Vernon’s H&L Glass Junior Vipers development A hockey team has been taking a squeegee and cleaning its opposition.
The Junior Snakes currently have a seven-game winning streak: two league wins coming after going a perfect 5-0 to win the Nanaimo Bar Down Classic on Vancouver Island.
In its first game after snacking on Nanaimo bars on the way home, Vernon returned to league play on Saturday, Nov. 27, and disposed of the Kelowna A-1 Rockets 15-3. Ben Tyssen and Jake Black recorded hat tricks for Vernon, Harrison Sharman added a deuce and single markers came from Aidan Boyd, Reed Witham, Blake Sakakibara, Harlan Hesby, Trent Keenan, Liam Locke and TJ Podollan.
On Sunday, Vernon had their first rematch from the gold medal game of their home tournament in October with the West Kelowna Warriors. Vernon snuck out a 7-6 win in the home tournament, and knew that West Kelowna would be fired up for the rematch. The Vipers took the contest, 7-3.
Vernon opened with a goal from Keenan (assist to Cole Pinette) and West Kelowna answered right back. Vernon got one more from Hesby to finish the period up 2-1.
In the second period, Tyssen got the only goal to give Vernon a little more breathing space. Vernon got back to their scoring ways in the third as Boyd scored (assists to Sharman and Podollan), followed by a solo effort from Black. They closed the period with Podollan sniping two goals off of beautiful assists from Sharman.
The Vipers travelled to Nanaimo Nov. 13 and 14. They entered the weekend unsure of how stiff the competition would be, but the team was ready to play their brand of hockey.
The team started the tourney with a game against North Vancouver, who scored the opening goal of the game. However, the Junior Vipers replied with three goals in under two minutes, two from Keenan and one from Sharman, with assists to Witham and Black).
The second period saw the Vipers extend their lead to 6-1, with tallies from Keenan, Tyssen and Locke. The third period saw more of the same. North Van added one more goal, while the Snakes added four more goals, with those coming from Hesby, Tyssen, Black and Aidan Boyd, making the final 10-2.
In their second game of the day, Vernon played the Langley Eagles. Both teams were battling hard, with no score coming through the first period. However, the second period saw the Junior Vipers catch their stride, with two goals from Keenan (assisted by Ronin Raymond, Witham and Black), and a third goal coming from Locke (assisted by Tyssen).
The third period was more dominance from Vernon, with Keenan finishing his second hat trick of the tourney, as well as Sharman and Tyssen adding goals. Langley managed to notch one tally before the end of the period, the only blemish on an otherwise perfect game by goalie Lucas Gosselin who picked up the 5-1 victory.
Vernon had a third game Saturday, taking on the home team Nanaimo Clippers in the evening game. The first period was back and forth, with Nanaimo getting two goals and Vernon notching three of their own (Black, Boyd and Witham). The second period saw Vernon pull away getting four more markers (Podollan, Locke, Sharman and Hesby). Nanaimo had one goal in the period. The third saw Vernon add to their lead with goals from Tyssen and Black, with the final score 9-4 for the Junior Vipers.
Sunday morning Vernon had a re-match with North Vancouver in the semi-finals, and it was more of the same from the day before. Vernon jumped out to an early lead, ending the opening frame with two goals from Sharman, and one each from Black, Locke and Sakakibara. Vernon continued to roll in the second period, with Sharman adding two more, Black adding his second and Hesby adding one to lead the Vipers to a 9-2 victory.
Nanaimo won their semi final to line up another rematch with the Junior Vipers. Vernon jumped all over Nanaimo as Sharman had a first period hat trick, and Locke had another to allow Vernon to take a commanding 4-1 lead. Nanaimo got the only goal of the second, but Vernon added two more in the final period (Sharman and Black) to cruise to a 6-2 gold medal-winning performance.
U13 TIER 1
Vernon Watkin Motors Mustangs did some hunting in East Kootenays Nov. 27 and 28.
The Mustangs defeated the host Cranbrook Bucks 9-3 and 12-1 in a pair of exhibition contests.
A five-goal second period boosted Vernon in the opener, the goals coming from Dominik Silbernagel (3), Grayson McKeown and Braylon Lalonde. Adding third-period markers were Berkeley Reid (2), Jace Kickin and Silbernagel.
Contributing assists in the game were Reid, Cohen Hogberg, Cameron Matile, Alexander Sharman (2), Max Power (2) and Silbernagel. Gunner Podollan picked up the win in net.
The finale Sunday saw Vernon again explode in the middle frame for six goals.
Lalonde and Silbernagel staked the Mustangs to a 2-0 lead. Sharman, Silbernagel, Harry Watson, Jack Saxton and Hudson Podollan (2) put the game out of reach in the second period while Sharman, Quinn Church, Hickin and Podollan rounded out the scoring to support the goaltending of Max Davis.
Assists came from McKeown, Saxton, Reid, Hogberg and Watson.
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