I was born and raised in Vernon, BC and been watching/following junior hockey in Vernon my entire life. I started and created this blog in November 2008 and have over 6.4 million viewers. I have had season tickets since 1990 missing 46 home games since. 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 some programs and ticket stubs since 1988 but have every program and ticket stub from every game since 1990. I worked with the Vipers as colour commentator for a couple of home games during the 2002-03 season and in 2011 I helped create and design the Vipers website that I was in charge of running for five seasons.
I was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-Salmon Arm Silverbacks game as the Silverbacks won 3-1 in front of 2,791 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Lane Maarhuis
Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Daniel Dirracolo
1st Period: The visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks were by far the better of the two teams and jumped on the hometown Vipers early and often. The S'Backs carried the better of the play, controlled the play, had more puck possession and a lot of play in the offensive zone. The Apes had several good looks/opportunities. Lane Maarhuis gave up a couple of big rebounds but also made a couple of big saves keeping the Snakes in the period. Vernon didn't look sharp, didn't have a good opening period. The Vipers struggled and needed almost eight minutes to record a shot on goal. The Vipers didn't have the puck on their stick often, saw a lot of play in their own end. The Snakes didn't play well defensively, gave up a lot of odd man rushes and opportunities. After 20 minutes of play, it was 2-0 Silverbacks. Shots were 15-6 Salmon Arm.
2nd Period: The Snakes responded with a big push back and were the better team in the middle frame. Vernon carried and controlled a lot of the 2nd period, had loads of time in the offensive zone, but didn't create or generate a ton of chances. The Vipers were able to get pucks to the net but not a lot of traffic in front. Daniel Dirracolo was seeing everything, stopped all twelve Vernon shots. The Gorillas didn't look anywhere close to the same team we saw in the 1st period as SA was back on their heels, saw a lot more time in their own end, didn't get a lot of time with the puck or get a lot of time in the offensive zone. Landon Mackie & Anthony Nolan dropped the gloves in a fight after Nolan laid out a big hit on a Salmon Arm player along the end boards. Salmon Arm's bench was very upset with no call on Nolan's hit. It was 3-0 Salmon Arm after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 12-6 Vernon.
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3rd Period: Shawn Leary got the hometown Vipers on the board just twenty five seconds into the period but otherwise it was all S'Backs in the first half. The Apes with back to back power play's couldn't put the game away as the Snakes with strong back to back PK's. The Silverbacks had a little more edge in play, had more puck possession and zone time in the first half. Salmon Arm looked to have taken a 4-1 lead but the goal was quickly waived off and Salmon Arm's bench went nuts. The goal was called off due to a glove pass. The Vipers responded and carried a lot of the play in the second half. One reason was due to Donny Sisson being ejected after a knee on knee with Dmitrii Kubantsev. Sisson was given a five minute major and tossed from the hockey game as Kubantsev stayed in the game. Vernon struggled with the man advantage, had loads of puck possession but waisted a lot of the PP passing the puck around. I think the Snakes only managed five shots on goal as SA with a strong PK killed off the major. The Vipers would end the game taking a penalty that took away any kind of comeback as the Silverbacks snap their nine game losing streak with a 3-1 victory. Shots were 11-11.
Vernon Vipers Top Players:
Christian Maro (1 assist) Played very well Friday in Salmon Arm, had another strong game this evening. Maro has some size, can skate, move the puck up ice in a hurry and creates open ice
Lane Maarhuis (32 saves) Looks to have taken over the Vipers #1 job between the pipes, other then a couple of big rebounds early in the 1st period, was very good in goal
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- The Vipers next game is Friday in Blackfalds
- I didn't think the Snakes played with much jam. I saw lots of opportunities where they could have driven the net, got in the goaltenders head, been a little more physical. I just thought the home team wasn't as engaged as Salmon Arm
- The Vipers are 3-3-1-0 vs Salmon Arm
- Vernon didn't look good or play good in the 1st period. The Snakes didn't have a lot of jump or energy, struggled at both ends of the rink, gave up a ton of odd man rushes, needed almost eight minutes to get a shot on goal, didn't play well defensively, spent most of the period in their own end, were chasing the game and down 2-0 heading into the 2nd period
- The Snakes went 0-4 on the power play
- A huge loss for the Vipers this evening as Cranbrook fell 2-1 in Sherwood Park. A Vipers win tonight, could have got them to within six points of the Bucks for the final playoff spot
- The Vipers are 6-14-5-0 at home
- One bright side for Vernon was the Vipers PK tonight
- I thought Vernon didn't go to the grey area enough, had very little to no traffic in front of the S'Backs net as Daniel Dirracolo was able to see almost every shot
- The Vipers have five games remaining in the regular season
- After a poor 1st period, Vernon responded with a good push back and played very well in the 2nd period. The hometown Vipers were the better of the two teams, had more puck possession, a lot of time in the offensive zone, were getting pucks to the net but didn't create or generate a lot of quality opportunities
- The Vipers have lost three of their last five games and lost six of their last ten games
- Vernon's power play was terrible. The Snakes waisted most of their power play passing the puck around and around, with very little to no shots
- The Vipers have two home games remaining in the regular season
- Dmitrii Kubantsev took a knee on knee in the 3rd period, seemed to be ok and stayed in the hockey game
- Vernon struggled with their passing, couldn't seem to make many tape to tape passes tonight
- The Snakes were missing two key veteran forwards in Sebastian Bradshaw and Evan Sundar who are both out with injuries
- The Vipers have just six wins in their last twenty one games
- Shawn Leary got the Vipers on the scoreboard with a huge goal just twenty five seconds into the 3rd period before the Snakes got into penalty trouble. Vernon's PK was very good and forced to kill off back to back penalties. The Vipers seemed to get things going and played better in the second half but couldn't capitalize on a five minute PP
- The Cranbrook Bucks need one more win and the Vipers will be eliminated from playoff contention
- Tonight's attendance was 2,791
- The Vipers gave up a ton of odd man rushes, struggled defensively
- Vernon didn't have or play that great of a game. Very disappointing after last night's 3-2 overtime win in Salmon Arm. The Snakes didn't seem to be on the same page, didn't have a whole lot of jump or energy, just seemed off tonight
- The Snakes PP was a major difference in the hockey game. A huge opportunity to tie the game in 3rd but couldn’t even come close to getting a quality scoring chance
- With the loss, Vernon falls to 14-28-7-0 sit 5th in the Interior West Division are 8 points back of Cranbrook for the final playoff spot
Salmon Arm Silverbacks Top Players:
Mateu Spath I thought played with a lot of jump/energy, seemed to be involved in the play often
Scott Miner Is a big body that played well defensively
Anthony Cardilli (3 goals) Lead the Silverbacks with all three goals tonight. A big body that was always in and around the goal, gave Vernon defenders troubles through out the contest
Koen Senft (1 assist) I liked his game, thought he played well in the victory
Daniel Dirracolo (28 saves) Wasn't overly busy in goal as the veteran goaltender was seeing everything, did have to make a couple of big stops but other wise was out, at the top of the blue paint, smothered a lot of rubber in his chest
Game Thought's: Salmon Arm Silverbacks
- The Silverbacks are 3-1-0-0 in Vernon
- The Silverbacks play three of their final four regular season games at home
- With the win, Salmon Arm snaps their nine game losing streak
- Lots of Salmon Arm fans in attendance
- The visiting Silverbacks jumped on the Snakes early and often, played a great 1st period on the road. It was all Gorillas as SA was by far the better of the two teams. The Silverbacks carried and controlled a lot of the period, had lots of puck possession, zone time, were getting pucks to the net, had several good looks/opportunities, were ahead 2-0
- Salmon Arm went 0-5 with the man advantage
- The Apes played very well defensively, kept the Vipers to the outside, boxed out the front of the net, took away time and space, closed the shooting lanes and didn't give up a whole lot of quality chances
- The Silverbacks are 12-12-2-0 on the road
- A huge win for Salmon Arm as Cranbrook lost 2-1 in Sherwood Park. The Silverbacks move five points ahead of Cranbrook
- After a very good 1st period, the Apes didn't look like the same team in the 2nd period. Salmon Arm spent a lot of time in their own end, didn't get a whole lot of puck possession or time in the offensive zone but did manage to get a huge 3rd goal to jump out to a 3-0 lead. The S'Backs PK was good as well as their defence, limiting opportunities
- The Silverbacks have lost nine of their last ten games
- The Silverbacks next game is Friday vs the visiting Spruce Grove Saints
- Salmon Arm's bench was not happy with the officiating tonight. Head Coach/GM Tyler Shattock was very unhappy after Anthony Nolan hit a Salmon Arm player into the end boards and then after having the teams fourth goal waived off early into the 3rd period
- The Apes PK was very good, especially in the 3rd killing off a five minute major
- The S'Backs played with a lot of jump/energy, seemed to be very engaged in the game tonight
- The Gorillas have a very quick transition game, had a ton of odd man rushes this evening
- SA with two power plays in the 3rd had a chance to put the game away but couldn't capitalize with the man advantage. The Backs were the better team in the first half, were forced to kill off a five minute major in the second half, after Donny Sission was ejected for a knee on knee. The Silverbacks PK was very good
- With the win, Salmon Arm improves to 21-23-4-2 sit 3rd in the Interior West Division are five points ahead of Cranbrook
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Sebastian Bradshaw (Injured)
Brayden Pankey (Injured)
Evan Sundar (Injured)
London Taylor
Oliver Kanat
Salmon Arm Silverbacks:
Wyatt Dreger
Cole Longacre
Brady Logue
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Salmon Arm Silverbacks @ Vernon Vipers Saturday, March 14, 2026 | BCHL League Site
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Official statistics powered by LeagueStat.com
Vernon Junior Hockey History,
1 comment:
Oh sounds like no playoffs for the Vipers again, enjoy your last few games Diehard
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