I was born and raised in Vernon, BC and been watching/following junior hockey 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 Vernon got a team in 1961. I have two family members that played junior hockey in Vernon. I have had season tickets since 1990 missing 46 home games since. I worked with the Vipers as colour commentator for a couple of home games during the 2002-03 season. In 2011 I helped create and design the Vipers website and was in charge of running the website for five seasons. I started and created this blog in November 2008 and have over 5.9 million viewers.
I was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-Okotoks Oilers game as the Oilers won 6-3 in front of 2,030 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Oliver Kanat
Okotoks Oilers: Eric Young
1st Period: A good start from the hometown Vernon Vipers as the Snakes were the better team for a good chunk of this period. I thought the Snakes got off to a good start, had the early puck possession, zone time, were getting pucks to the net and generated several quality opportunities. Puck luck was not on Vernon's side this evening, as the Vipers missed a wide open net before not being able to tap home the loose puck bouncing around in the blue paint. I thought the Snakes could have had three goals instead couldn't bury their chances before the visiting Oilers open the scoring at 13:38 This goal seemed to change the momentum as Okotoks gained some life and momentum and finished the period on a high as the Oilers were the better team to end the period. The Oilers who couldn't seem to get much going in the first half, got some big saves from their goaltender, had a couple of bounces or puck luck go their way, seemed to be a different team after opening the score. It was 1-0 Okotoks after 20 minutes of play. Shots were 11-9 Oilers.
2nd Period: The Oilers were by far the better team and outplayed the Snakes most of the entire period. Okotoks played a solid road game this period, carried the better of the play, had lots of puck possession, were firing lots of pucks on goal, forced the Vipers into turnovers and defensive mistakes, that resulted in goals. The Oilers looked very good. Vernon on the other hand struggled at both ends of the rink. The Snakes just like last night struggled in their own end, had troubles defensively, were turning over pucks, turning the puck over inside their own blueline, left Oliver Kanat out to dry and then when they did get out of their own end, struggled offensively, with poor passing, turning pucks over, couldn't generate or create any kind of offence. Vernon went well over twelve minutes without a shot on goal. It was 4-0 Okotoks after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 19-6 Oilers.
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3rd Period: Oliver Kanat didn't come out to start the period as Colton Jugnauth started the 3rd period. The Vipers seemed to respond with a great start to the final period, scoring twice in less then three minutes, got to within two goals but couldn't contain the same effort for the remainder of the period. Both teams were pretty even at times and then the Vipers had a couple of good shifts but overall the Okotoks Oilers were the better team. The Oilers were skating circles in the offensive zone, were making plays and capitalizing on their plays. The Snakes once again struggled at both ends of the rink, were turning pucks over and had troubles keeping the puck out of the net. Once the Vipers got to within a couple of goals, the Oilers responded with two quick goals of their own to basically put the game away. Shots were 18-10 Oilers.
Vernon Vipers Top Players:
Edvin Nilsson I thought played well on the blueline. Nilsson played well at both ends of the rink, was the lone bright spot on Vernon's defence
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- The Snakes are 4-8-4-0 at home
- I liked the Vipers start and most of the 1st period. Missing a wide open net and not capitalizing on a couple of quality opportunities hurt. It seemed like once the Oilers opened the scoring, the Vipers quit skating, quit playing and the Oilers took over the game/period and were the better team to finish the opening frame
- Vernon is 1-2 vs the Okotoks Oilers
- The Vipers next game is Friday vs the visiting Cranbrook Bucks
- Another poor effort and disappointing outcome
- The Vipers defence struggled for a second night in a row. Poor defensive coverage, way too many turnovers, had trouble clearing the zone, poor passes and outworked/outskated
- I like our goaltending this season but one concern is giving up thirteen goals in two games this weekend
- The Snakes went 1-3 with the power play
- 2nd periods lately have been a major issue for Vernon, especially this weekend. Both 2nd periods last night and again tonight were brutal, as the Vipers gave up seven goals. Okotoks was by far the better team and outplayed the Snakes this period. Vernon struggled at both ends of the rink, couldn't clear the zone, gave up way too many shots and opportunities, gave up four goals and then couldn't muster any kind of offence, went close to twelve minutes without a shot on goal. Just a terrible 2nd period
- The Vipers have lost three of their last five games and lost six of their last ten games
- Tonight's the third of four regular season meetings vs the Oilers
- This isn't the same Viper team that we saw play so well before the holidays
- Any word on where Connor Paronuzzi is? He is not on the teams roster
- The Vipers missed an early wide open net and then a couple of real good looks/quality chances. If Vernon scores on these, maybe it's a different hockey game?
- Oliver Kanat gave up four goals on thirty Okotoks shots didn't start the 3rd period
- The Vipers were wearing their yellow 3rd jerseys
- The Vipers were starting to play better and started getting some wins in the month of December, then return from the holidays and play their two worst games of the season. Do you think this has anything to do with the trades/roster moves that happened the other day? Did these moves hurt the team chemistry etc?
- Tonight's the fourth game of a five game home stand
- The Vipers just weren't sharp tonight and in both games this weekend. Not a lot of jump/energy, lots of mistakes and no consistency
- Tonight's attendance 2,030
- I ran into two older women who were in town visiting from Austria. One of the women said her nephew played for the Vernon Lakers over thirty years ago
- The Vipers & Oilers will meet once more, January 30th in Vernon
- The Snakes are 2-7-2-0 vs teams from Alberta
- It seems like the Vipers seem to have a good start/1st period but once they give up the opening goal, the other team builds off of that and takes over the edge in play. Vernon can't seem to know how to bottle their energy and keep playing the same way
- This was not a good weekend for the Vipers, two of the worst played games this team has played all season
- Your not going to win many games if any when you give up 48 shots
- The Cranbrook Bucks are only three points back of the Vipers
- Both 3rd periods this weekend, the Vipers were down and out but start the period like it's 0-0 and come out of no where with a burst of energy, start scoring goals, skating, playing hard etc Where was this effort the entire game? Vernon scores two quick goals to start the 3rd to get to within two goals but quickly give up two quick goals and the games basically over at this point. The Snakes had some spurts in the period where they looked good but not for long. The Oilers scored a couple of goals to put the game away and once again the better team. The Vipers once again give up way too many shots, opportunities and mistakes
- With the loss, Vernon falls to 8-17-5-0 sit 4th in the Interior West Division
Okotoks Oilers Top Players:
Ryder de Nys Played a strong game on the Okotoks blueline
Brett Wilson (1 goal & 1 assist) leads the team in scoring, seems to play vs the Snakes this season. I remember watching the Vipers/Oilers games in Okotoks on flohockey and Wilson was one of the better Oilers in both games. Wilson played well in the Oilers win tonight
Cash Crawford Was another d-man that played well in the victory
Brady Engelkes (1 goal) I thought looked good/played well
Hunter Sawka (2 goals & 1 assist) Was one of the more dangerous Oilers
Joseph Meredith (2 assists) Not the biggest kid, but stood out and seemed to always know where the puck was
Nate Porter was under the skin of Vernon most of the hockey game. Porter was always in and around the crease, played with an edge, got under the Vipers skin poking around the goal
Game Thought's: Okotoks Oilers
- Tonight was the Oilers first game since before the Christmas break
- The Oilers went 2-3 with the man advantage
- Tonight's the third game of a five game road trip
- Michael Mikan is the younger brother of former Vernon Viper Nick Mikan. Nick played with the 2023-24 Vipers
- The Oilers have a loud bench. Players always tapping their sticks against the boards or Head Coach/GM Tyler Deis can be heard constantly bellowing through out the hockey game
- The Oilers have lost three of their last five games are 5-5 in their last ten games
- For a team that sits last in the Interior East Division, these Oilers are a much better team then their record shows
- The Oilers could have easily been down a couple of goals early but they get some puck luck and a couple of big stops from their goaltender, didn't get off to the greatest start but once they opened the scoring, they seemed to settle down and were the better team for the remainder of the 1st period
- The Oilers are 7-6-1-0 on the road
- Other then maybe the first ten minutes or so, the Okotoks Oilers come into Vernon playing their first game since December 20th played a pretty good road game
- Okotoks played a solid 2nd period with very few to little errors, outplayed and outskated the hometown Vipers. The Oilers scored three times to blow the game open and take a 4-0 lead into the 3rd. Okotoks carried the better of the play, had a ton of zone time, were getting lots of rubber on net and capitalizing on their opportunities. The Oilers had a pretty flawless period
- The Oilers next game is Friday in Spruce Grove
- This is the Oilers second season in the BCHL after leaving the Alberta Junior Hockey League in February 2024
- With a 4-0 lead heading into the 3rd, Okotoks would give up two quick goals less then three minutes into the period, allowed Vernon back into the hockey game. The Oilers didn't need long to basically put the game away adding two more goals shortly after in a period where they were the better team. The Snakes had some shifts where they had a couple of good looks but overall, Okotoks stuck to their game plan and come away with the win
- With the win, Okotoks improves to 13-13-1-1 sit 5th in the Interior East Division
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Koji Gibson (Injured)
Deagan McMillan
Oscar Bjork (Injured)
Okotoks Oilers:
Gabriel Simpson
Ethan Anderson
Dane Gillis
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Okotoks Oilers @ Vernon Vipers Saturday, January 03, 2026 | BCHL League Site
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Official statistics powered by LeagueStat.com
Vernon Junior Hockey History website,
5 comments:
The game in short was pitiful. No defensive, No Offensive and the player receiving the game misconduct has an ego problem. This player is playing like he would sooner not be here as is shown on the ice and I am just waiting for him to disrespect the coaches as a ticket out of here because he is tried of being on a losing team. I am not sure what has happened but this team is playing like a junior B team. The effort shown on the ice is of no quality and the fans know it. I am not happy as there have not played as a winning team in the last two games. I see no improvement as I feel the play on the ice looks like there first game. I hope this improves. Vipers you sucked tonight.
The Vipers are struggling with playing defensive hockey and their goaltending is struggling also. Come on boys let's put this weekend behind us and regroup for the next game. Go Vipers Go!
Pathetic!!! I recognize that we do not have talent like some of our competition but that is no excuse. Vipers were out shot, out hustled and of course out scored. Where is the defensive part of the game? The shocking part is there appears to be no structured play or team play, it is all helter skelter. The 5 guys on the ice rarely seem to be in sync, that falls on the coaching staff. We all realize that it will take some time to rebuild this broken franchise but is there coaching or teaching happening? If there is it is certainly not evident in the games. If Vernon can't match up talent`wise they at at least must learn to play defensively or they will continue to pick the puck out of their net. You can't blame all their woes on goal tending, they need support.
Bingo, I agree with you on that player. He is talented but very selfish and tries to do too much himself. He could be so much better if he used his line mates more. Numerous times he returns to the bench, slams the door and is put right back out next shift. After one of his tantrums I saw other players looking at Cooke to see if he would react. Nope, he was too busy barking at the Refs.
The team certainly has its share of injuries to deal with. There is also Deacon McMillan who is now injured. In his pre game interview Matt Cooke implied that the injuries were what prompted bringing in more new players. Good to get Dunn back. I liked him. Whatever happened with the Brooks deal. Did that guy report yet. Is the deal where we send Bussmann and get nothing in return. Doesn't seem right to me. Quite disappointed with the weekend games. Allowed way too many goals against. You may not have the best snipers on your team and its hard to develop players into snipers. But you as a coach should be able to establish a defensive structure than makes it hard for the other team to score on you. To me right now Mr. Cooke is not looking so good.
Marco you put the wrong name down for the vipers captain it is Deagan McMillan and not Deacon McMillan. There was a player on the vipers team with the name Deacon Drummond but he left the vipers
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