The Vipers welcomed parents weekend with open arms and two points as they defeated the Wenatchee Wild 4-1 at Kal Tire Place. Brett Stapley had 2 goals, and Anthony Yamnitsky stopped 32 for his 2nd win over his former club.
It was a showcase of two good teams going head to head in the first period. The Vipers used their forecheck to disrupt the Wenatchee breakout. The Vipers had a few good scoring chances in the period, but it wasn’t until a powerplay when Brett Stapley banked home an end wall bounce for his 9th goal of the season. It was the only man advantage of the period as two teams continued to play free flowing structured hockey. The Wild finished with 12 shots, but none of the overly dangerous variety. Jordan Sandhu had a great chance late in the period, but just missed the net, keeping the score 1-0 Vernon after 1.
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Much like the first the Viper forecheck was on display causing plenty of turnovers. It was on one of those turnovers that resulted in the 2-0 goal as Lansdell stole a puck and fed Williamson in front for his 7th of the season. A little over three minutes later, Brett Stapley snapped home his 2nd of the night to make it 3-0. The Vipers couldn’t convert on a four minute powerplay, but their defensive play was outstanding, limiting the Wild to just 9 shots in the period.
The Vipers managed to extend their lead thanks to Jimmy Lambert after a great feed from Jordan Sandhu from behind the net. The Wild pushed in an attempt to break the shut out bid, but a handful of great sames by Anthony Yamnitsky kept it 4-0. The Vipers played a simple and smart game the rest of the way keeping the Wild to the outside and minimizing their time of possession. A later powerplay goal from AJ Vanderbeck broke the shut out bid in the final few minutes, but the Vipers stayed the course and finished with a 4-1 win in front of over 1900 fans.
The Vipers will look to continue their weekend Saturday night as West Kelowna comes to town for the first meeting between the two teams.
