Vernon Sun Valley Source for Sports Vipers beat the host Salmon Arm Silvertips 2-1 in a shootout in Sunday’s final of the ‘Tips’ Tier 2 Bantam rep hockey tournament.
Lucas Wood went coast-to-coast and fired a beauty over the Salmon Arm goalie’s shoulder midway through the third period to tie the game for Vernon.
Nicholas Bolin and Eric Noren would score for Vernon in the shootout while Tyler Sedlacek shut the door on the Silvertips’ snipers.
Vernon went undefeated in round robin play, edging Surrey 3-2, shutting out Prince George 4-0 and slipping past Trail 2-1. The Vipers advanced to the final with a 6-1 semifinal romp over Chilliwack.
Vernon lost a couple of key players to injury in the tournament but emergency call-ups Cole Boyarski and Gavin Fleck did a great job for the Vipers.
The Vernon Watkin Motors Mustangs, the only Tier 2 team entered in the Kelowna Sticky Mitts Tier 1 Pee Wee rep tournament, made it to the final, losing 4-3 in overtime to the Kamloops Blazers.
Cayden Hamming was sensational in goal for the Mustangs, who got goals in the championship game from Jacob Boden, Jakob Jones and Connor Elliott. Austin Roest and Zackary Funk picked up assists.
Vernon opened the tournament with a 4-2 win over Langley. Funk (2), Boden and Steel Quiring scored to support Hamming.
The Blazers scored with 12 seconds left Saturday morning to post a 6-5 win over the Mustangs. Quiring and Funk had two goals each while Emma Elders added a sweet breakaway goal with an assist from goalie Teja Sheldrake, who made a number of outstanding saves.
In a must-win game against Coquitlam, the Mustangs exploded for eight goals in an 8-3 win. Funk scored twice while singles went to Jarrod Feist, Roest, Ronac Chauhan, Boden, Quiring and Jones.
The Mustangs knocked off the Vancouver T-Birds 4-1 in the semifinal on two goals from Quiring and singles from Funk and Porter Trevelyan. Owen Palfreyman picked up an assist.
Vernon Home Hardware Centre Vipers won a pair of Midget Tier 2 league games on the weekend.
Brady Marzocco scored twice as the Snakes dumped the hometown Kamloops Blazers 6-1 Saturday. Dex Elders, Logan Imrich, Dylan Sedlacek and Bryce Pyle finished off the scoring in support of winning goalie Connor Webb. Carl Main chipped in three assists.
Main scored twice and added two helpers Sunday to lead Vernon to a 6-3 win over the Kelowna Rockets.
Marzocco, Pyle, Sedlacek and Connor Johnston, with a sweet dangle in close, rounded out the scoring. Billy Cawthorn picked up the win in net.
Grady Caton, Marzocco and Jason Shaigec had two assists each.
Dayton Bryan took a pass from Chris Aldrich and Cameron MacKenzie, skated around a defenceman and went top-shelf for the game’s only goal as the Vernon Coca Cola Midget Vipers beat West Kelowna Warriors 1-0 in Tier 3 league play Saturday night across the bridge.
Josh Evans, playing his first game after missing three with an injury, recorded the shutout for the Vipers, who lost defenceman Tyson Sampert early in the contest to a questionable boarding call.
Thompson Okanagan Lakers swept three games in the North Okanagan from the Vancouver Island Seals in Female AAA Midget League play.
The Lakers won 3-2 Friday with Vernon’s Samantha Head scoring once and Armstrong’s Mairyn Tucker picking up an assist.
Vernon’s Laine Grace scored the winner in a 2-1 victory in Game 2.
The Lakers completed the sweep with a 5-1 win Sunday. Grace had 1+1 and Tucker added an assist.
North Okanagan Knights finished third out of eight at the Windermere Valley Tier 4 Pee Wee Rep tournament in Invermere.
The Knights, who will host the B.C. Tier 4 championships March 13-16, beat Creston 9-0 and Calgary’s Bow Valley Flames 4-1 but lost 1-0 to the Fernie Ghostriders in pool play.
North Okanagan finished second in its pool and beat the Cranbrook Kings 2-0 in their lone playoff game.
Vernon Valley Wood Remanufacturing Atom A Vipers beat the Kelowna Chiefs 3-1 in league play.
JJ Milne, Deagan McMillan and Erik Pastro, on a slick feed from Bryson Helmer, scored for the Vipers. Austin Seibel was outstanding in goal to pick up the win.
“The boys battled today,” said Vipers coach Trevor Seibel. “Last time out against the Chiefs, the boys didn’t show up to play. Today was a different team. I was very pleased with the team effort.”
Vernon H&L Glass Junior Vipers got three goals from Maguire Nicholson in a 7-3 win over South Okanagan in Atom C action.
Trey Schober, Austen Vandenbrand, Ryan Cox and Joshua Mark all found the mark for the Junior Snakes, who broke open a 1-1 tie with four goals in the last seven minutes of the second period.
“The team played well today,” said Vernon coach Dallas Walsh. “A full 60-minute effort from every member.”
Goalie Matthew Kuhnlein drew an assist on one of Nicholson’s goals, as did Zack Casagrande.
