Prince George, BC: Matt Kowalski scored in regulation, Cam MacDonald scored the shootout winner and Reilly Herbst was stellar stopping 39 of 40 to propel the Vipers to a 2-1.
It took the Vipers a few minutes to settle into this one as the Spruce Kings jumped out to an early 5-0 shot advantage. Prince George funneled a ton of pucks to the net but Reilly Herbst was stood tall. This would be a narrative that carried through the rest of the game. Dawson Holt had the periods best chance to score as he rang a puck off the goal post on a 2 on 1. Prince George had a powerplay in the frame, but the Vipers PK was able to kill it off. The period ended scoreless with the Spruce Kings leading in the shots department 13-6.
The Vipers came out buzzing in the second period with a couple of good shifts early on. On the heels of a good shift, Brett Fudger sprung Matt Kowalski on a partial break and he ripped a puck low to the blocker side of Jett Alexander to give the Vipers a 1-0 lead. The period wasn’t without its adversity as the Vipers ran into some penalty trouble including an 80 second 5 on 3 kill. Ben Helgeson killed some valuable time, Landon Fuller had some key blocks and Reilly Herbst made some big saves to kill it off. The Vipers outshot the Spruce Kings 15-10 in the period and had the lead after 2 periods.
Prince George evened the game up early in the third as Preston Brodziak let a wrister go from the blue line that made its way through traffic, past Herbst. The Vipers thought they had taken the lead midway through the period as Matt Kowalski broke in on a breakaway and hit the crossbar. It was tough to see if it went in and out, but the call would stand keeping it tied. As the period progressed, it opened up a bit and both teams would get chances to end it in regulation. Keigo Hachisuke had a great look from the slot, but just missed the net.
In overtime, it was the Reilly Herbst show. He turned aside all 6 shots he faced and none of which were mundane. His best was a shot he stopped with the shaft of his stick to force the puck wide. The Vipers had some looks too but couldn’t solve Alexander.
In the shootout, Cam MacDonald would score the only goal beating Alexander to the glove side. Reilly Herbst would stop all 3 PG shooters to give his team the 2-1 win.
The Vipers will now head to Langley for a date with the Rivermen on Friday night at the George Preston Arena.
