Vernon, BC: It was an up-and-down weekend for the Vernon Vipers as they faced the top two teams in the Interior West, visiting Trail on Friday before heading to West Kelowna on Saturday.
FRIDAY — TRAIL 6, VERNON 5
Friday’s game in Trail was equal parts entertaining for fans and exhausting for coaches. The Vipers opened the scoring late in the first when Dmitrii Kubantsev finished a sharp passing play from Evan Sundar to make it 1–0 after one.
The second period, however, was a difficult one. Discipline issues and a struggling penalty kill tilted the ice as Trail scored twice on the man advantage and added another just eight seconds after Vernon killed off a five-minute major. The bright spot was a highlight-reel first BCHL goal from Maverick Hayes, but nine penalty-kill minutes made the period an uphill battle.
The third frame was a special-teams shootout. Davids Livsics and Seth Tansem — with his first BCHL goal — both scored on the powerplay, but their tallies were sandwiched around an even-strength goal and another Trail powerplay marker. After the Smokies hit an empty net to make it 6–4, the Vipers kept pushing, and Sundar scored with 30 seconds left to pull within one, but that’s as close as they would get.
Sundar led the way with a goal and three assists, while Kubantsev added a goal and two helpers. Vernon finished 2-for-2 on the powerplay; Trail went 3-for-5.
SATURDAY — WEST KELOWNA 5, VERNON 0
After a long overnight turnaround from Trail, the Vipers hung around early against an elite West Kelowna group that can smother opponents defensively. But like the night before, the penalty kill struggled.
West Kelowna opened the scoring on a powerplay two minutes into the game. Despite the early setback, Vernon settled into the period and trailed just 1–0 after one.
In the second, the Vipers generated some quality looks, but Warriors goaltender Bor Glavic turned everything aside. The only goal of the period came off a Vernon turnover, finished by Natan Ethier.
The game was still within reach heading into the third, but the Viper powerplay couldn’t generate momentum or find a breakthrough. A five-minute major midway through the period sealed their fate, as West Kelowna struck three times on the extended man advantage to put the game out of reach.
Vernon heads back to Trail on Friday before returning home Saturday for the always-popular Teddy Bear Toss game against Cranbrook.
