doug Scott would take a puck in the face, couldn't get off while the play was in the Vipers zone. Scott would eventually get off the ice and make his way to the tunnel for some repairs. Scott would be ok and returned later also wearing a full shield. Logan Cash was involved in a lot of chirping as the second year Viper forward was exchanging words with several Centennials through out the game. With just over five minutes left Reilly Herbst was forced to make a big pad save off a quick shot from the circle, one of his bigger saves of the evening. Late in the 2nd period Brett Fudge caught Merritt with a three on one rush. Fudger's shot towards the goal would be redirected in front by Ryan Shostak for his second goal of the game, giving Vernon a 5-2 lead at 18:54 Fudger and Brendan Kim drew the assists. It was 5-2 Vernon after 40 minutes of play. The Snakes carried most of the play, were by far the better of the two teams. The Cents saw a lot of action in there own end. The Vipers with loads of offensive zone time, were buzzing in and around the Merritt goal. Vernon was getting lots of rubber towards the goal, were creating/generating all kinds of looks/opportunities. The Centennials had all kinds of trouble getting out of there own end, didn't see much time in the offensive zone. The Cents struggled offensively this period were outplayed most of the middle frame. I really liked the Snakes effort and game, the Vipers played with a ton of jump/energy were skating hard. The Centennials went at least eight to nine minutes without a shot on goal. Vernon outshot Merritt 20-8.
3rd Period: Just over two minutes into the final frame, Merritt would jump on an early power play. The Cents had a few looks but the Vipers managed to kill off the minor. Less then a minute later tempers heated up as both teams were pushing and shoving in a bit of a scrum deep in the Snakes zone. At least two or three minor scrums broke out in the 3rd as these two teams didn't seem to like one another in there first meeting of the regular season. I don't think Jackson Caller returned to the Vipers bench to start the 3rd period. I didn't notice or see the veteran defenceman on the ice or on Vernon's bench through out the 3rd period. Just minutes before the midway mark Merritt would get it's second power play of the frame. But shorthanded former Kanata Laser Connor Sleeth tried to pull away for the breakaway but the first year Viper forward ran out of gas ended up losing control of the puck, couldn't get a shot off on the PK. Sleeth who was caught on the ice for an extended shift, was gassed making his way to the Viper bench. Vernon would kill off the minor. With about five minutes remaining Elan Bar-Lev-Wise with a quick shot from the left circle forced Ryan Winter into flashing the leather, making a nice glove save. Inside the final minute the Snakes would get a late power play to finish the game. With only sixteen ticks left on the game clock, the Vipers wired a few shots from the blueline but no real scoring chances before the final buzzer as Vernon defeats Merritt 5-2. With the Snakes leading by three goals, I think Vernon took there foot off the gas at times as Merritt carried the play at times. Neither team with real any quality chances other then the odd one here and there. The Cents had a few looks but no real quality opportunities. Both teams didn't get a lot of rubber towards the net. With not a lot of action, both teams carried the play at times. The Centennials had a slight edge in play at times. Tempers did heat up a bit with at least two or three scrums in the period. This wasn't much of a period with not a lot of action at either end of the rink. Merritt outshot Vernon 6-4.
Top Player's: (Vernon)
Landon Fuller (1 assist) I thought Fuller was physical, finished his checks, made his presence felt on the Viper blueline. Chipping in with an assist on the games first goal, was also good at both ends of the rink. I have really noticed a difference in Fullers game this young season. Last year he seemed to lose his cool often and take undisciplined penalties. So far this year it seems like he has cooled down and concentrated more on his game.
Ben Helgeson (1 assist) Didn't really do much offensively or get any real scoring chances. It was more his game away from the net I liked. I thought Sanderson did a good job at cutting through the neutral zone, getting the play/puck up ice in a hurry, really opened the ice up, creating more room for his line mates.
The line of Brett Fudger (2 assists), Nicholas Kent/Cameron MacDonald & Ryan Shostak (2 goals) Played real well in the Vipers win. Kent was tossed from the game in the middle frame for a check from behind, saw rookie forward MacDonald fill hos void on this line. I thought this line played very hard, added a bit of edge to the lineup. Finished there checks, were hard on pucks, winning battles/races and competed. They also created/generated opportunities. I thought these three young men played very well together. I watched the Vipers game in Chilliwack Wednesday night online and thought Fudger played a heck of a game and was one of the better Vipers in the loss.
Brendan Kim (3 assists) Had a strong game at both ends of the ice. Kim with three helpers, played very well. Made a strong defensive play in the 1st period, to break up a Centennials partial breakaway. Was involved in the play, was skating hard, seeing the ice well.
Doug Scott I really like this kid and thought this was a great pick up before the regular season started. Scott can carry and move the puck, sees the ice well, likes to get shots off from the point, is solid at both ends of the rink. I thought had a heck of a game on the Snakes blueline. Listening to the Vipers post game show on the drive home, Graham Turnbull mentioned Scott lost four teeth in tonight's hockey game.
Reilly Herbst (14 saves/Shutout) Recently acquired from the USHL yesterday afternoon, the 19 yr old goaltender flew into Kelowna tonight and landed in Vernon just hours before the contest, after a long flight from Colorado. Was the backup netminder when the puck dropped but made his Vernon Vipers debut to start the middle frame. I thought Herbst was solid between the pipes, didn't look out of form, is very well positionally, doesn't give up any rebounds or send/third opportunities, plays his position very well, had a lot of help from his team mates tonight. Stopped all fourteen of Merritt's shots to finish the game with the win.
Game Thought's: (Vernon)
Other then the second half of the opening period I thought the Vipers played very well from start to finish. Of course there was a shift here and there through out the game, but overall I liked Vernon's game tonight. I thought the team showed and played with a lot of jump/energy, were skating hard, going to the net, getting pucks through traffic and to the net, played well together and looked after each other during the scrums/activities after the whistle. This team played and looked more like a team tonight, then they have most of the season. They jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, blew the two goal lead, but didn't panic, instead turned there game around in the second period, scoring three goals to basically put the game away. I thought the middle frame was Vernon's best period of the evening. Give the boys credit who arrived at the rink around 4:30pm only having to sit around and wait for Merritt, who's team bus broke down. After losing four straight and being shutout for three straight games, this was a game the Snakes needed. Tonight was a must win hockey game. At the BCHL Showcase, the Vipers lost 4-0 to a West Kelowna team that had only one win all season. That game should have been a must win for the Vipers. I know the Snakes are near the bottom of the standings, but it's early in the season and these games vs West Kelowna and Merritt are must wins if you want to climb the standings. It was sure nice to see Vernon get the monkey off there back, scoring fifty three seconds into the game. What a huge sigh of relief. I also think this team needed a win to take some of the negativity off there shoulders and gain some confidence. I know a lot of you are going to say, yeah but they beat a Merritt team that is now 2-8 and last in the entire league. Oh I get that but this is a start and a good way to build off of heading into a tough stretch of games. Let's now see how the Vipers respond after a big win like tonight, vs a tough Chilliwack team that just shutout the Snakes 2-0 at home the other night. I liked this team in training camp/the preseason and I'm not going to panic just yet. It's still early and the Vipers have only played ten games. I'm not about to throw in the towel just yet. With a new coach/general manager coming to a team in a new league in a new province, with owners who are entering just there second season as owners of a junior hockey team and 11 players returning from last season, who are now playing for a new coach, things will be a little rocky and not the greatest but let's give this team a little time to adjust, gel, get to know one another and build chemistry. It's going to take some time. I don't think the sky is falling. Has the team struggled offensively? Yes. Has the team been inconsistent? Yes. Has the team not looked very good at times? Yes. But I still think it's a little early to give up on this team just yet. I normally like to give the Vipers at least fifteen or twenty games to see what kind of team we have and what they have done to that point. The Vipers struggled offensively last year and didn't look good at all until after Christmas. Listening to Jason McKee's post game comments on the drive home, he took Max Palaga out of the game after the 1st period due to a minor injury. Palaga has started all ten games for the Vipers this season, I think really needs a night off. That's a lot of hockey for any young goaltender. A great turnout for tonight's game, especially after how poorly the team has played the past few weeks. With the game delayed by almost an hour and a half, lots of fans showed up to the game for a 7pm puck drop and were forced to wait until closer to 8:30pm. Some fans who showed up around 6pm for warmup were stuck at Kal Tire Place for close to two and a half hours. Over half of the fans were already there for warm up. With the win Vernon improves to 4-6-0-0 sit 6th in the Interior Division are four points up on last place Merritt only a point back of West Kelowna. The Vipers wrap up a two game home stand vs 2nd place Chilliwack as the two teams meet for a second time in four days.
Top Player's: (Merritt)
Rylan Van Unen (1 goal) Was named captain this morning. The veteran forward opened the scoring for the Centennials, looked good with the puck. Was hard to defend against, created/generated a few opportunities.
Thomas Manty (1 goal) Was another forward who caught my attention, was skating, moving the puck, had some looks/chances through out the game.
Wyatt Marlow (1 assist) Had some looks/opportunities, has a quick release, played well in the loss.
Game Thought's: (Merritt)
Shortly after 5:30pm word was out that the Centennials were having bus troubles and going to be late for tonight's game. Word at that time was the game was going to start at 8pm but the Centennials bus didn't arrive until sometime after 7pm. The game didn't start until close to 8:25ish and with the late start, lots of fans made there way home after the 2nd period with the Vipers holding a 5-2 lead. I think it was either last year or the year before when the Centennials bus broke down on there way to Vernon and the game was delayed. The affects of getting to the rink late, having to jump into gear and on the ice asap, it showed early as Vernon was the better team in the first half of the 1st period. The Centennials didn't seem to have there legs going and didn't gain any kind of traction until the second half of the opening frame. At this point the Cents were down two goals and outshot 9-3 but showed some character by rallying back to tie the game and take a one shot lead in shots heading into the middle frame. It was the 2nd period where Merritt fell apart, let the game slide away. The Snakes with three second period goals, took a 5-2 lead heading into the 3rd and Merritt couldn't recover. The Cents with two 3rd period power plays, didn't create/generate much for offence in the final frame, had troubles getting pucks and traffic to the net. I spotted around five or six Centennials fans at the game. The Centennials remain winless on the road have lost three straight and have one win in there last six games. With the loss Merritt falls to 2-8-0-0 sit last in the entire league standings with only two wins. The Cents return home tomorrow to host the Nanaimo Clippers.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Ben Sanderson
Colby Feist
Jack Glen
I heard all three Vipers scratches are injured
Merritt:
Olson Werenka
Issac Alvarado
Energy Player of the Game:
Landon Fuller (1 assist)
Three Star's:
1st Star: Brendan Kim (3 assists)
2nd Star: Connor Marritt (1 goal & 1 assist)
3rd Star: Ryan Shostak (2 goals)
Boxscore-Game Summary,
https://bchl.ca/stats/game-summary/9281
Game Report,
https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=bchl&game_id=9281
Text Boxscore,
https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/text-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=bchl&game_id=9281
Please feel free to leave a suggestion or comment below, in the comment box at the bottom of this post. I always enjoy and post all comments. Thank you for your comments and visiting my blog.
Here are some photo's I took before and during tonight's Vipers/Centennials game,
2 comments:
This is posted on the Vipers website:
After the Buzzer – Vipers Rebound With 5-2 Win Over Merritt
October 12, 2019
Vernon, BC: Keigo Hachisuka scored his first BCHL goal and Ryan Shostak pitched in a pair as the Vipers defeated the Merritt Centennials 5-2.
The Vipers ended their scoreless drought in the first minute of the game as Keigo Hachisuka banged home a rebound for his first BCHL goal. They would increase their lead as Matt Kowalski finished off a 2 on 1 by ripping home a Connor Marritt pass to make it 2-0 by the 6 minute mark. The Cents responded in the final half of the period. Rylan Van Unen cut the lead in half on a partial breakaway. Thomas Manty tied the game up in the last few minutes to make it 2-2 after 1 period.
The Vipers had to make a change in goal as Max Palaga removed from the game and being a bit banged up after a collision in the first period. Newly acquired goaltender Reilly Herbst came in relief and shut the door the rest of the way. The Vipers out shot the Cents 20-8 in the period. They were able to get the lead back as Brett Fudger set up Ryan Shostak for his first of the night and the eventual game winner. A scramble midway thru the period saw Connor Marritt poke home a loose puck in front to make it 4-2. The Fudger, Shostak connection reconnected late in the period as Brett Fudger shot from a rebound and it came in the form of Shostak who slammed it home to make it 5-2.
The Vipers didn’t allow much in the third surrendering just 6 shots on goal. The ones that did get through were stopped by Herbst. The Vipers did a great job of blocking shots and preventing quality opportunities. When the horn finally sounded the Vipers skated away with a 5-2 victory.
The Vipers will welcome the Chilliwack Chiefs on Saturday night at 6pm.
This is posted on the Centennials website:
Snakes Snap Shutout Streak
October 12, 2019
The Merritt Centennials and the Vernon Vipers clashed for the first time of the season and after a solid start fell by a score of 5-2.
The first period saw the Vipers strike early as a shot from the blueline, bounced back onto the stick of Keigo Hachishuka to make it 1-0 under a minute into the period. The Vipers got another goal from Matt Kowalski on an odd man rush to make it 2-0. Then the Centennials came to play spurred on by their newly minted Captain Rylan Van Unen. Set up by his younger brother Josh, Rylan came wheeling down the left wing side, beat his man with speed to the outside, and slid one low past the left pad of Palago to make it 2-1. Thomas Manty equalized late in the first with a lazer from the left-side half wall that Palaga got a huge chunk of, but the blast had enough on it to get through him and tie that game 2-2. Shots after 1 were 11-10 in favour of the Cents.
The middle frame saw the Vipers begin to pull away. Under 2 minutes in Ryan Shostak of the Vipers tallied to give the Vipers the lead. Then they got a goal from Connor Marritt and another from Shostak to make it 5-2 after 2. Shots were 30-19 Vipers after 2.
The third period saw the teams show how late it was on the night. Not a whole of pucks were directed on net in the final frame. The Cents had a couple chances, but nothing to show for it and the score after 2 would stand up to be the final. Final shots were 34-25 Vernon.
After the game Assistant Coach Derek Sweet Coulter said he liked the effort early on, but the team needs to make some minor adjustments.
“With all the complications with the bus, I really liked our effort in the first. I feel like we still need to clean up some little things defensively, and continue to learn from every game.”
The Cents look to right the ship against the Nanaimo Clippers tomorrow night at the NVMA. Puck drop 7pm.
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