The Vernon Vipers picked up one B.C. Hockey League p0int Saturday in Duncan.
They could have had two.
Vernon twice let one-goal leads slip away, needed a late goal to force overtime, then watched as the game’s first-star Tyrell Boucher beat Reilly Herbst 72 seconds into the first extra period as the Cowichan Valley Capitals scored a 4-3 win over the Vipers in front of 802 fans.
Vernon will reach the halfway mark of its season-long 11-game road trip Sunday afternoon in Surrey against the Eagles. The Vipers are 3-1-1-0 on the trip so far.
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Dawson Holt gave Vernon a 1-0 lead at 10:59 of the first period, but the lead would last only 39 seconds before Matthew Crasa tied it for the Caps (12-8-1-1).
After a scoreless second period, Trey Taylor gave the Vipers the lead at 12:11 with a powerplay goal. That lead, as well, lasted less than a minute as Olivier Gauthier scored at 13:08 to tie the game 2-2. The Caps took the lead on Crasa’s second goal at 16:03 on the man advantage. Connor Marritt forced overtime with a goal at 18:01.
Herbst finished with second-star honours after making 29 saves, the same at Cowichan counterpart Ben Howard, who was named third star.
The loss, combined with the Wenatchee Wild’s 6-4 win at home Saturday over the Merritt Centennials, dropped the Vipers (11-7-1-0) into fifth place in the Interior Division, one point back of the Wild.
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