Vipers End Weekend with 5-4 Win in OT

I firmly believe a talking point all year long will be the impressive offensive skill set that Thomas Aldworth has.  There is no question he is an explosive player in all offensive aspects, its his play in his own zone that will turn him into a complete player.  On Saturday night all three zones were improved upon as Aldworth scored two including the game winner to give the Vipers a big 5-4 overtime win and extend their winning streak to 3 games.  The Vipers put a less than stellar first 20 minutes behind them and ended the night with two points.  The game itself was quite an entertaining one considering these two teams only play twice a year.  They were evenly matched, the goaltending was solid at both ends.  Momentum shifted from one side to the other.  Fans at KTP had to be entertained.

As I stated earlier, it was a period to forget for the Vipers who were guilty of making too many defensive zone mistakes.  Those mistakes would be costly as Jake Larson would end off a nice play after a Craig Puffer steal.  The Viper powerplay has struggled and it was victimized shorthanded as Luke McColgan would get his first of the night while a man short.  Despite leading in shots the Vipers were down 2-0.

The Vipers would chip into the lead early int he second as Jagger Williamson would find a loose puck at the side of the net and beat Aidan Pelino to cut the lead in half.  Both teams traded chances through the following few minutes before a defensive zone mishap allowed Luke McColgan to rifle a shot past Schamerhorn to make it 3-1.  The Vipers would respond quickly as Thomas Aldworth was absolutely robbed by Pelino, but Branden Wagner was able to pot home a rebound to make it 3-2 Chiefs after 2 periods.

Vernon continued to play with energy and the momentum swung in their favour thanks to a 2 on 1 rush finished off by Trevor Fidler and the game was tied at 3.  A few minutes later Thomas Aldworth would find a loose puck in the slot and snap it home to give the home team their first lead of the game 4-3.  The Vipers seemed to be in good shape, but a late push from the Chiefs saw Luke McColgan get his third of the night with just 53 seconds left on the clock to send this game to overtime.

It only took one shot in overtime as Thomas Aldworth stole a puck at his own blue line and went in alone on a breakaway and after a nice move flipped it past Pelino to give the Vipers a 5-4 OT win.

Here is the scoring summary:

Period 1

Chilliwack Chiefs - Jake Larson (5) - (Puffer) - 6:38
Chilliwack Chiefs - Luke McColgan (4) - (SH) - (Larson, Roberts) - 18:18

Period 2

Vernon Vipers - Jagger Williamson (1) - (Booth) - 1:56
Chilliwack Chiefs - Luke McColgan (5) - (Hand, Roberts) - 11:52
Vernon Vipers - Branden Wagner (2) - (Aldworth) - 13:00

Period 3

Vernon Vipers - Trevor Fidler (2) - (Voltin, Latina) - 7:11
Vernon Vipers - Thomas Aldworth (4) - (Bauer, Brandt) - 11:05
Chilliwack Chiefs - Luke McColgan (6) - (Cholowski, Kawaguchi) - 19:07

Overtime 1

Vernon Vipers - Thomas Aldworth (5) - (unassisted) - 0:48

Shots - Chilliwack 26     Vernon 37

Powerplays - Chilliwack 0 for 3    Vernon 0 for 2

The Vipers will look to finish 4 for 4 on their homestand as they host the Penticton Vees on Friday.  The Vees roll in red hot having won 5 in a row.  Puck drop is 7pm at KTP!