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 10 million viewers. I have had season tickets since 1990 and missed 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 programs and ticket stubs from every game since 1988. I worked with the Vipers as colour commentator for a few home games during the 2002-03 season and in 2011 I helped create/design the Vipers website that I was in charge of for five seasons.
I was at tonight's Vernon Vipers-West Kelowna Warriors game as the Vipers won 7-3 in front of 2,206 fans at Kal Tire Place.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon Vipers: Samuel DiBlasi
West Kelowna Warriors: Ethan Swayer
2nd Period: The Warriors were the better team for most of the middle frame. The Tribe carried and controlled a lot of the period, had an edge in play. West Kelowna looked to have a step up on Vernon, were just a tad quicker, had more puck possession, more zone time, more shots on goal, more opportunities and just played better. WK had several quality looks/chances but Samuel DiBlasi was very good in goal for the Snakes. The Vipers couldn't seem to get much going this period. The Snakes looked a little sluggish, weren't as sharp, just didn't look as good or play as good as the 1st period. Vernon struggled a bit in their own end, and offensively, didn't get nearly as many shots on goal or opportunities. The Vipers did have a couple of good shifts here and there but overall just weren't as sharp this period. It was 4-2 Vipers after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 14-6 West Kelowna.
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3rd Period: The Tribe with a quick start, had a couple off strong shifts to start would get to within a goal at 4:04 before Toms Trockis responded on the following shift, regaining Vernon's two goal lead at 4:21 I thought both teams were pretty even for most of the period. Both teams carried the play at different times. The Snakes would put the game away with two more shorthanded goals to take a 7-3 lead. Tempers heated up just past the midway mark after Toms Trockis hit from behind, lead to everyone getting involved in some pushing and shoving and a couple of punches thrown. The Warriors had some good looks/opportunities but couldn't solve Samuel DiBlasi who made a couple of big stops. The Vipers would win their home opener 7-3. Shots were 13-8 West Kelowna.
Vernon Vipers Top Performers:
Tommy Karmiris (1 goal & 1 assist) I thought played very well Friday in Salmon Arm, played another solid game tonight vs the Warriors. Karmiris is a good skater, creates and generates opportunities
Brayden Pankey (1 assist) Played a steady game on the Vipers blueline
Ryan Fairbairn (1 assist) Was another d-man that played well
Toms Trockis (1 goal & 2 assists) Looked good, picked up three points
Mykolas Skadauskas (1 goal) Impressed me at training camp and through out the preseason, I thought played a solid game in the win tonight
Evan Schulha (2 goals) I thought had a solid game in Salmon Arm on Friday, scored two shorthanded goals tonight, had a heck of a game
Oscar Bjork Played a solid game on Vernon's backend. Bjork doesn't make a lot of mistakes, is so calm and makes things look simple
Samuel DiBlasi (29 saves) Gave up an early goal less then a minute into the home opener, didn't let it bother him, stayed calm and was very solid in goal for the Vipers. Made a couple of large saves in the 2nd period with the Warriors pressing
Game Thought's: Vernon Vipers
- The Vipers are 10-7-5 in home openers since 2003
- Tonight's the first game of a five game home stand
- I have been at every home opener since 1988
- How good was Vernon's penalty kill? The Vipers score 4 shorthanded goals this evening. Unbelievable! I wonder what the BCHL record is?
- Just like Friday in Salmon Arm, the Vipers didn't get off to a good start tonight as West Kelowna jumped on the Snakes early and were rewarded for their hard work with a goal less then a minute into tonight's contest. Vernon would re-group and quickly turn the tables and were the better team for the remainder of the 1st period. The Snakes had some zone time, were getting lots of pucks to the net, creating/generating chances and capitalized on those chances, had a good transition game, were quick on their feet, scored two shorthanded goals
- The Vipers next game is Saturday vs the visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks
- Including the preseason, the Vipers are 2-1-0-0 at home
- The Warriors beat the Vipers 5-2 September 7th in West Kelowna in the only preseason meeting between the two teams
- The Snakes went 1-4 on the power play
- The Vipers looked a little sluggish and didn't look that good or play that great in the 2nd period. I thought West Kelowna was the better team, carried and controlled most of the middle frame. The Tribe had more puck possession, more zone time, looked hungrier, had more shots on goal, a lot of good looks/opportunities but only managed one goal
- I know it's early, but this is the first time ever the Vipers have been in 1st place since the Glens purchased the team in 2018
- Vernon has yet to give up a power play goal this season
- I know were only four games into the 2026-27 regular season but what a difference recruiting is this season already compared to the past six or seven years. Matt Cooke and his staff have recruited some good players this year
- Tonight's attendance was announced at 2,206
- The Vipers went 2-5-0-0 vs West Kelowna last year
- During the opening player introductions I noticed they announced #10 a 17 year old forward named Cohen Handby. Where did he come from and when did the Vipers acquire or sign him?
- West Kelowna made things interesting with a good start to the 3rd period, scored just over four minutes in to get within a goal but on the following shift Toms Trockis replied, regaining the Snakes two goal lead. This was a big goal as Vernon didn't look back, scoring two more goals to seal the victory in a fairly even played period. Both teams carried the play at different times but overall an even period. The Tribe would give up two more shorthanded goals
- The Vipers & Warriors will play each other seven times during the regular season
- I know its early but I like what I have seen so far from this years Vipers. The Snakes are quick, have lots of speed, lots of skill and some talented players. Tonight was game 4 of the regular season and these kids looked like they have been playing together for 25 plus games. Already excited for what's to come
- What a terrible schedule early on for the Vipers. Including the preseason, we have already played Salmon Arm four times with the Silverbacks in Vernon next weekend and then a home & home vs Salmon Arm in three weeks and the Warriors are back here in two weeks. Are there no other teams we can play? Come on this is ridiculous!
- With the win, Vernon improves to 3-1-0-0 sit 1st in the Interior West Division
West Kelowna Warriors Top Performers:
The line of Max Dinneen (1 goal), Emmanuel Chan (1 goal & 2 assists) and Olivier Chan (3 assists) was West Kelowna's best players this evening. This line was on the ice almost every second shift. These three gave the Snakes all kinds of difficulty through out the game. You take away this line and I don't know how good the Warriors are?
John Kelly Played a strong game on the blueline
Game Thought's: West Kelowna Warriors
- The Warriors went 0-5 on the man advantage
- The Warriors next game is Tuesday in Cranbrook
- West Kelowna jumped on the hometown Vipers off the opening faceoff and were rewarded for their hard work, taking a 1-0 lead fifty two seconds into the Vipers home opener. The Tribe looked good the first couple of minutes but couldn't hold or sustain their strong play as eventually Vernon would take over and were the better team for the remainder of the period. WK gave up two shorthanded goals, didn't look great after one period
- The Warriors have given up fifteen goals in back to back games
- Tonight's the second game of a four game road trip
- Warriors Head Coach/Assistant GM Wyatt Head is the son of former Kelowna Spartans forward Curtis Head
- WK responded with a good push back in the 2nd period, were the better team in the middle frame. The Tribe carried and controlled most of the period, had a lot of zone time, puck possession, several good looks/opportunities, were getting more pucks to the net, only mustered one goal
- The Warriors are 0-2-0-0 om the road
- The Tribe have seven players returning from last season
- Talk about a brutal schedule. The Warriors played Friday in Prince George, tonight in Vernon, Tuesday in Cranbrook, Wednesday in Trail before returning home to play Blackfalds on Saturday
- Spotted a small group of Warriors fans in attendance
- The Warriors were hard to defend/contain down low/in and around the goal
- WK had a good start to the 3rd, would get to within a goal just over four minutes in but would give up a goal on the following shift that seemed to take the wind our of their sails. West Kelowna couldn't recover and would give up another two shorthanded goals in a period where both teams were pretty even
- The Warriors play four of their next five games on the road
- With the loss, West Kelowna falls to 2-2-0-0 sit 3rd in the Interior West Division
Scratches:
Vernon Vipers:
Aaron Zulinick
Cohen Handby
Roman Lavery
West Kelowna Warriors:
Luke Isaacs
Carter Rebman
Carter Rebman
Boxscore-Game Summary,
Game Report,
Text Box Score,
Vernon Junior Hockey History,
1 comment:
I was at the Vipers home opener tonight, another great defensively well played game. Keep it up Vipers. Go Vipers Go
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