Game Recap - Salmon Arm 4 Vernon 0

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 started and created this blog in November 2008 and have over 2.6 million viewers. For anyone who couldn't watch or attend tonight's Vipers game, here are my thoughts and views from tonight's hockey game. You may agree or disagree, but we all have our own opinion on the hockey game and see things differently. I try to be professional and give a fare game recap from both sides. Thank you for visiting my blog.

I was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-Salmon Arm Silverbacks game as the Silverbacks defeated the Vipers 4-0 in front of a sellout crowd (1,947) at the Shaw Centre.

Starting Goaltenders:

Vernon Vipers: Ethan David

Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Eli Pulver

1st Period: The Silverbacks jumped on the Vipers early and often and were the better team for at least the first half. Ty Paisley opened the scoring, just twenty seven seconds into the hockey game. The Backs carried the better of the play for at least the first seven to eight minutes, had more puck possession, zone time and shots on goal. Salmon Arm was leading in shots 9-3 at the midway mark of the 1st period. Salmon Arm's speed and skilled forwards were the difference, giving the Snakes trouble most of the period. Isaac Lambert was denied on a breakaway, while the Silverbacks missed the net on a clear two on one rush. Vernon had troubles defending against the Apes speed and skilled players also had troubles gaining zone time and getting pucks to the net. The Snakes went several minutes without a shot on goal, had troubles gaining traction and getting anything going. I thought Vernon seemed to slowly get their game going in the second half and played a little better towards the end of the period. The Vipers missed what looked like an open net on a nice three way passing play, did manage to generate/and create some chances late in the opening frame. Vernon really needed to convert on one of their chances late in the period, to get back in the hockey game. The Vipers with a costly penalty late in the period, fell behind 2-0 with just over a minute remaining. Salmon Arm went 1-1 with the power play. It was 2-0 Salmon Arm after 20 minutes of play. The Silverbacks outshot the Vipers 15-8.

2nd Period: The Snakes responded with a much better period. Vernon played well and was the better team for most of the middle frame. The Vipers carried a lot of the play, had loads of time in the offensive zone, had some looks/chances but couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. The Vipers couldn't get back into the game on their lone power play of the period. The Snakes really needed a goal this period to get back into the hockey game, instead gave up one and fell behind by three. The S'Backs saw a lot of the period played in their own end, didn't get a whole lot of time in the offensive zone, but when they did, they scored on one of their opportunities. Jacob Bonkowski rang a shot off the post. Nick Mikan and Matthew Gillard got tangled up and into a scrum as the two exchanged words and threw a couple of punches. Silverbacks starting netminder Eli Pulver stopped all eight Vernon shots, was sharp in goal for SA. It was 3-0 Salmon Arm after 40 minutes of play. The Silverbacks outshot the Vipers 9-8.

3rd Period: The Apes jumped on the visiting Vernon Vipers early before Maddux Martin put this game away 2:06 into the final frame, giving Salmon Arm a early 4-0 lead. The Gorillas were by far the better of the two teams and carried most of the play and controlled most of the period. Salmon Arm once again used their speed and skill to open the ice and create/generate chances. SA was all over Vernon and forced Vipers starting goaltender Ethan David into keeping this score from running away on the Vipers. Cole Cooksey looked to have deked out Ethan David on a breakaway but was denied after a highlight reel save. The Backs looked very good and played very well in the final twenty minutes. With the game basically over, frustration started to show from the Snakes as the Vipers started getting a little chippy and trying to get under the skin of several Salmon Arm players. The Vipers looked disorganized and not in sync. The Snakes gave up nineteen shots. Vernon's passing was off most of the night, especially in the 3rd and the Snakes just couldn't muster any kind of offence, going long periods of time without a shot on goal. The Vipers struggled offensively, had troubles getting through the neutral zone, gaining entry and getting pucks to the net/creating opportunities. When Vernon did gain the offensive zone and had puck possession, the Silverbacks defence played very well, kept the Snakes to the outside, closed the shooting lanes and allowed Eli Pulver to see everything. Pulver did make a difficult save towards the end of the period, slid back into the net as it looked like Pulver's entire body went into the net as he quickly recovered and got back into the crease but the officials didn't signal a goal and the Vipers didn't argue the play. This wasn't a good period by Vernon. the Gorillas went 0-2 with the man advantage. Salmon Arm won their fourth straight after a 4-0 victory. The Silverbacks outshot Vernon 19-5.

Vernon Vipers Top Performers:

Ethan David (39 saves) Making his seventh straight start in goal, was forced to keep Vernon in the hockey game at different times. David with some big stops, allowed this game from not getting out of hand and turning into a blowout.

Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers

- The Vipers are 1-2-0-0 vs Salmon Arm this season

- Vernon's four game winning streak was snapped tonight

- I thought the Snakes played well at times in the 1st, looked good and played well in the 2nd period but were outplayed in the 3rd

- Giving up the opening goal just twenty seven seconds into the hockey game stings and the Vipers couldn't recover

- Vernon went 0-2 with the power play

- Lots of Viper fans in attendance tonight

- The Snakes best period was the 2nd period but unable to find the back of the net

- The Vipers have lost five games this season, four of the five losses have come on the road

- The Vipers didn't get more then eight shots in any of the three periods

- The Snakes have lost both games in Salmon Arm this season, play in Salmon Arm next Saturday

- Jiri Duda went hard into the end boards after taking a hit from two Silverbacks. Duda looked a little shaken up heading to the bench and I don't recall seeing him again

- Vernon struggled offensively. The Vipers had difficulties getting pucks to the net but also generating and scoring on their opportunities

- Down 3-0 heading into the 3rd period, your not going to come back and win many hockey games with only five shots in the 3rd

- The Vipers went 1-1 vs the Silverbacks during the pre-season

- The Snakes have won four of their last five games and won six of their past ten games

- The Vipers just couldn't gain much traction tonight, didn't look very sharp

- Tonight is the first game of a three game road trip

- Goaltender Kaden Clegg was listed on the Vipers roster/lineup sheet tonight

- The Vipers have a couple of interesting games on the road next weekend. Friday in Merritt vs a Centennials team that played the Vipers hard in the second half of last night's game in Vernon and then the Snakes return to Salmon Arm next Saturday for a rematch vs the Silverbacks

- With the Silverbacks coming home late last night after playing Friday in Chilliwack and the team having to be up early at the remembrance day ceremonies this morning, you would think the Vipers would have preached jumping on the Apes off the opening faceoff, instead it was Salmon Arm who jumped on Vernon early and often

- The last time these two teams played, the Snakes won 5-3 October 13th 2023 in Vernon

- Vernon's passing wasn't crisp and struggled most of the evening

- The Snakes didn't get off to a great start, fell behind early and couldn't recover

- I don't recall seeing Luke Pakulak once tonight

- Vernon didn't get much puck luck tonight

- The Vipers are 6-4-0-0 on the road this season

- Vernon didn't play with a whole lot of jump/energy

- Assistant Coach Colton Sparrow wasn't on the bench tonight

- The Vipers gave up way to many shots tonight. Vernon gave up nineteen shots in the 3rd period

- The Snakes last regular season win in Salmon Arm was a 4-3 overtime victory on December 10th 2022

- The Vipers played no where near sixty minutes, looked good at times, played well at times but in spurts and need to be much better 

- The Vipers have lost five games this season, two of those five have come vs the Silverbacks

- Vernon's next game is Friday in Merritt

- With the loss, Vernon falls to 12-5-0-0 sit 2nd in the Interior Division

Salmon Arm Silverbacks Top Performers:

Eli Pulver (21 saves-shutout) Played the past two seasons with the Surrey Eagles, stopped all twenty one Vernon shots for his first shutout with the Silverbacks. Pulver recorded six shutouts last season with the Surrey Eagles. Pulver wasn't tested often but when faced, was their to make the saves when needed. Pulver was seeing everything with very little to no traffic in front, looked calm and confident between the pipes.

Matthew Gillard Played with an edge on the Silverbacks backend, played well in the win.

JJ Monteiro (1 assist) Was quick on his feet, hard to contain, gave the Snakes troubles, was buzzing all evening. Played with a lot of jump/energy

Ty Paisley (1 goal & 1 assist) Listed at 6'3 played very well for the Silverbacks. Opened the scoring twenty seven seconds into the 1st period.

Maddux Martin (1 goal) Was another Apes forward, I thought played well

Jacob Bonkowski (1 goal) Scored on the power play, late in the opening frame, to give Salmon Arm a 2-0 lead. Has some size, plays big, played well

Ryan Gillespie (1 assist) Plays very well against Vernon every game. This kid can skate, hard to defend/contain and makes plays happen in a hurry. Is quick on his feet and is very skilled. Gave Vernon defenders trouble often tonight

Isaac Lambert (1 goal & 1 assist) Is another Gorillas forward who plays well vs the Vipers and played very well tonight. Collecting two points, was hard to contain, hard to defend and gave the Snakes troubles. Very skilled, reads/sees the ice well and makes plays. Is very shifty in and around the goal

Game Thought's: Salmon Arm Silverbacks

- The Silverbacks improve to 7-0-0-0 at home this season

- The Backs got off to a quick start, opened the scoring just twenty seven seconds into the 1st period, played with the lead all night. It was 2-0 after the 1st, 3-0 after the 2nd and a 4-0 final

- Salmon Arm is quick, has a ton of team speed, a strong transition game and moves the puck out of their own end and up the ice in a hurry

- The Apes went 1-3 with the man advantage

- Salmon Arm has won four straight and four of their last five games. The Silverbacks have won six of their past ten games

- The S'Backs played with a ton of energy/jump, looked sharp

- The Silverbacks and Vipers play nine times this season

- A large crowd tonight and one of the biggest regular season crowds I have seen in Salmon Arm in many many years. Tonight's game was sold out. Tonight's attendance was announced at 1,947

- SA capitalized on their chances 

- Tonight's the first game of a three game home stand

- The Silverbacks play four of their next five games at home

- Salmon Arm looked good and played very well through out the hockey game

- The Backs had 43 shots on goal

- The Silverbacks played very well defensively, didn't give up many shots, kept Vernon to the outside, closed the shooting lanes and limited the Vipers opportunities

- Both goaltenders played well

- The Silverbacks eliminated the Vipers in five games last season in the second round of the BCHL playoffs

- SA fully deserved the win, worked hard, played hard and played as a team 

- Salmon Arm's top lines outplayed Vernon's top lines

- The Gorillas used their speed and skill not only to open up the ice but create/generate a ton of looks/chances

- The Silverbacks and Vipers play again next Saturday in Salmon Arm

- Give the S'Backs credit for playing Friday night in Chilliwack, getting home late, being up early to attend the remembrance day ceremonies this morning and then come out and play a strong hockey game vs a very good Viper team that has been playing it's best hockey in years

- The Silverbacks were wearing special remembrance day jerseys tonight

- The Apes were the better team for most of the night, didn't give up much and played very well at both ends of the rink

- With the win, Salmon Arm improves to 10-5-0-0 sit 4th in the Interior Division

Scratches:

Vernon Vipers:

Jordin Palmer

Owen King (Injured-Out for the season)

Isaac Fecteau (Injured)

Hank Cleaves (Injured)

Salmon Arm Silverbacks:

Ryan DeAngelis

Nicholas Wolfenberg

Lian Gayfer

Lorin Froidevaux

Nick Wellenreiter

Tysen Smith

Energy Player of the Game:

Ty Paisley (1 goal & 1 assist)

Three Star's:

1st Star: Casy Laylin

2nd Star: Isaac Lambert (1 goal & 1 assist)

3rd Star: Nathaniel Davis

Boxscore-Game Summary,

Vernon Vipers @ Salmon Arm Silverbacks Saturday, November 11, 2023 | BCHL League Site

Game Report,

Game Report (hockeytech.com)

Text Box Score,

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

Vernon Junior Hockey History website,

VernonJrAHockey.CA

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Here are some photo's I took before and during tonight's Vernon Vipers-Salmon Arm Silverbacks game.