Game 43 Preview - Vipers @ Warriors

The offensive struggles for the Vernon Vipers continued on Tuesday Night in Merritt and tonight won't be any easier.  Tonight the Vipers square off with the hottest team in the BCHL in 2014.  The Vipers are 4 and 6 in their last ten and are being tested by adversity on each and every night.  One night its penalty trouble, another its a lack of shots and finally even a lack of fortunate bounces despite the effort level being there.  The main focus for the Vipers is stringing together as close to a 60 minute effort as possible.  On the other side of ice tonight is a team that is 8-1-1 in their last 10, a team unbeaten in 7 and a team outscoring their opponents 29-12.  On paper this matchup seems onesided, but thats the beauty of sport, anyone can win on any given night.

Here's the breakdown:

Season Series - September 17 - West K 5 Vipers 3 - Royal LePage Place
                      - November 8 - Vipers 5 West K 3 - Kal Tire Place
                      - November 23 - Vipers 2 West K 2 - OT - Kal Tire Place
                      - December 18 - Vipers 3 West K 1 - Kal Tire Place

Vernon Vipers

Record - 22-13-3-4 - 3rd in the Interior Division

Home Record - 12-4-3-3          Away Record - 10-9-0-1

Leaders - Goals - Brett Mulcahy (25)
             - Assists - Michael McNicholas (34)
             - Points - Michael McNicholas (53)

Goaltending - Austin Smith - 24 GP, 11-7-3-2, 2.68 GAA, .914Sv%
                   - Danny Todosychuk - 18 GP, 10-5-0-1, 2.95 GAA, .903Sv%

Special Teams - Powerplay - 16th in the league - 25 for 163 - 15.34%
                       - Penalty Kill - 6th in the league - 147 of 179 - 82.12%

West Kelowna Warriors

Record - 14-12-2-2 - 2nd in the Interior Division

Home Record - 12-8-1-0          Away Record - 12-4-1-2

Leaders - Goals - Jordan Masters (17)
             - Assists - Jason Cotton/Seb Lloyd (25)
             - Points - Jason Cotton (41)

Goaltending - Andy Desautels - 36 GP, 21-9-2-1, 2.33 GAA, .917Sv%
                   - Cody Porter - 8 GP, 3-2-0-1, 3.74 GAA, .868 Sv%

Special Teams - Powerplay - 14th in the league - 30 for 180 - 16.67%
                       - Penalty Kill - 15th in the league - 126 of 165 - 76.36%

The last loss the Warriors had was 7 games ago and it was the Vernon Vipers with a 3-1 victory at home.  This series essentially switches to Royal LePage Place where the Warriors are very good.  Only time will tell if this is a first round playoff matchup, but tonight should be a war and it'll be fun to watch/listen to.  All the action is on 107.5 KissFM starting at 6:45!