West Kelowna, BC: The Vernon Vipers got contributions throughout the lineup and a strong first start from Jesse Sanche, but a pair of third-period goals by West Kelowna proved to be the difference in a 4–3 loss to the Warriors.
Vernon opened the scoring on the powerplay when Liam Magnuson wired home his first BCHL goal, finishing a setup from Evan Sundar and Dmitrii Kubantsev. The Vipers doubled the lead later in the period as Kubantsev ripped a laser from the left wall, finding just enough space for his 10th of the season, with Jack Bousquet picking up the assist.
West Kelowna responded on a powerplay breakaway, with Blake Burke getting the Warriors on the board. At the other end, Sanche was sharp in the opening frame, turning aside 12 of 13 shots.
The pace and physicality stayed high in the second period, with Vernon continuing to push despite West Kelowna tying the game late on the man advantage. Max Kelly scored his second of the season with just one second remaining on a minor penalty to even the score at 2–2. Vernon’s penalty kill came up with a key late stop to send the game to the third period tied.
Vernon nearly regained the lead on the opening shift of the third, but Bor Glavic made a spectacular save to rob Shaun Rios. Moments later, West Kelowna took its first lead of the night after a failed zone clearance, as Noah Garthe snapped home his 9th of the season.
The Vipers answered once again on the powerplay, with Kubantsev finding Sundar, who buried his chance to make it 3–3. The Warriors responded quickly, however, as Ian Alonso scored what would stand as the game-winning goal, his 7th of the season.
Vernon pushed late with the goalie pulled and generated powerplay pressure, but couldn’t find the equalizer.
Vernon went 2-for-3 on the powerplay, while the penalty kill finished 2-for-4.
Scoring Leaders
Vernon: Dmitrii Kubantsev (1G, 2A), Evan Sundar (1G, 1A)
West Kelowna: Ian Alonso (1G, 1A – GWG), Ruslan Jamaldinov (2A), Alexandre Lallier (2A)
The Vipers will return from the All-Star break with a Wednesday night matchup against the Powell River Kings at Kal Tire Place.
#TimeToStrike
