Vernon, BC: The Vernon Vipers look to put a challenging month behind them and close January on a positive note as they welcome the Okotoks Oilers to Kal Tire Place on Friday night.
Both teams come in eager to bounce back from recent losses to the Interior West–leading West Kelowna Warriors, setting the stage for a competitive matchup between two clubs searching for momentum as the calendar flips to February.
Last Game – Vernon
Despite being heavily outshot last Saturday, the Vipers showed plenty of fight in a 5–2 loss to the West Kelowna Warriors.
In a penalty-filled affair, Vernon clawed its way back from a 3–0 deficit, cutting the Warriors’ lead to 3–2 before West Kelowna pulled away late. Davids Livsics and Evan Sundar both found the back of the net on the power play, while Dmitrii Kubantsev chipped in with a pair of assists.
Between the pipes, Jesse Sanche faced a heavy workload, turning aside 33 of 37 shots. Special teams were a bright spot for the Vipers, going 2-for-4 on the power play and killing off six of seven West Kelowna man advantages.
Last Game – Okotoks
The Oilers also ran into the Warriors in their most recent outing on Wednesday night and, like many teams this season, came up short in a tight 1–0 loss.
Okotoks actually held a slight edge in shots, 32–31, but couldn’t solve Warriors netminder Angelo Zol. Justin Giguere delivered a strong performance in goal for the Oilers, stopping 30 of 31 shots. Okotoks went 0-for-5 on the power play but was perfect on the penalty kill, turning aside all four West Kelowna opportunities.
By the Numbers
Vernon Vipers
Record: 8-21-6-0
Home: 4-10-5-0
Last 10: 2-7-1-0
Streak: Winless in 7
Power Play: 18.06%
Penalty Kill: 76.47%
Goals For: 111
Goals Against: 146
Goal Differential: -35
Okotoks Oilers
Record: 15-17-1-1
Away: 8-9-1-0
Last 10: 4-6-0-0
Streak: L1
Power Play: 18.84%
Penalty Kill: 72.9%
Goals For: 116
Goals Against: 135
Goal Differential: -19
January Snapshot
Okotoks: 3-4-0-0
Vernon: 0-6-1-0
Scoring Leaders
Vernon
Dmitrii Kubantsev – 11G, 23A, 34 Pts
Christian Maro – 11G, 18A, 29 Pts
Okotoks
Brett Wilson – 11G, 21A, 32 Pts
Michael Mikan – 10G, 19A, 29 Pts
Goaltending Matchup
Vernon
Oliver Kanat – 19 GP, 3.50 GAA, .888 SV%
Jesse Sanche – 3 GP, 5.08 GAA, .852 SV%
Okotoks
Eric Young – 24 GP, 3.41 GAA, .889 SV%, 1 SHO
Justin Giguere – 2 GP, 3.55 GAA, .896 SV%
Head-to-Head
Friday marks the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Vipers and Oilers. Okotoks holds a narrow 2–1 edge in the season series.
The Oilers claimed the opener with a 4–3 win in October at Okotoks, Vernon answered back with a 6–4 victory in December, also in Okotoks, before the Oilers took the most recent matchup in January by a 6–3 score.
What’s Next
Following Friday’s contest, the Vipers hit the road for three games in four nights through Northern Alberta, beginning Wednesday in Spruce Grove. The Oilers wrap up a similar stretch on Saturday night in Salmon Arm against the Silverbacks.
Broadcast Information
Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:45 PM.
Fans can follow the action live on:
• 107.5 Beach Radio
• Vernon Matters (audio stream)
• FloHockey (video)
#TimeToStrike
