Langley, BC: Teddy Wooding scored twice and Aidan Porter stopped 19 of 20 for his 5th win of the year as the Vipers wrapped up a mainland road trip with a 5-1 win over the Langley Rivermen.
The Vipers felt snake bitten the night before in Coquitlam where they felt at times they were the better team, but couldn’t find the back of the net early. Saturday night was a different story for this Vipers team as moments after a powerplay expired, Teddy Wooding was able to poke home a loose puck at the side of the net for his 5th goal of the year. The Vipers defense was rock solid, keeping a strong eye on Langley star Ethan Leyh. Blocking shots was a key for the Vipers in that period as they would surrender just 4 shots after 20 minutes and had a one goal lead.
In the second they continued to do a nice job of testing the Langley defense. Even though the Rivermen did a nice job of possessing the puck in the Vipers zone, there were only a handful of good scoring chances with Aidan Porter coming up big and the Vipers blocking a ton of pucks. The Vipers executed a set play as they busted in down the right wing, Ben Sanderson would find Elan Bar-Lev-Wise whose shot was stopped, but Alex Swetlikoff knocked home the rebound to give the Vipers an important 2-0 lead. The Vipers had to kill off a penalty shortly after and the PK unit was on point killing it off. The Rivermen cut the deficit late in the period as Daneel Lategan deflected a point shot straight down between the legs of Porter to make it 2-1 Vipers after 2.
The Vipers have been in this situation before, having a one goal lead, and at time have had issues holding on to them. They seemed to really draw from those heartbreakers and came out strong in the third. They converted on an early powerplay as Josh Latta finished off a rebound in front of the Langley goal to make it 3-1 just two minutes into the third. Discipline was a big factor for this group on Friday as a couple of penalties proved costly. They ran into a little bit of penalty trouble on this night, but again the PK was air tight and everyone deserved credit for that success. Coleton Bilodeau found himself in the penalty box at one point, but his team rallied and killed it off, as he came out of the box he was sprung on a 2 on 1 before snapping home his 2nd of the year to make it 4-1. Langley would make a goalie change as Alex Rolfe replaced Braedon Fleming. Bilodeau played another factor as he was coerced into a scrap by Brian Scoville, Bilodeau held his own in the fight as for the second straight night a Viper scratched their first fights off the bucket lists. Teddy Wooding iced the game in the final minute with a snap shot from the right circle to make the final score 5-1.
Here’s the Scoring Summary:
1ST PERIOD
VER – Teddy Wooding (5) – Ben Helgeson (5), Connor Marritt (5) – 5:42
2ND PERIOD
VER – Alex Swetlikoff (6) – Jack Judson (13) – 10:53
LAN – Daneel Lategan (5) – Alec Capstick (4), Ethan Leyh (10) – 18:21
3RD PERIOD
VER – Josh Latta (6) – Carver Watson (7), Jagger Williamson (9) (PP) – 2:02
VER – Coleton Bilodeau (2) – Josh Latta (7) – 9:00
VER – Teddy Wooding (6) – Connor Marritt (6) – 19:09
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Vipers PP – 1/3 Vipers PK – 5/5
3 STARS
- – Teddy Wooding
- – Josh Latta
- – Daneel Lategan
The Vipers are back in action Wednesday night as they welcome the Penticton Vees.
