The key for the Vipers on this night would come from a quick start. Thomas Aldworth would open the scoring on the PP with a hard wrist shot from the circle. The Vipers tacked on another one just a few minutes later off a beautiful set up from the fourth line as Blaine Caton drove the net hard and received a nice pass from Mackenzie Bauer to make it 2-0 in the first 6 minutes. The deficit seemed to keep the Centennials just a step behind. The Cents responded 6 minutes later as the Vipers couldn't clear, Cole Arcuri would make them pay with a well placed shot up and under the bar to make it 2-1. The Vipers would respond quickly as Riley Guenther kept a clearing attempt in at the blue line and released a snapper that beat Imoo to make it 3-1. That two goal lead was short lived as the Centennials used their PP to get it back within 1 on a nice set up to Shane Poulsen, who walked down the slot and rifled it past Schamerhorn to make it 3-2 Vernon after 1 period.
The second tightened up a bit, but the Centennials found themselves on three powerplays and took advantage on it as a scramble in the slot found Diego Cuglietta at the side of the net and he tied the game up 3-3. Just under four minutes later TJ Dumonceaux would take a pass down the right wing and snap it past Imoo to give Vernon a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes.
The Centennials played as desperate as a team clinging to hope could. Unfortunately for them the Vipers caused a turnover midway through the period and Liam Finlay gave the Vipers another 2 goal advantage. Luke Pierce would pull Jonah Imoo with 3 and half minutes remaining and it paid dividends right away as a point shot hit Gavin Gould in the slot and fooled Schamerhorn and it was a one goal game again. Imoo would go back the bench a minute later, but Riley Brandt stole a pass in the neutral zone and made it 6-4 into an empty net. The Cents would get one back with 2 seconds on the clock, but time would expire on the Cents season as the Vipers would hold on for a 6-5 win.
Here is the official box score from the BCHL website.:
| SCORING SUMMARY |
| PERIOD 1 |
| 1-0 Vernon Vipers at 3:25 (PP) - Mackenzie Bauer from Riley Guenther and Liam Finlay |
| 2-0 Vernon Vipers at 5:56 - Blaine Caton from Mackenzie Bauer and Michael Roberts |
| 2-1 Merritt Centennials at 9:37 - Cole Arcuri from Colin Grannary and Michael Ederer |
| 3-1 Vernon Vipers at 12:48 - Riley Guenther (unassisted) |
| 3-2 Merritt Centennials at 14:36 (PP) - Shane Poulsen from Stephan Seeger and Gavin Gould |
| PERIOD 2 |
| 3-3 Merritt Centennials at 10:37 (PP) - Diego Cuglietta from Stephan Seeger and Shane Poulsen |
| 4-3 Vernon Vipers at 15:00 - TJ Dumonceaux from Liam Coughlin |
| PERIOD 3 |
| 5-3 Vernon Vipers at 9:04 - Liam Finlay from Jagger Williamson |
| 5-4 Merritt Centennials at 16:48 - Gavin Gould from Josh Teves and Diego Cuglietta |
| 6-4 Vernon Vipers at 18:25 - Riley Brandt (unassisted) |
| 6-5 Merritt Centennials at 19:58 - Sam Johnson from Diego Cuglietta and John Schiavo |
| STARS OF THE GAME | ||
 1st STAR | 2nd STAR | 3rd STAR |
| Merritt Centennials Sam Johnson | Merritt Centennials Diego Cuglietta | Merritt Centennials Griffyn Martin |
The three stars were announced differently in the building. 1) - Mackenzie Bauer 2) - Gavin Gould 3) - Liam Finlay.
Merritt clearly honoring the players who are moving on next season. A nice gesture.
The Vipers are now off until Friday when round 2 begins. The opponent is yet to be determined. Tomorrow on the blog I will break the series down in more detail.
Thanks for checking out the blog! You can follow me on Twitter....@GrahamT_Vipers for all your Viper news and information!
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