Brooks, AB: It was a mixed bag for the Vernon Vipers on their weekend trip through Spruce Grove and Brooks. There were plenty of positives — strong special teams, timely scoring, and stretches of mature hockey — but the negatives proved costly as the group comes home with just a single point.
Friday in Spruce Grove, the Vipers showed resilience, battling back from a 3–0 deficit to force overtime. After giving up two late first-period goals and a shorthanded marker in the second, Vernon responded with purpose. Deagan McMillan (4th) and Davids Livsics (3rd) scored before the second intermission, the latter coming on a five-minute major powerplay.
That same man advantage carried into the third, and 39 seconds in, Evan Sundar tied the game. The Saints briefly regained the lead, but Leon Bussmann answered with his first BCHL goal on the powerplay to even it at 4–4. The comeback effort earned Vernon a point, but the extra one slipped away just 15 seconds into overtime on a goal from Declan Waddick.
Saturday in Brooks, the Vipers looked poised early. Assistant Coach Ryan Hollweg called the opening frame “the most mature period of the season,” and it showed as Vernon took a 1–0 lead on a late-powerplay goal from Toms Trockis, along with an 8–6 edge in shots.
But the momentum flipped quickly. The Bandits scored twice in 31 seconds to start the second and never looked back. McMillan’s powerplay marker briefly cut the deficit to 3–2, but Brooks answered with two more to lead 5–2 after two periods. The game eventually stretched to 6–2 before Vernon mounted another push. Teodor Vapenik scored his first BCHL goal on the powerplay, and McMillan added his second of the night less than a minute later to make it 6–4, but that’s as close as the Vipers would come.
Despite the results, special teams shone brightly: 6-for-17 on the powerplay and a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill over the two games.
The Vipers will look to build off those positives and chase more consistency next weekend at home, with visits from Salmon Arm on Friday and West Kelowna on Saturday.
