The Vernon Vipers penalty kill was outstanding, Brett Mulcahy scored twice and Austin Smith made 31 saves as the Vipers defeated the Coquitlam Express 3-1. At times the game absolutely dragged on, but the team managed their frustrations and earned the all important two points.
Neither team was overly impressive in the opening frame. It was pretty sloppy, but I thought the Express had the edge in quality chances. Each teams penalty kill was perfect so were the goalies. Coquitlam out shot the Vipers by a 8-3 margin.
The second period was an interesting one to say the least. The Vipers were penalized 5 times and scored on only once, which is a small victory in itself. The Express worked the puck around nicely when Mark Whiteley would put a shot to the goal and Jace Hennig would pot home the rebound to give Coquitlam a 1-0 lead. More and more penalties in the middle frame started to frustrate the Vipers, but their PK would shut it down from there including a nice 63 second 5 on 3 kill. That seemed to spark some life into the team and Colton Sparrow would draw the Vipers even as he would snap home a wrist shot on a partial break down the right wing. It was a key goal with just 90 seconds left in the period to get it tied into the intermission.
The Vipers came out much better to start the third as some nice board work would result in a pass to the slot and Brett Mulcahy would get his first as a Viper to make it 2-1. At times the game opened up and both goalies had to be very good. It took a late powerplay for the Vipers to get their third goal and once again it was Mulcahy slipping it through Dushenko for his second of the night and a 3-1.
My 3 Key Thoughts
1) - Shut Down the Snipers - It was one of my keys to the game in the pregame show and I thought despite all the time the Coquitlam powerplay had, Rockwood and Rosenthal were kept relatively quiet. Its not very often a team shuts down two of the top 10 scorers in the BCHL especially with 8 powerplays against, but the PK did it and that was a direct reflection on the two points for the Vipers.
2) - Fitting In - Brett Mulcahy scored two goals in the third period, the game winner and the game sealer, but it was the intangibles that had Jason Williamson singing his praises. The goals are a bonus, but his work in the defensive zone and the face off circle were what really stood out. He's a veteran guy coming into a situation that could fit him like a glove and if tonight was any indication of what we'll see from him the rest of the way, he could put up some nice numbers
3) - PK Power - At times recently, the Vernon Viper PK hasn't been as sharp as it had been early in the year. Tonight, they were the reason Vernon was able to win the game. They killed off 7 of 8 chances and it lead to the momentum shift in the Vipers favour. More efforts like this will be required, especially with a busy week of hockey coming up.
It wasn't pretty, but it was effective and the Vipers will definitely take it. Next up for Vernon is a road trip Tuesday night to the Nicola Valley to face the Merritt Centennials. You can catch all the action starting at 6:45 on 107.5 KissFM.
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