Vipers Smother Smokies 4-1.

It was a complete team effort Friday night as the Vernon Vipers defeated the Trail Smoke Eaters 4-1.  The team was aggressive, yet controlled.  Physical, yet disciplined and got great goaltending.

A good first period saw the Vipers up by a goal.  Vernon was able to shake the bus legs and at one point led the Smokies 10-3 in the shot department.  The line of Dumonceaux, Sparrow and Povelofskie excelled and were rewarded with a goal as Povelofskie got his second of the season.  Both goaltenders at times fought the puck with some awkward rebounds and both teams looked to shoot from everywhere.  The penalty kill was solid for Vernon killing off both powerplays they faced.

The second period was more of the same as the Vipers were very calm and composed in their own end and very aggressive in the Smokies end.  It goes without saying when you're aggressive, sometimes you give up chances and the Smokies had their fair share.  A goal post, a disallowed goal and some big saves from Austin Smith kept Trail off the board.  The forecheck of the Vipers would force a turnover and Sparrow would score on a short breakaway to increase the Snakes lead to 2-0.

Things started to open up in the third as the Smoke Eaters pushed to get back in the game.  The Vipers took advantage of a few odd man rushes as Dancs scored on a 2 on 1 off a Michael McNicholas feed.  Shortly after that Colton Sparrow deposited a rebound off Riley Corbin for his second goal of the game.  Late in regulation the Vipers tried to hold onto the shutout, but it wasn't to be on this night as Adam Wheeldon found a loose puck in the slot and snapped it past Austin Smith.  Disappointing for Smith, but I'm sure at the end of the day the team is happy to get the 4-1 win.

My 3 Key Thoughts

1) Nice Rebound - It was a nice bounce back game for the Vipers.  Clearly not happy with their play on Wednesday night, Vernon came out with a consistent effort for pretty much 60 minutes.  When they did make mistakes, they were able to recover or get big saves from their goaltender.

2) Contributions from Everywhere - When your top line isn't getting on the scoreboard, you need contributions from other lines and tonight was a prime example of that.  Colton Sparrow looked like a man possessed with his two goals and Tyler Povelofskie continues to improve on a nightly basis.

3) Austin Smith - It came to my attention after the fact, but Austin Smith was 30 seconds away from his first career shutout in junior hockey.  He really battle hard, fighting the puck at times, but battling through it to keep his team in the lead.  If he continues to play the way he did tonight, there is no doubt in my mind he'll get that elusive shutout sooner than later.

Next up for the Vipers is a Saturday Night matchup against the West Kelowna Warriors at Kal Tire Place.  If you can't make it to the rink, all the action can be heard on 107.5 KissFM starting at 6:45 with the pregame show.