It wasn't the complete 60 minute effort the Vipers had on Friday night, but the team did enough things right and generated enough chances to defeat the Trail Smoke Eaters 6-3. The powerplay scored for the second consecutive game and the PK was perfect once again. Both of those were key factors in the Vipers winning this game.
The Vipers quickly struck as TJ Dumonceaux would put home a rebound in front of Adam Todd who fought the puck early. Guenther would increase the lead with a well placed wrist shot just over 3 minutes later. Trail would start to come out firing and picked up their game significantly and it started with Joel Webb scoring from a point shot off a face off win. The period was a good and bad scenario for the Vipers who looked overmatched at times in the latter parts of the period.
The second was back and forth with neither team able to generate goals. Both teams PK's were good and the goalies made the saves they needed to make.
The goals came fast and frequent in the final period as the Smokies got the game tied early with Colby Livingstone's first goal in the BCHL. The Viper powerplay wasn't able to get anything past Todd in the first 3 attempts, but the 4th they would make no mistake as Jason Bird walked into a rocket and blew it past Todd to give the Vipers a 3-2 lead. Less than a minute later Josh Bryan would find himself in the slot and beat Todd with a wrist shot to double the Viper lead to 4-2. Once again, the Smokies refused to go away and to their credit they deserved to get the game closer. I had Greyson Reitmeier getting his first BCHL goal, although on the stat sheet it says Livingstone. Whomever is credited with the goal they can thank Braeden Pears who started the play from his own zone, went end to end and was stopped by Smith before the rebound was slipped home. One thing I liked about the Vipers game is they didn't hang back while up by a goal, they pushed the pace and were rewarded as Dexter Dancs found a rebound and put it home to get the Snakes 2 goal lead back. Chase McMurphy would score an empty netter to seal the 6-3 victory.
My 3 Key Thoughts
1) Offense from Defense - When half your goals are scored by defensemen, you know things are going well. The defense core of this team are so good in their own end, its nice to see them rewarded with goals. Guenther would be named first star with a multi point game. Josh Bryan and Jared Wilson had multi point games as well and a big powerplay marker from Jason Bird finished off the defensive scoring.
2) Greasy Roadgame at Home - This was the type of game most coaches would call a greasy road game. The only difference for the Vipers was that it was at home. Not every home game can be pretty, but the team battled through spells where they were ineffective and were being outworked. Good teams find ways to win, this afternoon was a perfect example of getting two points while not at their best.
3) Hardworking Smokies - I thought the Trail Smoke Eaters continued their trend of working as hard as possible. Sure they've lost 4 in a row, but given all the turnover this team has gone through its no wonder this season continues to be a struggle. Where this team is not struggling is the effort department. All weekend they pushed the Silverbacks and the Vipers to all they could handle. Eventually as the team gets to know each other and the coach a little better, I predict a few more wins and a lot more close games.
The Vernon Vipers have enjoyed home cooking and will now embark on a three game road swing that takes them to the Island for two games and the mainland for one. They'll be in Victoria Friday night and all the action can be heard on 107.5 KissFM starting at 7pm with the pregame show. Faceoff will be 7:15 from the Bear Mountain Arena.
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