Coquitlam, BC: Dawson Holt scored late to break the shutout bid of Clay Stevenson and James Porter Jr. stopped 21 shots as the Coquitlam Express defeated the Vipers 2-1 at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex.
The Vipers found themselves in early penalty trouble and the Express were able to take advantage. Josh Wildauer would rifle home a one timer from the left circle past a sprawling Porter Jr. to make it 1-0 early on. The Vipers had a good opportunity on a 4 on 3 powerplay of their own, the Express penalty kill and Clay Stevenson were able to kill it off. On another powerplay for Coquitlam later in the period, Noah De La Durantaye’s point shot found its way through bodies to give the home team a 2-0 lead. Shots after 1 were 11-6.
The Vipers came out of the intermission buzzing as they pushed the pace and jumped out to an early shot advantage of 7-1. The 5 on 5 play was stellar as they hemmed the Express in their own zone. The Vipers started funneling pucks at the next including some good chances through screens and deflections, but didn’t get the puck luck as Stevenson was able get pads on the bounces in front. The Viper powerplay sputtered a bit, but was still able to get some looks and came within a hair of getting on the board, but the goal post got in the way. The Vipers outshot the Express 15-5 in the period, but still trailed 2-0.
Vernon continued to take it to the Express as they tried to empty the tank at the end of the trip. They continued the pressure from the second period, but the results were much the same. The PK that struggled in the first period, came through in a big way in the 3rd killing 2 penalties and not allowing much. When opportunities for Coquitlam came up, James Porter Jr. made a few big pad saves. The Vipers would pull Porter late in regulation in an attempt to break the shutout and with a handful of seconds were able to do that as Dawson Holt ripped home a shot from the slot to make it 2-1. The Vipers looked for a really late push, but were the victims of misuse of the clock as it didn’t start right off the faceoff, then ran long after the Vipers thought they earned an offensive zone faceoff. With no way to identify how much time had ticked off, the officials determined the time expired and ended the game with Vernon ready to draw up a play. A disappointing result for a fantastic 40 minute effort.
The Vipers finished the 11 game stretch away from home with a 5-4-1-1 record.
They are finally back on home ice Friday night when Salmon Arm comes to town for First Responders Night. The Vipers will be wearing special First Responders Jerseys which are available for bid at AuctionOkanagan.com. Puck drop is 7pm and tickets are going fast. To get yours and beat the lineups get them online at vernonvipers.com
