The Vernon Vipers scored the all important first goal Friday Night, the Teddy Bears were thrown and the Vipers would roll to a 6-3 victory in front of 1675 fans at Kal Tire Place. The Vipers were very good for most of the night, played physical and had the powerplay running on all cylinders. With the win, the Vipers have taken all 4 meetings with the Smokies and three of those by a 6-3 margin.
The big question was when is the big goal going to go in. It didn't take too long as Colton Sparrow would slip home the goal that would send the Teddy Bears onto the ice. The powerplay would then get back on track as Demico Hannoun would sneak in back door and increase the lead to two. The game got a little ugly as Dylan Mascarin took a vicious swing at a Viper and would be slapped with a 5 minute major for slashing and a game misconduct. The Vipers couldn't capitalize on the man advantage due to some penalty trouble of their own, but would end the first period up by a goal.
I thought Trail had a very good second period as they used their speed and picked up their physical play. A few defensive mistakes were bailed out by Danny Todosychuk who was very solid all night long. The Vipers would utilize a stretch pass to send Dexter Dancs in alone and he would increase the lead to 3-0. Overall the middle frame was pretty even and the Smokies looked like they were close to getting on the board.
It was a wild third period as both offenses had a chance to shine. For the second time Dancs would find his way behind the D and after a nice pass from Jason Bird, Dancs would score his second of the night. It was a quick response from Trail as Scott Davidson made a nice move to work his way in and slip it over Todosychuk to make it 4-1. The Viper powerplay would get a few chances to go to work in the frame and Mason Blacklock got it started again with his first goal since October to make it 5-1. 3 minutes later on another powerplay Michael McNicholas would tally his 6th goal in 4 games to make it 6-1. Once again the Trail Smoke Eaters refused to roll over as they would get a powerplay goal of their own as Travis Stephens re-directed a point shot past Todosychuk. A little over a minute later Jake Kauppila would score to make it 6-3 with just minutes to play. The Vipers would tighten up the rest of the way and take it by that final score.
My 3 Key Thoughts
1) Powerplay - Wow did that powerplay ever look good. Three goals on four tries was the best conversion rate the team has had all season. The nice thing to see was the different ways those goals went in. A back door pass, a speed burst down the wing and a pass from behind the net. The man advantage throws a few different looks at the opposition and really seemed to confuse and disorient the Smokies PK unit.
2) Mason Blacklock - He returned for the first time in 17 games and didn't look out of place or show any sort of "rink rust". Not only that, but he put up a goal and an assist. His addition really adds the depth this team really needs to make a run. The team played well without him, and will look to play even better with him in the lineup
3) Ugliness - In the first period Dylan Mascarin lost his cool and in what I have to hope was a momentary lapse in judgment took a vicious two hand slash at a Viper player. The good news is no one was hurt and the slash was to the leg and shin pad region of the player. Josh Bryan came to the aid and tussled with Mascarin at the bench. I thought the response from the Vipers was adequate without being overblown. I firmly believe that is not the philosophy Nick Deschenes employs on his players and that it was just frustration. I'm not sure if the league would look at something like that, but two handers like that have no place in the game and can be quite dangerous.
Next up for the Vipers is a huge road game in Salmon Arm on Saturday night. It's the final road game of 2013 for Vernon and they'll look to end the year on a good note against a tough division foe. All the action is on 107.5 KissFM starting at 6:45
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