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 2.8 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 Game 1 Playoff game between the Vernon Vipers & Trail Smoke Eaters as the Vipers took Game 1 with a 2-0 victory in front of 1,972 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Ethan David
Trail Smoke Eaters: Teagan Kendrick
2nd Period: The Smoke Eaters really ramped it up in the middle frame and took it to the Snakes early and often. Trail was by far the better team, were all over the hometown Vipers for most of the period. The Smoke Eaters had the puck on their stick most of the period, played with a very strong/aggressive forecheck, had lots of zone time, were winning the races, winning the battles but didn't generate a whole lot of quality opportunities. Vernon struggled most of the period, did manage to come on in the final two to three minutes but otherwise were outplayed, outworked and outskated. The Snakes played most of the period in their own end, were back on their heels, losing races, losing puck battles, were being beat to the boards, beat to the puck and couldn't make a pass. The Vipers did get a couple of good looks but no sustained zone pressure. The Vipers were lucky they weren't down a goal or two. It was 0-0 after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 14-5 Smokies.
3rd Period: This was a very entertaining/exciting final frame with both teams going toe to toe. The play really started to open up with both teams getting some very good looks/quality chances. I thought Vernon had a slight edge in play, really picked up their game after a very poor/disappointing 2nd period. The Vipers played much better in their own end, would get some zone time and more puck possession compared to the last period. Both goaltenders were very sharp. As the period continued, it looked like the first goal would be the game winner and it was. Owen Kim shorthanded, gave Vernon a 1-0 lead at 17:04 while Julian Facchinelli added some insurance with the empty netter. The Vipers hold on to take Game 1 2-0. Shots were 13-9 Vipers. Trail went 0-2 with the power play.
Vernon Vipers Top Performers:
Julian Facchinelli (1 goal) Was one of the hardest working Vipers on the ice this evening. Right from the drop of the puck, Facchinelli played hard/competed, played a heck of a hockey game tonight
Carson McGinley I thought come on as the game went on and played very well in the win. McGinley used his speed and skill to generate/create some open ice/offence
Shea Busch Was another forward I liked and thought played hard from the start of the contest. Busch was another player that played hard/competed, looked good and played good through out Game 1
Ethan David (30 saves-shutout) Has carried this team on his back most of the season and helped his team pick up the win in Game 1 of the Playoffs. David made at least two, maybe three large saves in the 2nd period with Trail pressing and then stood tall and was very good in the 3rd, again having to make some big stops in a scoreless hockey game
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- Game 2 goes Saturday in Vernon
- The Vipers went 1-0 vs Trail in the pre-season
- How good was Vernon's PK this evening? The Snakes penalty kill was very sharp, blocked shots, kept the Smokies to the outside, took away time and space and limited Trail's opportunities. Vernon's PK has been very good all season
- The Vipers are 19-6-2-0 at home this regular season/playoffs
- A much smaller crowd tonight. Tonight's attendance was announced at 1,972
- The last time the Vipers & Smoke Eaters played in the Playoffs, Vernon won the best of seven series 4 games to 3 during the 2018-19 season
- I didn't like the Snakes start to the hockey game. I didn't see a lot of intensity/emotion and the Vipers looked scrambled for a lot of the 1st period. Vernon needed four minutes to get their first shot of the hockey game, didn't generate much offence, struggled defensively. The Vipers turned over the puck in their own end often, couldn't make a pass, didn't look sharp or played well that 1st period
- Including the regular season, the Vipers have won four of their last five games and seven of their last ten games
- The Snakes went 1-0-1-0 at home vs Trail in the regular season
- I talked to a friend at tonight's game who said he talked to a season ticket holder that had heard the Salmon Arm Silverbacks want back in Hockey Canada and want to join the KIJHL next season
- I thought Vernon looked and played their best in the 3rd period
- The Vipers went 0-0 with the power play
- The Vipers struggled in the 2nd period and were outplayed, outskated and outworked for most of the period. Vernon saw most of the middle frame in their own end, lost a lot of races to the puck, battles along the wall, struggled defensively, were turning over pucks, making mistakes, had very little to no offensive zone time, had a couple of good looks but not much for offence. The Vipers didn't look good or play good in the 2nd and were lucky to get out of the period 0-0
- The last time these two teams played, the Smoke Eaters won 6-2 March 9th in Trail
- Anthony Cliche was very lucky, almost pulled off a Steve Smith, almost banked the puck off Ethan David into his own net in the 1st period
- How big is Game 2? The Vipers haven't played well on the road this season but played well at home.
- The Vipers have won ten of their last thirteen home games
- The Snakes went 1-4-0-0 vs Trail during the regular season
- Consistency has been a major problem for Vernon this year and it showed again tonight
- I really liked the Vipers final period, I thought the Snakes stepped up their game in the 3rd and played their best period of the night by far. Vernon was much better defensively, limited their turnovers and mistakes in their own end, were making better passes, finally generated/created some opportunities and had some puck possession/zone time with sustained pressure
- Assistant Coaches Lukas Lomicky and Colton Sparrow are 8-2-1-0 since the Vipers parted ways with Head Coach/GM Jason McKee
- Both goaltenders played very well
- This is the ninth time the Vipers & Smoke Eaters have met in the Playoffs
1996-97 Vernon defeated Trail 4 games to 1 (1st Round)
1997-98 Trail defeated Vernon 4 games to 3 (1st Round)
2002-03 Vernon defeated Trail 4 games to 0 (Interior Conference Finals)
2003-04 Trail defeated Vernon 4 games to 1 (1st Round)
2006-07 Vernon defeated Trail 4 games to 1 (Interior Conference Semi Finals)
2007-08 Vernon defeated Trail 4 games to 0 (1st Round)
2016-17 Vernon defeated Trail 4 games to 1 (Interior Division Semi Finals)
2018-19 Vernon defeated Trail 4 games to 3 (2nd Round)
Trail Smoke Eaters Top Performers:
Ethan Warrener Sees a lot of ice time, is very steady and played very well
Isaac Fecteau I thought used his speed, carried the puck up ice in a hurry, was very good at both ends of the rink
Alec Whipple Was another Smokies defender I thought played well in the loss
The line of Adam Marshall, Mathieu Cobbetto-Roy and Adam Parsons was very good, dangerous, hard to contain/defend
Lucas Lemeiux I thought made some smart plays with and without the puck, was another good player for Trail
Jason Stefanek played well. Was hard to play against, is quick, can move the puck and has some skill
Teagan Kendrick (25 saves) Played very well between the pipes for the Smokies. Only faced eleven shots after forty minutes of play, wasn't tested much in the first two periods but had to be sharp and make a couple of large saves in the 3rd in a scoreless hockey game
Game Thought's: Trail Smoke Eaters
- The Smoke Eaters are very very quick, can move the puck up ice in a hurry, have a ton of speed and that speed gave Vernon trouble for most of the hockey game
- Trail went 0-3 with the man advantage
- The Smoke Eaters played very well defensively through out the night, limiting the Snakes time and space, taking away the shooting lanes, forcing the Vipers shooters to the outside
- I liked Trail's start to the hockey game. I thought the Smokies were ready to play, played with pace, used their speed and aggressive forecheck early to force the Vipers into mistakes, turnovers and errors. The 1st period was scrambled often but Trail did have a slight edge in play
- I spotted a good handful of Smoke Eaters fans in attendance
- Trail was wearing their black third set jersey's tonight
- The Smoke Eaters were the better team in the first two periods
- Defenceman Isaac Fecteau played with the 2023-24 Vernon Vipers, was traded to Trail February 10th 2024
- Including the regular season, the Smokies have won seven of their last eleven road games
- The Smoke Eaters didn't generate/ or create much offensive chances on the PP, had several shots blocked as Vernon's PK was very sharp
- Trail was by far the better team in the middle frame. The Smoke Eaters were all over the Snakes, winning most of the races, battles along the wall, faceoffs, were outskating Vernon, outworking the Vipers and played with an aggressive forecheck that forced Vernon into turnovers/mistakes. The Smokies downfall was they didn't generate or create a whole lot of quality chances in that 2nd period
- Including the regular season, the Smoke Eaters have won three of their last five games and six of their last ten games
- Including the pre-season, regular season and playoffs, Trail is 1-2-1-0 in Vernon this season
- Games 3 & 4 go Tuesday and Wednesday in Trail
- This team works hard, is very aggressive on the forecheck, has a ton of speed/quickness, is very good defensively, has good goaltending and coached well
- Assistant Coach Dallas Calvin played with the 2013-14 Vernon Vipers
- The Smokies need the split in Game 2 as they don't want to head home down 2-0 in the series
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Zhenya Miles
Payton Struck
Owen King (Injured-Out for season)
Simon Binkley (AP)
Ewan McPherson
Linden Burrett
Cooper Cleaves (AP)
Trail Smoke Eaters:
Callas Pierce
Cash Carter (AP)
Nathan Dominici
Jack Ketsa
Kailus Green
Energy Player of the Game:
Georgios Stavrianeas
Three Star's:
1st Star: Ethan David (30 saves-Shutout)
2nd Star: Owen Kim (1 goal)
3rd Star: Teagan Kendrick (25 saves)
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Vernon Junior Hockey History website,
Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions in the comment box below. Please be respectful when leaving comments.
4 comments:
“I talked to a friend who said he talked to a season ticket holder”. Well with solid sources like THAT, the rumour must be true.
That's the first game in a long time the Vipers played a full sixty minutes and didn't have to many brake downs
The Smoke Eaters were incredible last night. Dominated the play at every turn. They just couldn’t solve the goalie and puck bounces were against them. But we showed real heart and determination. I have zero doubt we are going to dominate this entire series! The ice was awful as were the Vipers fans… not remotely surprised by that. Let’s take it to them tonight boys! Onwards and upwards.
Yeah, all those goals. Incredible!
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