Morning Star Staff
The Talon Benefit Snakes topped off a great run at the Wenatchee Apple Midget Rec Hockey Cup by stopping the Authentic Plaque & Trophy Black Mambas 6-4 Monday night at Civic Arena.
The two Vernon teams made the final of the Wenatchee tourney and instead of playing a late afternoon final in Washington on Jan. 18, chose to finish the tourney at home.
Game MVP Chris Gallant turned in a five-goal Gretzky-like performance to spark the Snakes’ third-period comeback. It was 4-3 Mambas when Gallant equalized with 6:15 remaining. Martin Grenier netted the winner at 4:03 and Gallant added insurance 90 seconds later.
Snakes’ captain Chase Larsen supplied a pair of helpers in support of Bryce Dyck and Rhys Larsen.
Brennan Seltzer, Liam Semeniuk, Tyler Semeniuk and Marcus Finn replied for the Mambas.
In the round-robin portion of the tourney, the Snakes dispatched the Spokane Storm 7-0 and stuffed the Seattle Sno-Kings 3-1 before tying the Vernon Seed Orchard Studs 2-2.
Dusty Beckner pulled the hat trick against Spokane, while Nikolai Negraiff converted the winner versus Seattle.
Game MVP Jeff Hiscoe and Lucas Towers were dynamic on defence as the Snakes drew with the Studs. Beckner had both Snake snipes, while Dominic Loosl scored twice for the Studs.
In regular Super League play Saturday, Beckner fired another hatty as the Snakes held off the Corbett Office Plus Royals 6-5 at Priest Valley Arena.
Hiscoe, Gallant and Braeden Doak also scored for the 7-5-2 Talon crew, who got two assists from Tim Ufmtseff. Alex Laurila skated miles and almost single-handedly killed off the last minute with the Royals pressing.
Austin Bosquet (2), Hayden Vardon and Keefer Kaempf answered for the Royals (6-6-2).
Dyck backdropped a seven skater Snakes’ squad to a gritty 7-3 win over the Lakeside Printing Sting at the Salmon Arm Shaw Centre Friday night.
Chase Larsen, Gallant and Hiscoe each produced deuces with Beckner earning a single.
Kyle Beerstra provided three goals and Jack O’Neil added 1+2 as the Lumby Stars upended host Salmon Arm Sting in Midget Super league play Saturday.
The Lumby Towing Bantam Female Lakers ended regular season play with a 4-4 tie against visiting Kamloops.
Carly Southam, Taylor Cousins, Josey Nerling, on a breakaway, and Chelsea Marshall, with the equalizer, assisted by Cousins and Alyssa Racine, handled the Laker attack.
The Five Star Awards Cougars finished fourth in the 11-team South Okanagan Bantam Rec Tournament, bouncing Salmon Arm North Broadview Plumbing & Heating 5-1 Sunday in Oliver.
The Cougars opened the scoring at 15:20 in the second period when defensive partners Chapperon Chillitzia and Jadon Foster sped down the ice with Foster burying a pass from Chillitizia.
The Cougars made it 2-0 at 9:47, when game MVP Keenon Jeberg won a puck battle along the boards to feed Ried Lawrence who blasted it in from short range in the slot.
The Cougars made it 3-0 at 6:24 when Jadon Foster passed to Lawrence in Salmon Arm territory, Lawrence carried the puck behind the net and fed Emily Wilson-Francois, who scored on a quick release from the slot.
The Cougars made it 4-0 at 16:45 of the third period when Lawrence converted a nice passing play from Dexter Weiten and Tanner Franje-Gilbert. The Cougars completed their attack when Lawrence completed his hat trick, assisted by Weiten and Chillihitzia. Salmon Arm scored with seven seconds left.
Coaches Paul Wery, Dan Wilson, and Jim Erickson said: “The Cougars are playing hard for each other and are improving as a team every game. Win or lose, they have fun and enjoy each other’s company at the end of every game.”
Earlier, the Cougars smothered the South Okanagan Hawks 8-2 at the Osooyos Sun Bowl with Franje-Gilbert firing four goals and singles coming from Weiten, Lawrence, Brady Beacom and Elias Wery. Jake Barnett was named game MVP.
Weiten (2), Aaron Jodoin, Foster and MVP Lawrence sparked the offence as Five Star gonged the West Kelowna Grizzlies 5-2.
The Cougars opened by falling 5-3 to the Kamloops Lumberjacks with Wery(1+2), Foster and Weiten pocketing goals. First-half goalie Nicholas Maglio was brilliant to take game MVP.
Three power play goals lifted the Vernon Interior Savings Just Orange to a 3-0 win over West Kelowna for eighth place at the Sun Bowl Arena.
Chase Batchelor, in the first period, and third period man-advantage markers from Callum Leong and Reece Hawthorne, who tapped in a beautiful pass from Seb Wenger, helped the Orange finish at 2-2.
Goalies Caedon Bellmann and Sam Knox were both stellar Sunday, combining for the team’s first shutout of the season. Defenceman Dakota Becker was a two-way force, and was named Orange’s player of the contest.
The victory made up a for a disappointing Saturday at the Oliver Arena, where Orange lost a pair.
After opening with an 8-6 win over the Chilliwack Snipers, the Orange offence was smothered into submission Saturday morning by Super League rivals North Broadview Plumbing & Heating, who scored the game’s first five goals and coasted to a 5-2 win.
Leong and Becker scored in the third period for Interior Savings while defenceman Braydie Allan-Webber was named player of the game.
After a one-game break, the Orange fell 6-2 to the Kamloops Lumberjacks, who scored four unanswered goals over the final 30 minutes.
Batchelor opened the scoring on a first-period penalty shot, and Brogan Houston tied the game for Orange early in the second. D-man Mac Gilchrist was game MVP.
