Merritt, BC: Owen Kim had just what the Vipers needed Friday night completing a hat trick with an overtime winner to send the Vipers home with a 5-4 overtime win over the Merritt Centennials.
“There were some highs and lows for sure,” says Assistant Coach of the Vipers Colton Sparrow. “I thought we managed our emotions and got back into the fight in the 3rd. It’s a good feeling to win in overtime. On to tomorrow.”
Luke Bibby got the scoring started for the Vipers, but not before he found himself in a little penalty trouble. He took two minor penalties in the first few minutes, but more than made up for that with the effort on his goal.
Owen Kim scored his first of the night on the powerplay, before scoring his second just a minute later to the Vipers a 3-0 lead after 1.
“This was a good, hard win tonight,” says Kim. “We had some hiccups in the second period but I was proud of the guys for rallying back. I really want to thank Dylan for helping me get my body ready for the weekend.”
Hank Cleaves scored early in the second period, Filip Krajcik and Owen Kim drew the assists.
From there, the Centennials mounted an impressive comeback. Moments after the 4-0 goal, Michael Felsing scored to make it 4-1. Michael Stenberg scored shorthanded to make it 4-2. Then late in the period Luke Pfoh and Easton Ryan scored 17 seconds apart to send it to the dressing room tied at 4.
Both teams settled down in the third period.
Kim would wind the puck up from his own zone, gain the Centennial line, then snap with winner through the five-hole of Andrew Ballantyne to get the victory.
Ethan David made 31 saves on 35 shots, while Andrew Ballantyne finished with 29 saves on 34 shots.
The Vipers powerplay was 1 for 5, while their PK was perfect killing off all 4 of the Merritt man advantages.
Vernon will now head to Trail for a huge matchup with the Smoke Eaters on Saturday night at Cominco.
