Penticton, BC: The Vernon Vipers kept it close for two periods, but a three goal third period was their undoing as they fell by a 6-2 score to the Penticton Vees.
The Vipers had a ton of jump in the first 10 minutes and had several good looks. The Vees however, opened the scoring as Beanie Richter pounced on a rebound making it 1-0. The Vipers responded with some chances on the powerplay but couldn’t break through. With just a few minutes left in the period, Luke Pakulak set up Seiya Tanaka-Campbell for his fourth goal of the season evening the game up at 1 after 1.
A carry over powerplay put the Vees ahead just 12 seconds in as a shot from Ben Brunette picked the top corner. Five on five the game was played even, both teams had a couple of good chances. The Vees had a couple of Grade A’s, but Roan Clarke was stellar with some acrobatic saves. Late in the period as a powerplay had just expired, Jackson Nieuwendyk scored to make it 3-1 after 2.
The Vees added two more goals in the first few minutes of the period one from Callum Arnott and one from Ryan Hopkins. Midway through the period Ethan Mann added one more to make it 6-1. The Vipers got one back late in the game on the powerplay from Lee Parks making the final score 6-2.
The Vipers are back in action Saturday night when they host the Merritt Centennials at 6pm.
