West Kelowna, BC: For the second straight night a rally was in order as the Vipers scored back to back powerplay goals late in the third period to defeat the West Kelowna Warriors 7-5 at Royal LePage Place.
This game had pace to it and it was on display early on the first as the Vipers jumped out to a 3-0 shot advantage and couple of good chances to go with it. Brock Baier was up to the challenge. The Warriors would get the games first powerplay and just after it expired Max Bulawka deflected home a point shot to make it 1-0. Shortly after, the Tribe added to their lead after a miscue behind the Vipers goal had Brandon Dent wide open in front to make it 2-0. Aidan Porter made a huge save on the next shift allowing the Vipers to get in the offensive zone and Connor Marritt was set up in front of the net making it 2-1. Late in the period, a fantastic pass from Jesse Lansdell to Ben Sanderson tied the game at 2 in the final minute of the first.
Vipers pressure gave them their first lead of the night as Carver Watson and Nick Cherkowski combined to set up Elan Barlevwise in front of the net to make it 3-2. The Warriors had a number of good shifts in the Vipers zone which sparked them to tie it as Mason Richey popped home a rebound in front to make it 3-3. The momentum swung right back to the Vipers as Logan Cash banked a sharp angled shot off the side of Baier and in from the redline to make it 4-3. That score held up through the end of the period.
In the third, the Warriors pushed for the equalizer and converted on a 3 on 2 as Mike Hardman kept and ripped a shot home to tie the game at 4. The Warriors would find the lead as a centering pass from behind the net midway through the period found Willie Reim and he scored to make it 5-4. In the final 5 minutes of the period, the Vipers powerplay was finally given an opportunity and it was the captain Jagger Williamson putting in his own rebound to make it 5-5. On the play, the Warriors were assessed another penalty for illegal equipment and the Vipers went back on the powerplay. It didn’t take long to convert as a point shot from Jack Judson was stopped, but Jesse Lansdell poked home the rebound to give the Vipers a 6-5 lead. Pushing for the equalizer the Warriors turned the puck over to Teddy Wooding who rocketed a slap shot past Baier to make it 7-5. That’s the way the score would finish.
Here’s the scoring summary:
1ST PERIOD
WK – Max Bulawka (11) – Anthony Bishop (14), Lucas Bahn (17) – 7:54
WK – Brandon Dent (5) – Quinton Waitzner (2) – 8:33
VER – Connor Marritt (13) – Matt Kowalski (25) – 9:28
VER – Ben Sanderson (5) – Jesse Lansdell (14), Jagger Williamson (17) – 19:21
2ND PERIOD
VER – Elan Bar-lev-wise (6) – Nick Cherkowski (10), Connor Marritt (23) – 2:57
WK – Mason Richey (5) – Quinton Waitzner (3), Lucas Bahn (18) – 12:43
VER – Logan Cash (5) – Matt Kowalski (26), Brendan Kim (9) – 13:16
3RD PERIOD
WK – Mike Hardman (36) – Garrett Ewert (9) – 3:51
WK – Willie Reim (24) – Anthony Bishop (15), Quinton Waitzner (4) – 13:40
VER – Jagger Williamson (10) – Jesse Lansdell (15) – 15:26 (PPG)
VER – Jesse Lansdell (10) – Jack Judson (22), Carver Watson (7) – 16:09 (PPG)
VER – Teddy Wooding (19) – unassisted – 17:34
The Vipers will finish the 3 games in 3 day span Sunday afternoon as they welcome the Langley Rivermen.
Photo by Wayne Moore (Castanet)
