The Vernon Vipers ran into a red hot Chilliwack Chiefs squad and despite scoring early in the first, couldn’t gather much momentum as the Chiefs would score 7 unanswered to pace themselves to a 7-2 victory at Prospera Centre.
The Vipers got off to a great start thanks to a tenacious forecheck that caused a turnover and Niko Karamanis was able to pot home a rebound to give the Vipers a 1-0 lead just two minutes in. The Chiefs really got their legs underneath them after that as they took a good chunk of the period over. Following a great save by Ty Taylor, Jordan Kawaguchi tallied the tying goal which sparked the home side even more. Jake Smith scored a shorthanded goal and Kale Kane added another late on a 4 on 4 to give the Chiefs a 3-1 advantage after 1 period.
The play was pretty even to start the 2nd period with no penalties and no goals. The Vipers weren’t able to generate much in the offensive zone and the Chiefs buried their opportunities as Tommy Lee pounced on a rebound to make it 4-1, before Kohen Olischefski added another to make it 5-1 after two periods.
The Chiefs would add two more to make it 7-1 as Aaron O’Neill and Connor McCarthy scored, with the latter on a 5 on 3 powerplay. Jimmy Lambert would bookend the scoring for the Vipers with a late powerplay goal, but the final would finish 7-2.
