Port Alberni, BC: There were plenty of positives to take away, but the Vernon Vipers once again found themselves on the wrong side of a tight finish, falling 5-3 to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Saturday night.
The Vipers powerplay found the back of the net for the first time in three games, going 1 for 2, while the penalty kill stayed sharp, finishing 4 for 5. Vernon also erased a two-goal deficit early in the third period before Alberni Valley pulled away late with the game winner and an empty-net goal.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
VER – Deagan McMillan (3) – Sebastian Bradshaw – 5:18
AV – Kye Binoche (2) – Wyatt Davis – 5:42
2nd Period
AV – Kai Matthew (7) – Wyatt Davis, Caden Tremblay – 3:01 (PP)
AV – Teague McAllister (3) – Brandon Gill, Brenden Espenell – 11:23
3rd Period
VER – Dmitrii Kubantsev (1) – Evan Sundar, Davids Livsics – 0:48 (PP)
VER – Edvin Nilsson (2) – Tyler Chiovetti – 3:04
AV – Brenden Espenell (1) – Kye Binoche, Brayden Kaldenbach – 12:41
AV – Kye Binoche (3) – unassisted – 19:45 (EN)
Shots on goal finished 35–28 in favor of the Bulldogs.
Oliver Kanat made 30 saves on 34 shots for the Vipers, while Ryder Shea stopped 25 of 28 for Alberni Valley.
The Vipers will look to wrap up their road trip on a positive note Sunday afternoon when they take on the Cowichan Valley Capitals at 2 p.m.
#TimeToStrike
