VERNON, B.C. JANUARY 20th, 2017
The Vernon Vipers will make what could be their final regular season visit to Royal LePage Place to take on the red hot West Kelowna Warriors. It’s the 5th of 7 meetings and 4th in West Kelowna. It’s the first time the Vipers have played the Tribe since Teddy Bear Toss Night on Dec. 2nd and first time since Nov. 18 they’ve made the trip to RLP.
The Vernon Vipers are coming off a disappointing homestand that saw them take just 2 of a possible 6 points. Their most recent game came Wednesday against Merritt as the Vipers saw two goal leads disappear on two different occasions. It was the first regulation loss the Vipers have had since December 7th, a span of 12 games. It was also the first time since November 25th that the team had surrendered more than 3 goals. This is a very tough stretch of games for the Snakes as they play 6 games in 10 days starting Friday night.
The West Kelowna Warriors scuffled early on in the season and had troubles putting the puck in the net. Since the middle of December, however, the Warriors have played very good hockey with victories over the likes of Powell River, Trail, Merritt, Surrey and Cowichan Valley. Most of the Tribes success has come on home ice where they sport a 15-9-0-0 record. They are led by Quin Foreman and Connor Sodergren in terms of offense as the former has a very impressive 50 points with the latter right on his tale with 46.
Unfortunately for the Warriors they’ve had trouble when its come to a consistent goaltender and it has nothing to do with performance. Nik Amundrud and Shane Farkas have both moved on leaving a hole in the West Kelowna crease. It’s been filled by a familiar face for Viper fans as former goalie Cole Demers seems to have found a home. He’s 3-1 in 4 starts and a GAA a shade over 2.
This promises to be a great hockey game as the Warriors, who have games in hand, try to reel in the Vipers for 2nd place in the Interior, while the Vipers look to get back to their winning ways and get back to the consistent play they had for the last 11 games.
You can hear all the action starting at 6:45 on 107.5 KissFM or watch on HockeyTV
