Vernon, BC: Strong special teams play wasn’t enough to overcome a 3-goal deficit, as the Vipers fell 5–2 to the West Kelowna Warriors despite a 2-for-4 night on the power play and a 6-for-7 effort on the penalty kill.
The Vernon Vipers spent much of the opening period shorthanded, facing penalty trouble early and often. Vernon was forced to kill off nine minutes of penalties in the first period alone, but the penalty kill — backed by strong goaltending — turned aside all three West Kelowna power plays.
The lone goal of the opening frame came at even strength, as Dylan Krayer snapped a shot from the left circle to give the Warriors a 1–0 lead. West Kelowna controlled the shot clock early, holding a 20–5 advantage after one.
The second period was a chippy affair with plenty of post-whistle activity. The Vipers generated several quality scoring chances but were unable to find the equalizer. Vernon’s penalty kill remained sharp, successfully killing off two more Warriors power plays, including a 5-on-3 that lasted over a minute.
West Kelowna added to its lead with two second-period goals. Blake Burke tipped home a point shot before Natan Ethier finished on a breakaway to make it 3–0 heading into the third.
Vernon found its way back into the game early in the third period with a pair of power-play goals. Just 33 seconds in, Davids Livsics scored his 8th of the season from Toms Trockis and Dmitrii Kubantsev. The Vipers cut the deficit to one later in the period when Evan Sundar struck for his team-leading 15th goal, with assists going to Liam Magnuson and Kubantsev.
That would be as close as Vernon would get. Ethier responded with a power-play goal and later sealed the game with an empty-netter to complete the hat trick, lifting the Warriors to a 5–2 win.
In goal, Jesse Sanche made 33 saves on 37 shots for Vernon, while Bor Glavic stopped 22 of 24 for West Kelowna.
Three Stars
⭐ 1st – Natan Ethier (3G, 1A)
⭐ 2nd – Dylan Krayer (1G, 1A)
⭐ 3rd – Dmitrii Kubantsev (2A)
FortisBC Energy Player of the Game: Dario Lass
The Vipers return to action Friday night, January 30th, when they host the Okotoks Oilers at 7:00 pm.
#TimeToStrike
