Viper Vault

_{The Viper's celebrate Hadley's goal. Photo: Roger Tepper, Edge Photography.}

Vernoncentral.ca Star of the Game Video.

Captain Patrick McGillis gave his Vernon Vipers a vital extra point when he scored 1:28 into the second overtime to edge a hard working band of Westside Warriors, 3-2.

The win moved Vernon one point ahead of Chilliwack in the race for the last playoff spot in the BCHL’s Interior Division. The Chiefs lost 4-2 in Merritt, but have two games in hand.

Assistant Coach Chris Shaw said “this was a real character win for our club; we’ve played four games in five nights and the guys gave everything they had in Penticton last night. We’re getting great leadership from our vets right now and everybody is tending to the details that make a team successful.”

The Viper drive to gain a playoff berth was signalled by their physical play – they registered 20 hits in the first period alone, which is remarkable considering that most of the players rode home from Penticton the previous night encased in ice packs, the result of administering 52 hits in the Peach City.

Still, fatigue seemed to set in to some extent in the third period as the visiting Warriors started to outwork their hosts. A determined effort by Max French tied the game at 5:03. Encouraged, the Warriors continued to forecheck hard and press the Vipers into mistakes. Frequently, the Warriors shot blocker side on Kirby Halcrow but the big goaltender made several fine reaction saves with his blocker, right arm, or right pad.

At the other end, Dwayne Rodrigue also put on a show, especially during a Viper power play that generated several Grade A chances.

The key part of the exciting third period came when the Vipers allowed only one scoring chance during a 58-second two-man advantage enjoyed by the Warriors. Then in the first overtime, another Westside power play was unable to break through the Viper defensive wall. 

Rodrigue really shone in overtime as the Vipers outshot the Warriors 15-3 in the extra 6:28. He was especially brilliant during a Viper power play that carried over into the second overtime session.

However, just after that power play expired, McGillis unleashed a powerful wrist shot that basically overwhelmed Rodrigue. McGillis said that his team “really wanted that extra point. And I needed to do something because I had missed on a few good chances earlier.”

Indeed, at the 14-minute mark in the third period, McGillis had put the puck past Rodrigue on the glove side but saw it ring off the goal post.

Special teams played a huge part in this contest. The Vipers killed off all eight Warrior power plays while scoring their first two goals with a man advantage. Mike Zalewski gave the Vipers a 1-0 first period lead when his rising snap shot from 10 feet beat Rodrigue on the short side.

Then after Travis Blanleil’s seeing-eye shot from the blue line went through a maze of players to tie the game at 11:13 of the second period, Aaron Hadley notched his third power play goal in three games, at 13:38. All three have come from exactly the same spot, on the edge of the crease to the goalie’s left.

The robust winger has been able to create separation from the defenceman assigned to guard him. However, the Warriors adjusted by putting two defenders in the crease area and cutting off the cross crease pass. The Vipers were unable to convert their subsequent power plays and finished 2 for 8 with the man advantage, although they did hit the post twice during their last three.