Game 17 - Grizzlies 2 Vipers 0

Coming off the heels of a tough loss in which the team was outplayed, the Vipers came into Saturday nights game looking to get back to their winning ways against a team with only 2 wins on the season.  Now of course that far from guarantees a victory as the Vipers had dropped a decision at home to Prince George earlier who only had 1 win.  The night proved to be one of those nights where anyone can beat anyone no matter the record.  The Grizzlies played a very well rounded game, had some timely scoring and would leave KTP with a 2-0 win.

The first period didn't feature much in the way of scoring chances as both teams played a pretty spirited first 10 minutes.  Both goalies had a chance to feel the puck heading into the radio timeout.  The Grizzlies would open the scoring as Nick Guiney would tap home a rebound off a power rush from Tyler Welsh.  Not much happened after that, the Grizzlies picked up the pace and would finish the period up by a goal and outshooting the Vipers 16-9.

The second period was a more balanced period that saw the shots even, but no goals up on the board.  The only real thing of note was a fight between Nick Guiney and Mac Ferner.  It was a good scrap that one would call a draw.

The Grizzlies would add to their lead when Cole Pickup would get a breakaway and after 2 great saves from Shortridge, the third time was the charm and Pickup tapped it home to make it 2-0.  The Grizzlies shut it down from there, not giving up much and thanks to some late powerplays didn't feel overly threatened as they spent most of it on the powerplay.  When the horn sounded it was the visiting Grizzlies shutting out the Vipers 2-0.

Here is the official scoring summary:

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

1-0 Victoria Grizzlies at 12:55 - Nick Guiney from Tyler Welsh and Cody Van Lierop

PERIOD 2

No Scoring

PERIOD 3

2-0 Victoria Grizzlies at 7:26 - Cole Pickup from PJ Conlon and Mitchell Barker

STARS OF THE GAME
1st STAR	2nd STAR	3rd STAR
Victoria Grizzlies Matthew Galajda	Vernon Vipers Andrew Shortridge	Victoria Grizzlies Nick Guiney

SCORING	1	2	3	TOTAL
Victoria Grizzlies	1	0	1	2
Vernon Vipers	0	0	0	0

SHOTS	1	2	3	TOTAL
Victoria Grizzlies	16	13	21	50
Vernon Vipers	9	14	8	31

POWER PLAYS
Victoria Grizzlies	0 for 9 (00.0%)
Vernon Vipers	0 for 6 (00.0%)

After 3 games that saw the Vipers get 6 points and play some pretty good hockey, the weekend was very surprising.  Friday night seemed to carry into Saturday night in terms of energy level and compete level.  I think it left the players and coaching staff scratching their heads a little.  Getting outscored 5-2 wasn't so much the issue, but systems and structures just weren't executed the way they are drawn up.

They gave up 98 shots in 2 nights and Andrew Shortridge stopped 93 of them.  That number is way to high and needs to be addressed.

The next game doesn't get any easier as the rival Salmon Arm Silverbacks make their first trip to KTP on Wednesday night.  You can hear all the action on 107.5 KissFM starting at 6:45.  Or watch on FastHockey.