Chilliwack, BC; The Vipers earned a valuable point on Thursday evening as they battle the Nanaimo Clippers at the BCHL Showcase. Logan Cash tallied a pair of goals, but it wasn’t enough as the Clippers rallied for a 4-3 win in overtime.
The Clippers struck off the first shot of the game, a shorthanded goal, from Mackenzie Merriman as he found some day light over the should of Viper netminder Aidan Hosein. The Vipers responded following a fantastic individual effort from Logan Cash, eluding a defender and the goaltender to score his first in the BCHL. A shot and a rebound 3 minutes later gave the Clippers a 2-1 lead as Aiden Hansen-Bukata scored his second of the year. Again, a good response from the Vipers as Elan Bar-Lev-Wise centered a pass for Josh Latta to draw the game even at 2 after two.
The Vipers kept the game plan simple in the second, shooting pucks in and trying to win battles along the wall. This was effective, but it wasn’t until a powerplay that the hard work paid off as Logan Cash tipped in a point shot from Carver Watson to give the Vipers their first lead of the day. That score would hold up through two periods.
In the third, the Vipers had a handful of good opportunities to increase their lead, but it wasn’t to be as Landon Pavlisin made a crucial save to keep his team in striking distance. That was key as Jonathan Stein was sprung on a breakaway and tied the game up at 3. The Vipers had to kill of a late Nanaimo powerplay pushing this game to overtime.
It took just 39 seconds for the game to end in the extra frame as Ethan Scardina walked out from behind the net and roofed his second of the year to give Nanaimo a 4-3 win.
The Vipers will head back to Chilliwack Saturday morning for an afternoon date with the Surrey Eagles. You can hear all the action on the official voice of the Vernon Vipers, 107.5 Beach Radio or watch on HockeyTV starting at 3:45.
