I was born and raised in Vernon, BC and been watching/following junior hockey in Vernon most of my entire life. My family watched senior men's hockey in Vernon in the 1950s 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-Salmon Arm Silverbacks game as the Vipers won 3-2 in overtime in front of 1,607 fans at Rogers Rink.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Oliver Kanat
Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Daniel Dirracolo
1st Period: The Silverbacks were the better of the two teams as Salmon Arm carried most of the play. The Apes had loads of time with the puck, in the offensive zone, were getting pucks to the net and generating opportunities, even hit the post twice. Salmon Arm carried the better of the play, had more puck possession, were skating hard, moving the puck, played a very good opening period. The visiting Vernon Vipers were chasing the game for a lot of the period. Vernon saw a lot of play in their own end. Oliver Kanat played well between the pipes. The Vipers had two, maybe three quality chances other wise didn't have a whole lot of time in the offensive zone. The Vipers PK was very good, having to kill off several 1st period penalties. It was 1-1 after 20 minutes of play. Shots were 16-7 Silverbacks.
2nd Period: I thought the Snakes were the better team in the middle frame. Vernon carried most of the play, had a ton of pressure/zone time but struggled getting pucks to the net. When the Vipers did get a shot, they missed the net often. The Vipers carried the better of the play for a good fifteen minutes but were unable to get rewarded with a goal. The Silverbacks played well defensively, saw a lot of time in their own end, were able to kill off three straight penalties before scoring the lone goal of the period. I thought Salmon Arm played better and played well in the final five minutes of the period. It was 2-1 Gorillas after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 8-4 Salmon Arm.
3rd Period: I thought Vernon was the better team for most of the period. The Snakes carried the better of the play for at least the twelve to thirteen minutes. The Vipers had lots of pressure/zone time, again had troubles getting pucks to the net but did generate some quality chances. The S'Backs played very well defensively, did manage to generate some odd man rushes and come on strong in the final four or five minutes. The Silverbacks looked to have the game won before Oscar Bjork forced overtime at 18:59 It was 2-2 after 60 minutes of play. Shots were 10-8 Silverbacks.
Overtime: The visiting Vernon Vipers had the early puck possession but struggled to get much of anything going. After several attempts the hometown Silverbacks would gain possession and take over the play in OT. The Apes carried the better of the play in overtime, had more puck possession, zone time and opportunities. It seemed like when the Snakes did get the puck, they somehow lost the puck, turned over the puck or simply couldn't get out of their own end. The Gorillas had several good looks, couldn't capitalize before Evan Sundar put the game away at 5:27 giving the Vipers a 3-2 overtime victory. Shots were 4-3 Salmon Arm.
Vernon Vipers Top Players:
Edvin Nilsson Played very well at both ends of the rink. The Vipers defenceman looked very sharp, was skating, moving the puck, making plays, was hard to contain at times
Sebastian Bradshaw (1 assist) Really stood out. Other then taking two penalties, I noticed the Dallas Stars draft pick a lot tonight. This kid has size, can skate, is hard on pucks, goes to the corner and works, is hard to get off the puck and hard to defend. I liked this kids compete level, was engaged and involved in the play a lot
Samuel Charko (1 goal) Scored on a 1st period penalty shot, I thought played very well, was skating, moving the puck and creating plays
Tyler Chiovetti (1 assist) Was another forward who played well, played hard
Evan Sundar (1 goal) Scored at 5:27 of overtime, was one of the better Vipers this evening. Sundar was dangerous almost everytime he had the puck, was hard to contain, hard to defend, was making plays, looked very good
Dmitrii Kubantsev I thought looked good, was involved in the play, caught my attention. Took a check from behind in the 2nd period, went to the dressing room but returned
Oliver Kanat (36 saves) This kid has impressed me since his first preseason start. Kanat kept the Snakes in the contest at times, gave his team a chance to win. You would never guess he's 17 yrs old, is calm, plays his position well, makes saves look easy. I don't know how Salmon Arm's second goal went in but a weak shot I think the youngster would like to have back
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- Tonight is the third game of a seven game road trip
- The Vipers are 1-3 in overtime
- Spotted some Vipers fans in attendance, not a lot but some made the trip down for the game
- This was a chippy game with lots of rough stuff after the whistles
- The Vipers and Silverbacks will play again November 21st in Vernon
- Vernon has won back to back games for the first time this season
- Salmon Arm was the better of the two teams in the 1st period as the Silverbacks carried most of the play. The Vipers were forced to kill off three penalties, catch a couple of breaks as the Silverbacks hit two goal posts. Vernon played a lot of the period in their own end, had a couple of quality chances but otherwise didn't get a whole lot of pressure or zone time
- The Snakes PK was very good tonight
- The Vipers next game is Friday in Okotoks
- Vernon went 0-4 with the man advantage
- The Vipers need to shoot and shoot more. One thing I have noticed so far this season, the Vipers don't shoot the puck enough. Tonight the Vipers had a ton of plays where instead of shooting they decided to pass or make a play and ended up turning over the puck
- After being outplayed in the 1st period, I liked Vernon's response in the 2nd period as the Vipers were the better team for most of the period. The Vipers carried the better of the play for at least the first fifteen minutes. Vernon struggled to get pucks to the net, only had four shots on goal but had a few looks/opportunities but missed the net. A tough break to give up a shorthanded goal, otherwise played well
- The Snakes are 2-1-0-0 on the road this season
- Tonight's the first of seven regular season games vs the Silverbacks
- Vernon's power play hasn't been good all year and it wasn't very good again tonight
- As the season continues this team is getting better, playing better and may not be winning many games right now, but are in most games on most nights
- The Vipers passing was terrible, they struggled making passes all night
- I liked the Snakes 3rd period. Down 2-1 I thought for a second straight period, the Vipers were the better team, carried the better of the play for most of the period. The Vipers were able to get a few more shots on goal but still not nearly enough. Vernon had lots of pressure/zone time, were able to generate some looks/chances. The Vipers played hard/competed were able to tie the game late to force overtime
- The Vipers play six of their next seven games on the road
- The Snakes were lucky they didn't throw the game away in overtime. Vernon gave up some good chances, turned over the puck inside their own often with some poor passes-sloppy plays. The Vipers didn't look very organized in OT before ending up scoring the winner
- With the overtime win, Vernon improves to 3-4-3-0 sit 4th in the Interior West Division
Salmon Arm Silverbacks Top Players:
Jared Rothman Impressed me a lot. I thought was one of the more consistent players in the OT loss. This kid seemed to be engaged, always involved in the play, kept his feet moving, played hard
Scott Miner I thought played a hard hitting/physical game on the Apes blueline
Anthony Cardilli (1 assist) This kid is huge, looked good through out tonight's contest
Maddux Martin (1 goal & 1 assist) Played with a lot of jump/energy, was involved in the play, played well
Daniel Dirracolo (19 saves) Wasn't tested a lot but did make some big saves, especially two in the 3rd and one in overtime, played well between the pipes for Salmon Arm
Game Thought's: Salmon Arm Silverbacks
- Tonight was just the Silverbacks 3rd home game this season
- Salmon Arm went 1-4 on the power play
- I liked the Apes 1st period. Salmon Arm was the better team, carried the better of the play for most of the period. The Silverbacks were skating hard, moving the puck, getting pucks to the net, generating opportunities, hit two goal posts, could have easily been up a goal or two, played very well
- Prior to tonight, Salmon Arm beat the Vipers in the preseason 5-2 in Vernon September 9th
- A big crowd tonight. Tonight's attendance was announced at 1,607
- The Silverbacks defence played very very well. Kept Vernon to the outside, took away time and space, shutdown the shooting lanes, blocked shots, were aggressive on the forecheck
- The Silverbacks next game is Saturday in West Kelowna
- SA's PK was very good. The Silverbacks didn't give up a lot of shots, kept the Vipers PP to the outside
- After a great opening period, the Backs saw a lot of action in their own end in the 2nd period. I thought the Snakes were the better team, carried the better of the play. Salmon Arm played well defensively, struggled offensively, didn't get a whole lot of time in the offensive zone. The Apes re-grouped late and played much better the last five minutes of the period
- The Silverbacks are 1-1-1-1 at home this season
- I don't think the ice was in great shape as players were falling often, and the puck seemed to be on edge or bouncing a lot through out the hockey game
- The Silverbacks play their next five games on the road
- With a 2-1 lead heading into the 3rd, the Gorillas couldn't put the game away, instead allowed Vernon to hang around. For a second straight period, I thought the Vipers were the better team, carried the better of the play. The S'Backs did get some odd man rushes and generate some offensive chances at times but otherwise played a lot of the 3rd in their own end. Daniel Dirracolo made two big saves in the 3rd
- SA had several chances to win the game in overtime, either with just hard work or forcing the Vipers into turning over pucks, making mistakes etc couldn't find a way to get the two points
- With the overtime loss, Salmon Arm falls to 4-2-2-1 sits 3rd in the Interior West Division
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Emils Skeltins (Injured)
Seth Tansem
Alex Edwards (Injured)
Nickolas Kovich
London Taylor
Deagan McMillan (Suspended)
Brendan Gee
Salmon Arm Silverbacks:
Maverick Avent
Donny Sisson
Bailey Yates
Cole Longacre
Brady Walters
Keifer Miller
Energy Player of the Game:
Maddux Martin (1 goal & 1 assist)
Three Star's:
1st Star: Evan Sundar (1 goal)
2nd Star: Oliver Kanat (36 saves)
3rd Star: Daniel Dirracolo (19 saves)
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Vernon Vipers @ Salmon Arm Silverbacks Friday, October 17, 2025 | BCHL League Site
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Official statistics powered by LeagueStat.com
Vernon Junior Hockey History website,
1 comment:
I went to the game last night. I thought the Vipers played great against the Backs but they got to practice putting their passes on the tape, shoot way more on the PP and when they do shoot put it on net, they were shooting wide & they do have a good PK but still taking to many penalties, as last night they didn't have as many penalties as they have in the past. Nice to get the win but it could of looked better.
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