The Vernon Vipers played with the lead from start to finish in all three periods finishing the 2021 Pod season with a 4-3 victory over the West Kelowna Warriors. Vernon outshot West Kelowna 36-22 James Porter Jr made 19 saves in the win, while Zachary Bennett made 32 saves in the loss.
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I watched this afternoon's game online.
ReplyDeleteThe Vipers come out with a lot of jump and were the better team off the opening faceoff. Playing their second game in back to back nights the Warriors got off to a slow start but seemed to get their legs going as the 1st period went on. West Kelowna was down 2-0 but could have easily been tied after hitting a post and crossbar. Vernon was the better team, had a slight edge in play.
The Snakes dominated the 2nd period and were all over the Warriors. Zachary Bennett kept the Tribe in the hockey game as the Vipers could have easily blown this game wide open. Instead it was only 3-0 after two periods. Vernon played and looked very good.
The Warriors with a push back in the final period played their best hockey in the final twenty minutes, got to within a goal late but eventually ran out of time. At times the play was even but at other times the Tribe carried the play and emptied the tanks.
I thought the Vipers played very well in the final game of the 2021 Pod season. Other then last weekends 6-2 loss to Salmon Arm, this Vernon team really played well late in the Pod season. I liked the Vipers game on Friday and again this afternoon. The Snakes struggled vs West Kelowna early in the Pod season but finished off the Pod season winning five in a row over the Warriors. The kids look like they are slowly starting to gel and play well together and slowly putting together some chemistry. It's too bad the season had to end the way it did.
Hunter Donohoe, Jack Glen, Trey Taylor, Tyler Carpendale, Reagan Milburn, Cameron MacDonald, Nicholas Kent & James Porter Jr looked good and played good for the Vernon Vipers.
The Warriors were playing back to back games and it showed early. West Kelowna fell behind 2-0 and couldn't recover. The Tribe didn't get their legs going until around the mid way mark of the 1st period and just couldn't get their game going until the 3rd period. I thought WK was outplayed at times for a lot of the game. The Tribe pushed hard in the 3rd but fell short of a comeback.
Marcus Joughin, Porter Dawson & Zachary Bennett looked good and played good for the West Kelowna Warriors.
I have said this several times during the Pod season. As a long time season ticket holder it's hard to watch the game and see the game online and make comments on players and the game as it is being at the rink, watching the game live and seeing this kids play in person. This is one of the reasons why I didn't do one of my regular game recaps after each game and kept it short. You don't get the same view or the same feel for the game/or players watching the games on your computer compared to watching the games live.
I talked to some Vipers fans who weren't listening to the games on radio or watching the games online or even following the Vipers this season, in both the Okanagan Cup and the 2021 Pod season. Most fans I talked too said the games mean nothing and with the nice weather this spring/summer it was hard to be inside listening or watching the games when their is so much to do outside. Before COVID-19 some fans would leave comments on here after games and give their thought's on the game and or on players etc. I really missed the banter/chatter on here after the games during this Pod season. You the fans, make the blog more interesting when you leave comments and chime in on the team after games.
I would like to take this time to Thank everyone involved in the BCHL whoever you are that helped the league, the teams and the players play hockey this season, no matter if the games didn't mean anything. These games meant the world to the teams, the owners, the players and the coaches. These games also mean a lot to some fans who enjoy watching/or listening to the games no matter if the games mean anything or not.
Congratulations to the Vernon Vipers on winning the Vernon Pod and hopefully look forward to returning to the arena next fall.
Thank you and may you have a great summer,enjoy.
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