Coquitlam, BC: The Vipers ran into a hot goaltender on Friday night in Coquitlam as Clay Stevenson stopped 31 of 32 to help his team to a 4-1 win.
The Vipers had a good start to the period getting some early shots on Express goal. Coquitlam jumped on the board first as Regan Kimens scored his 7th of the year. The Vipers did a nice job of slowing up the high pressure system the Express were using. The Vipers were able to kill of a powerplay and would start the second period on one of their own to start the second.
The Vipers powerplay whipped the puck around with authority, but again Clay Stevenson was up to the challenge, in particular robbing Swetlikoff and Bar-Lev-Wise who had great chances to tie the game up. The Vipers were pretty solid in their own zone, but a turnover proved costly as Christian Sanda ripped home his 10th to give Coquitlam a 2-0 lead. That score would hold up after 2.
The Vipers found themselves in the penalty box early in the third and just as the powerplay was expiring, Connor Gregga banked home a rebound to make it 3-0. The Vipers seemed to be in dire need of a bounce or a break and they would get it as Jagger Williamson bounced a shot from center ice, Stevenson didn’t handle it and Josh Latta slammed home the rebound to make it 3-1. The Vipers penalty kill was very solid on this night, but one too many chances for Coquitlam and they were able to increase their lead to 4-1 as Josh Wildauer scored his 9th of the year. That would be the final as the Vipers weren’t able to chip into that deficit.
The Vipers are in Langley tonight to face the Rivermen at 7:15pm
*Photo Credit – Damon James Photography
