Vernon, BC: The Vipers peppered the Victoria Grizzlies net with 42 shots, but could only find the twine once as the visitors defeated the Vipers 5-1 at Kal Tire Place.
The Vipers had a spark early on jumping out to a 4-1 shot advantage. That momentum continued as Connor Marritt opened the scoring with his 2nd goal of the season down the left wing. The unassisted tally gave the Vipers a 1-0 lead. The Grizzlies responded less than 2 minutes as Darwin Lakoduk poked home a rebound in front of the Vipers goal to make it 1-1. Both teams traded chanced through out most of the period. The Grizzlies took their first lead of the night after a centering pass from Bryce Anderson found Brendan Bowie and he snapped a shot off the goal post and in. Just 23 seconds after a Vipers miscue, Marty Westhaver capitalized on an odd man rush to make it 3-1 after 1 period.
The Vipers used an early powerplay to generate some momentum in the first few minutes of the period, but couldn’t beat Joe Howe. The Grizzlies would get their own chances thanks to a pair of powerplays, but the Vipers penalty kill was solid killing off both opportunities. There weren’t many shots in the period and it ended as it began, with the visitors leading 3-1.
The Vipers had two good shifts to start the period, but again didn’t result in a goal. The Grizzlies took advantage off a chance after a Stephen Konroyd wrap around to make it 4-1 early on. The Vipers put 23 shots towards the Victoria goal in the third, but Howe stopped every one of them, even the ones he couldn’t see. Bryce Anderson put the finishing touches on the scoring with 6 minutes left to make it 5-1.
The Vipers will welcome Powell River Saturday night at 6pm. You can get your tickets by visiting vernonvipers.com
