West Kelowna 6 Vernon 1

I was born and raised in Vernon, BC and been watching/following Junior hockey in Vernon my whole life. My family watched Senior men's hockey in Vernon in the 1950's and has been watching Junior hockey in Vernon since it started in 1961. I have two family members that played Junior hockey in Vernon. I have had season tickets since 1990 and missed 5 home games since 2004 and 46 home games since 1990. I'm not a journalist, writer, reporter or work for the Vernon Vipers. I do this blog as a hobby and in my own personal time. I started and created this blog in November 2008 and have over 2.1 million viewers. For anyone who couldn't attend or watch today's Vipers game, here are my thought's and views from this afternoon's game. You may agree or disagree with me but we all have our own opinion on the hockey game. I try to be professional and give a fare game recap from both sides. Thank you for visiting my blog.

I was at today's Vipers-Warriors game as West Kelowna defeated Vernon 6-1 in front of 1.114 fans at Royal LePage Place.

Starting Goaltenders:

Vernon Vipers: Roan Clarke
West Kelowna Warriors: Johnny Derrick

1st Period: The Vipers would start of the hockey game on an early power play. Vernon would get the games first PP 1:07 into the opening frame. The Snakes struggled offensively and with the man advantage. Late in the PP John Evans would be left all alone in front of the goal, tried to deke out Roan Clarke but the Viper netminder come up with a large save as the Warriors kill off an early penalty. Just over a minute later, the Warriors would get their first PP of the afternoon. The Vipers would get caught on a bad line change, only had two skaters on the ice before Tyler Cristal capitalized on the man advantage just fifty seconds into the PP, giving West Kelowna an early 1-0 lead at 5:14 John Evans and Nicolas Ardanaz picked up the assists. The Tribe were outshooting the Snakes 6-2 at this point. Two and a half minutes later, Nick Roukounakis with a good look in front, would be denied by Roan Clarke. About a minute and a half later, Ayden Third's shot from the point, got through bodies in front, forced former Vernon Vipers goaltender Johnny Derrick into making a quick left pad save on a shot I don't think he saw right away. Just past the midway mark, the Warriors caught Vernon's defence napping, would spring former Trail Smoke Eaters forward Chase Dafoe in for the breakaway, but Dafoe would shoot up and over the net, missing on an opportunity to grab a 2-0 lead with about eight minutes remaining in the opening period. Towards the end of the period, Luke Lavery would be left alone at the side of the net, would be stopped in close by Johnny Derrick before beating Derrick on the rebound, tying the game 1-1 at 18:34 Lavery's goal was unassisted. It was 1-1 after 20 minutes of play. WK was the better team and carried the better of the play. The Tribe with a good transition game, used their speed and skill to create open ice. West Kelowna didn't get a whole lot of chances but had some good looks and were getting pucks to the net and generating some offence. The Vipers were outplayed for a lot of the 1st period, didn't have much puck possession or zone time, did seem to find their game late in the period and generate a few looks but very limited chances, did get some zone time in the final three or four minutes. West Kelowna outshot Vernon 13-7.

2nd Period: Inside the opening minute, Cade McNelly took a big hit inside the Viper blueline and wasn't thrilled with the check. McNelly quickly returned to his feet and raced towards the end boards to level a huge elbow to the head on a Warriors player, no where near the play. McNelly was given two minutes for a blow to the head and an automatic ten minute misconduct. This was a very stupid, selfish and undisciplined penalty to take, giving the Warriors an early power play. The Snakes with a very good PK managed to escape and kill off the penalty. 1:04 later Vernon would head back to the box, giving WK back to back power play's. Another strong PK and the Vipers kill off a second straight penalty. Two big penalty kills for the visiting Vernon Vipers early to start the 2nd period. Just over two minutes later the Vipers get hemmed in their own end. Luke Ashton has three opportunities to clear the zone and doesn't before Charles-Alexis Legault gives West Kelowna a 2-1 lead at 8:39 Christophe Farmer and John Evans drew the helpers. Less then two minutes later, on a Vernon turnover Marcus Joughin snapped a wicked shot from the circle beating Roan Clarke top shelf, knocking the water bottle off the top of the netting, giving West Kelowna a 3-1 lead at 10:36 Nicolas Ardanaz and Brennan Nelson collected the assists. The Tribe would get their third PP about two and a half minutes later and capitalize. Tyson Jugnauth beat Vernon Vipers starting goaltender Roan Clarke from in close as the puck barely crossed the goal line, giving West Kelowna a commanding 4-1 lead at 13:38 Nicolas Ardanaz & Tyler Cristal drew the assists. Twenty seconds later, Nick Roukounakis gave West Kelowna a 5-1 lead at 13:58 as the wheels were coming off for the Snakes. Brennan Nelson and Dylan Brooks picked up the helpers. I thought maybe this would be the end of the night for Roan Clarke, who stayed in the hockey game. Twenty three seconds later, the hometown Warriors would get called for too many men on the ice. Thirty four seconds into the power play, the Tribe would take another penalty, giving Vernon a lengthy two man advantage. Warriors starting netminder Johnny Derrick would make at least two or three big stops while on the PK but none bigger then off Talon Zakall as the second and final penalty ended. The Vipers with good pressure, had some looks, couldn't solve West Kelowna's goaltender. WK would kill off both minors. Inside the final minute of play, Cameron MacDonald tried setting up Ryan Shostak on an odd man rush, but the Snakes failed to hit the net, on a missed opportunity. In the dying seconds, the Vipers sprung Luke Buss in for the breakaway, would be denied by Johnny Derrick just seconds before the buzzer. Vernon with two very good opportunities late, couldn't get back into the game. It was 5-1 West Kelowna after 40 minutes of play. For a second straight period, the West Kelowna Warriors were the better team and outplayed the Vipers. The Snakes with some undisciplined penalties, saw a lot of if not most of the period in their own end, had troubles with the Warriors speed and skilled forwards. The Tribe capitalized on their chances and basically put the game away, with four goals. Vernon struggled most of the period, especially defensively. The Vipers coughed up or turned over pucks way too many times and it cost them. Not a very good period. The Snakes generated some late offensive chances on a late five on three PP and inside the final minute, but the game was already 5-1 at this point. West Kelowna outshot Vernon 12-9.

3rd Period: Inside the opening minute, Tyson Jugnauth setup Marcus Joughin on an odd man rush. The two couldn't get a shot off tried dishing it back to a player joining the rush, who would be denied by Roan Clarke. Inside the opening minute, former Viper forward and current Warriors captain Elan Bar-Lev-Wise would take a high sticking minor, sending Vernon to an early man advantage. The Snakes struggled with the PP, managed only one shot as WK killed off the minor. Just over two minutes later, the Vipers went back to the PP but once again, struggled and again only managed one shot on goal. JoJo Tanaka-Campbell got behind the Tribe's defence but rang his shot off the post on a good opportunity as the Warriors killed off the penalty. Twenty four seconds after the penalty expired, Christophe Farmer was alone at the side of the net, gave West Kelowna a commanding 6-1 lead at 7:39 Brennan Nelson & Tyler Rubin collected the assists. Just past the halfway mark, Matthew Culling with a quality chance at the side of the net, couldn't solve Johnny Derrick. A few minutes later, Luke Buss with a good look, would be stopped by Johnny Derrick. Tyler Rubin went down along the side wall inside the Warriors blueline. I didn't see what happened, but Rubin got up on his own and was holding his mouth. He needed some attention from the trainer on the bench as he was bleeding. The officials gathered on the following stopage of play, but no penalty was handed out. West Kelowna would come away with the 6-1 victory. With a 5-1 lead heading into the final frame, the Warriors took their foot off the gas as Vernon was the better team, carried the better of the play for a lot of the period. The Vipers with two early power play's to start the period, managed just two shots and hit a goal post, needed to capitalize on both power play's to try and generate some kind of momentum and comeback. Vernon had a few good looks during the final twenty minutes, but Johnny Derrick was solid between the pipes. The Warriors didn't have a lot of puck possession, were probably sitting on a 6-1 comfortable lead. WK did generate some chances but saw a lot of the period in their own end. Vernon outshot West Kelowna 7-4.

Top Player's: Vernon Vipers

Luke Lavery (1 goal) Was the lone bright spot for the Snakes. I thought played with a lot of energy, was the only real forward that stood out.

Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers

Heading into today's game the Vipers had to win both of their two final regular season games and hope the Cranbrook Bucks lost their final regular season game, if they wanted to pass Cranbrook and move into 5th place and face the Prince George Spruce Kings in the opening round of the BCHL playoffs. A loss this afternoon and the Vipers would finish 6th in the Interior Conference and face the 3rd place West Kelowna Warriors. Knowing that, you would have expected a much better effort today, instead of the game I saw. A very dissapointing effort, game and outcome in what was such a big game. Sure the Vipers played last night and the Warriors haven't played since Friday but that's all part of the game and playing hockey. Sometimes you come out on the long end of the stick and other times you come out on the short end of the stick. The Vipers were outplayed, outskated, outworked and overpowered for most of today's contest. This game wasn't close and the Vipers were never in this hockey game. Vernon gave up an early power play goal and had to chase for the remainder of the game. The Vipers had troubles gaining puck possession, zone time and generating quality chances. Vernon didn't get a whole lot of pressure in the offensive zone. It seemed like anytime the Snakes got across the Tribes blueline, it was a quick in and out possession. The Vipers didn't look good defensively, had troubles with West Kelowna's speed and skilled forwards who forced the Viper defence into turning over pucks, making mistakes in their own end and being forced into chasing the game. Any opportunity the Snakes did generate, they either missed the net or couldn't solve Johnny Derrick. The Vipers can't compete vs the Warriors. I'm very dissapointed in Cade McNelly. After returning from a four game suspension last night, the Viper defenceman gets hit in his own end and instead of getting up and joining the play, he takes a good lengthy run at the player that hit him and levels him into the end boards with an elbow to the head. McNelly was given a blow to the head minor and an automatic ten minute misconduct. This kid is a liability and will cost the Vipers a game or games in the playoffs taking stupid, selfish and undisciplined panlties like this. If I was Jason McKee I would sit McNelly for the remainder of the season. A good turnout of Viper fans, made the trip up for today's game. The loss snaps Vernon's three game winning streak. The Vipers have won three of their last five games and won seven of their last eleven games. With the loss, the Vipers fall to 26-20-4-3 Vernon will finish 6th in the Interior Conference and play the West Kelowna Warriors in the opening round of the BCHL playoffs. The Warriors dominated the regular season series and should handle the Vipers in the playoffs. The Snakes will finish the 2021-22 regular season on Wednesday vs the visiting Trail Smoke Eaters.

Top Player's: West Kelowna Warriors

Charles-Alexis Legault (1 goal) Played a heck of a game on the Tribe's blueline. A big body that can move the puck and also jump into the rush and join the attack. Was dangerous on the backend and hard to play against.

Nicolas Ardanaz (3 assists) Ardanaz was an affiliated player with the 2018-19 Vernon Vipers, had previously committed to the Vernon Vipers in 2018 before committing to the West Kelowna Warriors in 2019. Had a heck of a game vs his former team today. Played very well for the Warriors.

Brennan Nelson (3 assists) Also picked up three helpers in the Tribe's victory. Nelson was in on the rush and involved in the play through out the hockey game.

John Evans (1 assist) Was hard to contain and defend against now and again, played well.

Tyler Cristal (1 goal & 1 assist) Played very well. Was hard to defend against, another forward that was involved in the play often.

Tyson Jugnauth (1 goal) Was another West Kelowna d-man that plays well almost every game, especially against Vernon. 

Christophe Farmer (1 goal & 1 assist) Is a good skater and skilled forward that was hard to defend against, also involved in the play a lot.

Johnny Derrick (22 saves) Didn't see a ton of rubber often but when was faced was solid in goal for the Warriors. Derrick is another former Viper that was an affiliated player with the 2018-19 Vernon Vipers. Derrick plays his position well, doesn't give up many second or third opportunities.

Game Thought's: West Kelowna Warriors

The West Kelowna Warriors were playing for team pride today after clinching 3rd place with their 5-3 victory over Salmon Arm on Thursday. The Tribe was now waiting to find out who they would face in the opening round of the BCHL playoffs. One of the hottest teams as of late, were looking for a franchise record eighth straight win. The Warriors were the better team and outplayed the Vipers for most of the afternoon. WK's speed, skill and defensive game was the difference. The Warriors capitalized on their chances and forced Vernon into coughinh up or turning over pucks through out the contest. West Kelowna played very well and looked very good. The Warriors with one of their best teams since moving from Langley in 2006 are one of the league's top teams this season and it shows. WK had more puck possession, zone time, shots, opportunities and fully deserved the win. This team plays hard, competes and is hard to play against. Knowing the Warriors had a possibility of facing Vernon in the playoffs, I'm sure they wanted to send the Vipers a message. I thought the Warriors defence played very well, shutting down Vernon's forwards, taking away time and space and limiting the Vipers zone time. The Tribe have had a very good season and playing very well down the stretch and will be a handfull for the Vipers in the playoffs. I don't see this matchup-series being close and lasting very long. When arriving at Royal LePage Place, I was surprised to see a huge lineup of fans waiting to buy tickets. Normally not a big draw with the Rockets in town but a great turnout this afternoon. The Warriors win the regular season series vs Vernon 4-1 If you include the preseason, the Warriors went 5-2 vs Vernon this season. West Kelowna will have home ice advantage vs the Vipers in the playoffs with Game 1 going April 1st in West Kelowna. The Warriors have won a franchise record eight straighth win and have won ten of their last eleven games and thirteen of their last fifteen games. With the win, the Warriors improve to 35-16-1-0 West Kelowna will finish 3rd in the Interior Conference. 

Scratches:

Vernon Vipers:

Liam Cavan (Injured)
Max Borovinskiy
Jack Glen
Seiya Tanaka-Campbell (Injured)

West Kelowna Warriors:

Damon Jugnauth
Felix Trudeau (Suspended)
Pat Lawn

Three Star's:

1st Star: Brennan Nelson (3 assists)
2nd Star: Nicolas Ardanaz (3 assists)
3rd Star: John Evans (1 assist)

Energy Player of the Game:

Charles-Alexis Legault (1 goal)

Boxscore-Game Summary,

| BCHL League Site

Game Report,

Game Report (hockeytech.com)

Text Box Score,

Official statistics powered by LeagueStat.com (hockeytech.com)

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Here are some photo's I took before and during today's Vipers-Warriors game.