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 going back to 1988 and have every program and every 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 Vipers won 3-2 in front of 1,348 fans at Rogers Rink.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Lame Maarhuis
Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Daniel Dirracolo
1st Period: Both teams were fairly even for most of the opening period with the hometown Silverbacks having a slight edge in play. The Vipers had a couple of quality chances early while the Gorillas had a handful of opportunities later on and on a power play. Lane Maarhuis gave up some pretty big rebounds but also made some large saves on the PK. It was 1-1 after 20 minutes of play. Shots were 15-9 Salmon Arm.
2nd Period: The Apes were by far the better of the two teams and controlled most of the middle frame. Salmon Arm played with a ton of jump/energy, were moving the puck, had a good transition game, carried the majority of the play, had a ton of good looks/quality chances, hit the post once, outskated and outworked the Snakes. Vernon looked sluggish, struggled at both ends of the rink, couldn't seem to get much of anything going. The visiting Vipers needed six and a half minutes to record their first shot of the period, were back on their heels, saw a lot of play in their own end, were chasing the Silverbacks for most of the period. Oliver Czaja tied the game late as the Snakes seemed to gain some life/momentum and played much better for the remainder of the period. It was 2-2 after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 12-6 Silverbacks.
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3rd Period: The Vipers were the better team for a lot of the period. Vernon carried the better of the play, saw a lot of zone time, more puck possession, were skating/moving the puck well, didn't get a lot of shots on goal but did get the better of the scoring chances. Daniel Dirracolo was solid between the pipes. The S'Backs weren't the same team I saw in the 2nd period, were back on their heels, were chasing the Snakes, didn't get a whole lot of opportunities. SA had a great opportunity on the power play with 2:47 remaining but struggled with the man advantage as the Vipers PK was very good to force overtime. It was 2-2 after 60 minutes of play. Shots were 10-6 Salmon Arm.
Overtime: Both teams couldn't seem to get much offence going early before the play slowly opened up. Salmon Arm had a little more puck possession. Both goaltenders made a couple of big stops before Dmitrii Kubantsev scored the overtime winner at 4:00 giving the Vernon Vipers a 3-2 overtime victory. Shots were 3-3.
Vernon Vipers Top Players:
Seth Tansem I thought played very well defensively
Shawn Leary (1 assist) Was another defencemen that I thought played well for the Vipers on the road
Christian Maro I thought played with a ton of jump/energy, come ready to play and played very well. Maro had the puck on his stick often, was hard to defend, created/generate chances, created space and made plays happen
Oliver Czaja (1 goal) I really like this kid. I think Czaja is getting better as the season continues. Was skating, using his speed, generated/created plays, was involved in the offence, had a strong game
Toms Trockis Played very well, was engaged, involved in the play, played hard
Garin Ludwig (1 assist) Has played very well since coming to Vernon late in the season. Ludwig was very good at both ends of the rink, made some smart plays, generated opportunities
Lane Maarhuis (38 saves) Is a big boy, covers a lot of the net, gave up some big rebounds early but as the game continued settled in and was very solid between the pipes for Vernon. Had to be sharp and was forced to make several large saves on a Salmon Arm PP in the 1st period and then was very good in the 2nd period with the Apes pressing. Maarhuis made a big stop in overtime as well
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- The Vipers next game is Saturday vs the visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks
- The Snakes are 8-14-2-0 on the road
- The Vipers have six regular season games remaining
- I thought both teams were fairly even in the 1st period with Salmon Arm having a slight edge in play. The Vipers had the early opportunities and Lane Maarhuis was very good in goal
- The Vipers have won three of their last five games are 5-5 in their last ten games
- Vernon really missed Sebastian Bradshaw and Evan Sundar tonight
- The Vipers are 3-2-1-0 vs the Silverbacks
- I spotted a small handful of Vipers fans in attendance
- Vernon has won four of their last seven road games
- This was a very entertaining/exciting hockey game
- The Snakes went 0-1 on the man advantage
- If my math is correct, one more Cranbrook win and one more Vernon loss and the Vipers will be eliminated from playoff contention
- The Snakes looked sluggish and struggled for most of the 2nd period, a period where they were back on their heels, couldn't seem to muster much of anything, needed six and a a half minutes to record their first shot of the period, saw a lot of the play in their own end. Lane Maarhuis was solid between the pipes, keeping Vernon in the period/game
- The Vipers are 2-1-0-0 in Salmon Arm
- Both goaltenders played very well
- Since Salmon Arm joined the league in 2001, I have missed two Vipers games in Salmon Arm
- Vernon is 4-7 in overtime
- After being outplayed in the 2nd period, the Snakes responded with a very good 3rd period, a period where they were the better of the two teams. The visiting Vipers carried and controlled a lot of the period, had the better of the opportunities, didn't get a lot of shots on goal but had more puck possession, more zone time and played much better
- The Vipers have just six wins in their last twenty games
- I really liked the Vipers PK. Vernon got some big saves from their goaltender but also played very well shorthanded
- Since the 2003-04 season, the Vipers are 78-58-16-1-4 vs Salmon Arm
- How big was the PK late in the 3rd? A massive penalty kill to force overtime
- With the overtime win, Vernon improves to 14-27-7-0 sit 5th in the Interior West Division, are 8 pts back of Cranbrook for the final playoff spot
Salmon Arm Silverbacks Top Players:
Scott Miner is a big kid that played well on the Silverbacks blueline
Aidan Shirey (2 assists) Was another d-man that played well in the OT loss
Jack Toogood Played with a lot of jump/energy, was engaged in the play
Brady Craik (1 assist) Played with a bit of an edge, was physical and in the face of the Vipers
Anthony Preskar is another big body that stood out, played hard, competed and was involved in the play
Daniel Dirracolo (21 saves) Wasn't nearly as busy as Lane Maarhuis but sharp in goal for Salmon Arm. Made a couple of big stops early in the opening frame and then gave the Silverbacks a chance to win with some big saves in the 3rd and one more in overtime
Game Thought's: Salmon Arm Silverbacks
- The Silverbacks are 9-11-2-2 at home
- Salmon Arm went 0-4 on the power play
- The Apes have a very strong transition game, really move the puck up ice in a hurry
- SA had a slight edge in play during the 1st period, had several good looks/quality chances on the PP but couldn't capitalize with the man advantage. Both goaltenders played well in a fairly even period
- Tonight's attendance was 1,348
- The Silverbacks next game is Saturday in Vernon
- Salmon Arm has lost nine straight games
- The Gorillas played well defensively, block a lot of shots or take away time & space, get sticks in the shooting lanes and don't give up a lot of second or third opportunities
- The Silverbacks have five regular season games remaining
- The S'Backs had lots of opportunities on the power play, especially getting a PP with under three minutes remaining in the 3rd couldn't capitalize with the man advantage
- The Apes play three of their final five games on home ice
- Salmon Arm looked very good, was the better of the two teams in the 2nd period. The Silverbacks carried and controlled most of the middle frame, saw a lot of the period in the offensive zone, got several good looks/opportunities, were skating, moving the puck, creating/generating chances, had Vernon back on their heels, outskated and outworked the Vipers
- The Silverbacks have lost seven of their last ten home games
- SA is very good on the rush, are hard to contain/defend
- The Silverbacks better watch out, Cranbrook is only 3 pts back of the Backs for 3rd place
- The hometown Silverbacks were firing everything towards the net, recorded fourty shots on goal
- The Silverbacks hit one post in the 2nd period
- After a very strong 2nd period, it was mostly all Vernon in the 3rd. The Silverbacks were forced to block a lot of shots and had Daniel Dirracolo keep them in the period with several big stops in a period where they were back on their heels, struggled a little offensively
- With the overtime loss, Salmon Arm falls to 20-23-4-2 sit 3rd in the Interior West Division, are 3 pts ahead of Cranbrook
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Sebastian Bradshaw
Evan Sundar
London Taylor
Oliver Kanat
Salmon Arm Silverbacks:
Tate O'Brien
Cole Longacre
Parker Deschene
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Vernon Vipers @ Salmon Arm Silverbacks Friday, March 13, 2026 | BCHL League Site
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Official statistics powered by LeagueStat.com
Vernon Junior Hockey History,
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