It was another chance for some of the young Vipers to showcase themselves for the coaching staff after a tough 6-1 loss the night before in Salmon Arm.
On Friday night at the Shaw Centre, it was admitted the Vipers iced a young lineup and it showed as the Snakes were hemmed in their own end for the majority of the game. Last night however it was a little different. A few more veterans got a chance to play and for some a second straight night of BCHL ice time.
The Silverbacks started the game like the night before carrying the flow of play and peppering the Viper goal. Andrew Shortridge making his first appearance in the pre-season was up to the challenge and made many important saves and making them look rather easy. It took about 12 minutes for the Vipers to get their legs going before finally being able to put some pucks on Angus Redmond. There was no scoring in the first frame.
The Vipers would switch their netminders midway through the period and Joseph McLeod would take over for Shortridge who would finish the night with 22 saves on 22 shots. The Silverbacks would test the young Kelowna product right away as Cam Coutre was able to pot home a rebound off a centering pass from the far corner. Just 47 seconds later they would increase their lead as Nick Hutchison scored to make it 2-0. That goal seemed to spark the Vipers as they would start putting the pressure on and it resulted in a nice effort from Peter Tufto who would cut to the middle and wire a hard wrist shot, glove side on Redmond to make it 2-1 after 2 periods.
The Vipers would get a powerplay midway through the third period and after 3 attempts that weren`t overly dangerous, Jimmy Lambert would cut in on his off wing and go post and in to tie the game up at 2. Late in regulation Liam Finlay would be a recipient of a great pass from Peter Tufto to give the Snakes their first lead of the night. The Silverbacks would take a time out and pull Redmond for the extra attacker and that would prove effective as Brett Stewarts point shot would find its way through traffic to tie the game up at 3.
The teams would decide to play a little 4 on 4 and despite a handful of quality scoring chances, the Vipers couldn`t come away with a win as Nick Hutchison would sneak in the back door and score his second of the night to give the Backs a 4-3 win in OT.
The Vipers will now have a few days worth of practice before heading up to PG Friday for the first of a home and home with the Spruce Kings to wind down the pre-season.
