I was born and raised in Vernon, BC and been watching/following junior hockey in Vernon my entire life. My family watched senior men's hockey in Vernon in the 1950's and has been watching/following junior hockey in Vernon since getting a team in 1961. I have two family members that played junior hockey in Vernon. I have had season tickets since 1990, missing only 40 home games. I started and created this blog in 2008 and have over 5.6 million viewers.
I was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-Sherwood Park Crusaders game as the Crusaders won 4-1 in front of 1,901 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Oliver Kanat
Sherwood Park Crusaders: Filip Vavro
1st Period: I thought both teams were fairly even in the first half with a lot of pace and back and fourth play going both ways. The Crusaders were the better team in the 2nd half carried more of the play, had more zone time and puck possession. The Vipers got into penalty trouble in the second half but a very good PK were able to kill off three straight penalties. It was 1-0 Sherwood Park after 20 minutes of play. Shots were 12-7 Crusaders.
2nd Period: The visiting Sherwood Park Crusaders were the better team in the middle frame, carried the better of the play in the first half. The Cru had the Snakes on their heels in their own end early and often. I thought Vernon was flat footed to start the period, were caught standing around in their own end as Sherwood Park was buzzing in the offensive zone. The hometown Vipers would get some calls go their way in the second half, but unable to capitalize with the man advantage. It was 2-1 Crusaders after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 12-11 Vernon.
3rd Period: The Cru had the early edge in play early, were able to grab a very important early go to take a two goal lead. Both teams were fairly even afterwards and then Vernon would get some good pressure in the second half, had some quality chances but couldn't buy a goal. The Vipers played much better in the second half, had some pressure in the offensive zone, were getting pucks to the net and generated some looks/chances. The Snakes didn't get the bounces as Filip Vavro played well in goal for the Cru. Sherwood Park won 4-1. Shots were 13-12 Vipers.
Vernon Vipers Top Players:
Koji Gibson (1 assist) I thought was Vernon's best player in the loss. Gibson back for a second season with the Vipers, was flying up and down the wing all night. Used his quickness to find some open ice and create some offence
Oliver Kanat making just his second start of the young season, played very well in the loss. Kanat was tested through out the entire game, kept the Snakes in tonight's hockey game at times
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- The Vipers went 0-3-1-0 vs Sherwood Park last season
- Tonight's the first game of a two game home stand
- Assistant Coach Ryan Hollweg was behind the bench for the start of the game, but later absent for the remainder of the hockey game
- Since teams from Alberta joined the BCHL last season, the Vipers are 6-13-1-0 vs Alberta teams
- Captain Deagan McMillan took a hit in the 2nd period, needed help off the ice but would return for the 3rd period
- The Vipers & Crusaders will meet four times this season
- Tonight's attendance was announced at 1,901
- Can someone from the Vipers please update their programs/lineup sheets. For a fourth straight home game, Brayden Pankay has been left off the Vipers roster. Last weekend, the same incorrect jersey # was wrong for Trail in back to back games. It may seem minor to some but when your paying $2 every game, you expect to get a proper and updated lineup sheet
- I thought both teams were fairly even in the first half of the opening period, with good pace, back and fourth action. The Crusaders were the better team in the second half, had more puck possession, zone time and carried the better of the play
- Including the preseason Vernon is 1-8-1-0
- The Snakes went 0-4 on the power play
- The Vipers don't shoot enough and tonight was another example. It seems like they do way too much passing, missing out on some good looks/opportunities
- The Vipers next game is Saturday vs the visiting Sherwood Park Crusaders
- I thought Sherwood Park was by far the better team in the 2nd period. The Snakes saw a lot of time in their own end early to start the period, seemed to be standing around. The Cru had lot's of zone time early, puck possession and jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. Vernon looked flat, sluggish and weren't skating. The Vipers would get three power play's but unable to capitalize with the man advantage. This is when the Snakes could have really used a goal to get back into the hockey game
- The Vipers are 1-3-1-0 on home ice
- Rumors going around the rink, both Ben and Alex Edwards have left the Vipers, while three new players will be arriving in Vernon within the next couple of days
- The Snakes power play has struggled this season and again tonight. The Vipers looked to go with only one defenceman, but didn't really generate much with the man advantage
- Vernon gave up a ton of odd man rushes/or breakaways as the Crusaders were getting behind the defence a lot
- The Vipers penalty kill was very good, has been one of their bright spots this season
- For a second straight period, the Vipers give up an early goal to start the 3rd period, falling behind 3-1 and a real back breaker. The Cru had the early edge in play before both teams seemed to be even at times and then Vernon would get some pressure, puck possession and zone time in the second half, but couldn't find the back of the net. The Vipers didn't get the puck to bounce their way, also missed on at least two quality opportunities. Vernon played and looked better in the second half ran out of time
- What a dumb schedule. The Vipers play Cranbrook & Trail in six of their first eight games (preseason-regular season) and now play Sherwood Park back to back nights
- One of Vernon's problems is scoring and has been from the start of the season. The Vipers just can't seem to buy a goal
- The Snakes had trouble defending Sherwood Park's speed & skill
- The Vipers have opened the scoring once in six games this season
- With the loss, Vernon falls to 1-4-1-0 sits 5th in the Interior West Division
Sherwood Park Crusaders Top Players:
Stevie Grumley Captain of your Sherwood Park Crusaders, played very well on the blueline
Maxime Ly (1 assist) Was one of the better Cru forwards. A big kid, can skate, was involved in the play
Kent Moors (1 goal) Gave The Cru a 2-0 lead early to start the 2nd period, played well
Dmitrii Nazarov was another d-man that played well
Braeden O'Keefe (1 assist) Was hard to contain/defend, looked good this evening
Gage Brandon I thought looked good/played well
Joseph Sinclair (2 goals) Opened the scoring, gave Sherwood Park an early 3-1 lead to start the 3rd. Sinclair is leading the BCHL in points with ten
Quincy Supprien (1 goal & 1 assist) I thought was the Crusaders best and most dangerous player. This kid can skate, move the puck, stick handle and generate/create a ton of offence. I bet he had four or five parcial breakaways alone, was hard to contain, hard to defend, gave the Snakes difficulties all game
Filip Vavro (31 saves) Improves to 2-0 on the season, covers a lot of the net, positionally sound, doesn't give up a lot of rebounds, good puck control, sees the puck well, was very good, especially in the 3rd with the Vipers pressing
Game Thought's: Sherwood Park Crusaders
- Tonight's the first game of a three game road trip
- The Crusaders went 2-0 in Vernon last season
- The Cru played a very good opening period. Both teams were pretty even in the first half before Sherwood Park was the better team in the second half. The Crusaders had more puck possession, zone time, carried the better of the play
- Sherwood Park went 0-3 with the man advantage
- This is the best team I have seen play this season
- The Crusaders remind me a lot like the Penticton Vees style of play. Very well coached, very aggressive forecheck, win a lot of races/puck battles, very crisp/tape to tape passes, very good skaters, quick on their feet, can move the puck up ice in a hurry, very skilled, get a ton of odd man rushes, good at both ends of the rink
- The Crusaders are 2-0-0-0 on the road
- I thought the Crusaders were the better team in the 2nd period. Jumped on Vernon off the opening faceoff, had the hometown Vipers back on their heels early, capitalized on the Vipers standing still, took an early 2-0 lead and played well for most of the period. The Cru got into penalty trouble in the second half, where Vernon had some puck posession, zone time but the Cru penalty kill was good
- Sherwood Park takes away a lot of time and space, blocks a lot of shots, plays well defensively
- The Crusaders have a ton of speed and lot's of skilled players
- Tonight is the first of two regular season visits to Vernon
- The Cru are the third highest scoring team with twenty three goals
- Sherwood Park were the better team to start the 3rd, jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, which was important. As the period went on, both teams were pretty even at times and then the Snakes would get some pressure in the second half, had some puck possession, zone time and several good looks/chances but couldn't find the back of the net. The Crusaders played well defensively, also got some timely saves from their goaltender
- The Cru was the better team overall and played close to sixty minutes. Sherwood Park could have easily scored three or four more goals and ran away with this game
- With the win, Sherwood Park improves to 4-0-0-0 sit 1st in the Interior East Division
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Emils Skeltins (Injured)
Ben Edwards
Alex Edwards (Injured)
London Taylor
Brendan Russell
Sherwood Park Crusaders:
Sullivan Martin
Chase Trompeter
Divyne Apolion
Jude Bray
Energy Player of the Game:
Koji Gibson (1 assist)
Three Star's:
1st Star: Joseph Sinclair (2 goals)
2nd Star: Quincy Supprien (1 goal & 1 assist)
3rd Star: Lane Sim (1 goal)
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Sherwood Park Crusaders @ Vernon Vipers Friday, October 03, 2025 | BCHL League Site
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Official statistics powered by LeagueStat.com
Vernon Junior Hockey History website,
10 comments:
It will be interesting to see who is on the roster next week. 2 Russian players and a D man from the WHL apparently on the way. The Vipers are definitely more exciting than last year but just need to finish off their chances..
Oh no the Vipers lose again. Sounds like the crowds haven't been the greatest, but then again they only have one win
Uh…. The Vipers currently lead the BCHL in attendance. Like, #1. In the league. How is that not considered heat?
The crowds are the same size every year at the beginning of the season. Only 5 home games in and lots of games left for larger crowds.
Ya but, the announced attendance was 1900ish. From where I sat last night and literally counted the people in the seats on the other side of the arena, there were only 500ish there. Now on my side it was about half full, then count about 200 on the concourse. These numbers would mean about 1400ish people which, looked about right from my perspective.
All the other games I have been too seem to suggest that if you take away 500-600ish from the announced attendance you would get close to what was actually at the game watching!
As for the game I thought the boys tried hard but, it was like playing the old Vees, the other team was just far and away sharper, crisper, quicker better. I think we have a decent team, it just can not compete with the top echelon of our league.
With our new record of 1W & 5L they are on pace for 9W on the season!
Go Vipes GO!
Yeah ‘but’…you realize when season ticket holders don’t show, that’s still part of sold seats, thus attendance. Same for promo tickets issued. No different than any other team in any sport. So thanks for the manual head count, I’m sure it was very accurate.
And Sherwood Park is on pace to win it all and no one knows if that will happen.
I noticed Assistant Coach Ryan Hollweg was on the bench to start the game but shortly after wasn't behind the bench for the remainder of the game. I read online, Hollweg received a game misconduct at 18:57 in the 1st period
Ya but, I am the original Yabut and I did not post that, what is going on DieHard, this is crazy stuff going with your blog!
Yabut, It looks like someone is copying names and posting comments with someone else's username. I have no control over this. When a comment comes in, all I see is a username, the date-time
Post a Comment