Another Weekend Split as Vipes Defeat Cents, Fall to Vees

Ironically enough, the Vernon Vipers played better in a losing effort this weekend rather than in their victory.  This weekend was a tough one as the team was without a number of regulars including their head coach for one game, yet were able to pull off a split.  They defeated the Merritt Centennials 4-2 in a back and forth game that saw both teams miss glorious opportunities to score.  The next night they dropped a 1-0 decision in Penticton in a game that was very even with one PP goal the only difference.

Starting with Friday night, the Vipers found themselves behind early for the 3rd consecutive game.  It took a strong will and perseverance for them to come back against a very game Merritt squad.  Both teams would probably say they weren't as strong defensively as they would have liked as both teams had many chances to score thanks to defensive mistakes.  In the end, a shorthanded goal would be the difference as the snakes scored their 6th shorty of the season to get the two points in regulation.

Merritt struck first as John Schiavo stole a puck in the offensive zone and ripped it past Schamerhorn to make it 1-0 inside the first 6 minutes.  The Vipers had a few chances and some nice push back, but couldn't get anything by Anthony Pupplo or the iron.  The Centennials would get a powerplay late in the frame and James Neil put home a rebound to give Merritt a 2-0 lead after 1.  The Cents had the lead in shots and goals, but the period was far from lopsided.

The Vipers cut into the lead early in the second and once again Thomas Aldworth showed off his blazing speed, poking the puck past the defender and burning past him to slide it by Pupplo.  Once again both teams would get chances to get on the score sheet, but both goaltenders looked very good controlling rebounds and playing the puck.  The Vipers got the game tied up very late in the period as Blaine Caton potted home his first BCHL goal on the PP to tie the game at 2 after 2.

The Vipers have used shorthanded goals to get themselves back into games and Friday was no exception as Trever Fidler scored the teams 6th shorthanded goal in 12 games to give Vernon their first lead of the night 3-2.  In the final few minutes the Cents put a ton of pressure on the Viper goal and just didn't get the bounces they needed to get the game tied, including a pair of missed open nets on one timers.   Thomas Aldworth would seal it into an empty net to give Vernon a 4-2 win and even up the season series with their Nicola Valley rivals.

Here's the scoring summary:

Period 1

Merritt Centennials - John Schiavo (8) - (unassisted) - 5:52
Merritt Centennials - James Neil (4) - (PP) - (Schiavo, Gould) - 17:47

Period 2

Vernon Vipers - Thomas Aldworth (7) - (Caton) - 4:33
Vernon Vipers - Blaine Caton (1) - (PP) - (L. Coughlin) - 19:52

Period 3

Vernon Vipers - Trever Fidler (4) - (SH) - (Latina, Shiplo) - 7:22
Vernon Vipers - Thomas Aldworth (8) - (EN) - (L. Coughlin) - 19:27

Shots - Merritt 39     Vernon 33

Powerplays - Merritt 1 for 3     Vernon 1 for 6

The win gave the Vipers consecutive wins over Interior division rivals in hopes of sweeping the weekend with a game the next night in Penticton.

The last time the Vipers were in the SOEC was game 7 of the Interior Division Finals as the road team was able to win an emotional game in overtime to move on in the post season.  Both teams looked different from player personnel and coaching staff, but the emotion in the game was quite the same.  Unfortunately for the Vipers this game wouldn't go like game 7 did as one PP goal proved the difference as the Vees would win 1-0 and increase their win streak to 9 games.

Goaltending and defense were instrumental in the first period as both teams traded some quality chances, but really played a controlled game.  Both teams made smart plays out of their own zones, clogged up the neutral zone and when given the opportunity got some chances on goal.

The Vees got a PP early in the second period and it took just 7 seconds to strike as Dante Fabbro let a long slapper go that went off a Viper stick in front and by Schamerhorn.  The Vipers would get a few chances on the PP of their own, but couldn't get anything past Hunter Miska.  Miska was a huge story as midway through the period stacked the pads to rob Mitch Meek and keep the game 1-0.

The Vees shut it down after that limiting the Viper chances, keeping the shots against down and sending the puck as far into the Vipers zone as they could.  Of course, the Vipers still got a handful of opportunities including a great individual effort from Thomas Aldworth that came up just a bit short thanks to a pad save from Miska.  The Vipers would pull the goaltender in an attempt at tying the game, but they couldn't get anything to the goal and game would finish 1-0.

Here is the scoring summary:

Period 2

Penticton Vees - Dante Fabbro (3) - (PP) - (Jost, Hannoun) - 1:05

Shots - Vernon 28    Penticton 26

It was a much better defensive game for the Vipers as they limited the Vees to just 26 shots on goal.  There were definite positives to take away from the game and build for a matchup next Saturday against the Merritt Centennials.