The Vernon Sun Valley Source for Sports Bantam Tier 2 Vipers finished the Okanagan Hockey League’s regular-season in third place after a 6-1 win over Penticton in the final playoff game Sunday in Kelowna.
A very slow start found the Vipers down 1-0 early, but goaltender Austin Seibel held the fort, stopping wave after wave of Penticton shots. Although being badly outshot for two periods, the Vipers held a slim 2-1 lead on goals by Garrin Best and Johnathan Reynolds. The Viper offence finally found its form in the third period with the help of the powerplay. The Vipers poured in four more goals in a span of six minutes with both Best and Reynolds scoring again, Logan Killingbeck adding 1+1 and Bradley Scabar finding the net.
In the first game of the tournament on Saturday, the Vipers were shutout 5-0 by the Kelowna Jr Rockets. Seibel was solid in taking the loss. In the afternoon game, needing a win to have a chance to play for a spot in the final, the Vipers dropped an 8-2 decision to the Kamloops Blazers. Best and Killingbeck handled the Viper offence. Quinn Scambler was solid in taking the loss in net.
TIER 3 PEEWEE
Vernon Nixon Wenger Vipers finished their season with a 4-3 win at home over the Winfield Bruins at the Priest Valley Arena.
Nolan Wilson scored the game-winner with 8:52 remaining, giving Vernon a 4-2 lead at the time. The Bruins pulled to within a goal at 13:54 but couldn’t beat Ethan Whitney in the Vernon goal for the equalizer.
Teigan Kelley scored twice, both set up by Tylen Lewis, and Luke Mitchell added the other. David Calder, Reid Williamson and William Heighway drew assists on the goals.
READ MORE: Lumby teams rock Super League
HOUSE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RESULTS
Okanagan North house Super Leagues held their Championship Finals the first week of March over three nights.
The most exciting final may have been the Bantam Division championship at Kal Tire Place North between the Salmon Arm No Frills Kodiaks and the Vernon Interior Savings Bandits.
The Bandits rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in triple overtime.
In Vernon, at Kal Tire Place North, the Vernon Butcher Boys Bandits cruised to a 7-0 victory over the North Okanagan Knights in Peewee top-five final. The Bandits will represent the league at the Valley Championships in Clearwater.
In Winfield, in the Atom bottom-six final, North Okanagan Knights jumped out to an early lead only to fall behind after two periods. The game was tied after the third period and North OK prevailed in overtime, 8-7.
In Sicamous, in the Peewee bottom-five final, and an all Salmon Arm affair, Salmar Classic defeated Askew’s Foods 7-2.
In Salmon Arm, in the Midget top-six final, the Lumby Stars scored a goal halfway through the third period to break a 4-4 tie and went on to defeat the Salmon Arm Dairy Queen 5-4. This is Lumby’s second consecutive playoff championship. Both teams will move on to the Valley Championships in Lillooet in a couple of weeks.
In Lumby, the Atom top-six final featured both Lumby Atom teams for a first in Super League history. Dave Cournoyer’s squad defeated Geoff Bevan’s team 7-2. Both teams advance to the Valley Championships in Summerland.
