Mike Vandekamp figured the Nanaimo Clippers were pretty much tourists on their first extended road trip of the B.C. Hockey League season.
The youthful Clippers were dispatched 4-1 by the Vernon Vipers as they opened a three-game trek through the Interior and Shuswap before 2,052 fans Friday night at Kal Tire Place. Nanaimo face the Salmon Arm Silverbacks Saturday night and battle the West Kelowna Warriors Sunday afternoon.
“This was our first experience of this stuff, a road trip, staying in a hotel, and it’s just all new for our team and we looked like that,” said Vandekamp, who won a BCHL title with Vernon in 2003. “We weren’t overly prepared at the beginning. We awfully looked nervous and I’m really not sure why. Then we got skating pretty good in the second period and I thought we were a pretty good team for a period, but that third goal was a crushing blow.”
Rookie Connor Marritt, with his first BCHL snipe, defenceman Chris Jandric (second), d-man Chris Kelly (first) and Jordan Sandhu, with his second, supplied the Vernon offence.
Vincent Millette replied with his fourth of the year for the Clippers, who were starting their first road trip of the season.
The Vipers (8-3-0-2) are alone atop the Interior Division penthouse, one point ahead of the Trail Smoke Eaters and two ahead of West Kelowna. The Clippers are 5-50-1 and third in the Island Division, three points behind the Victoria Grizzlies.
“We didn’t win enough battles,” added Vandekamp, who coached the Vipers from 2000-2005. “ They did a good job in the faceoff circle. They had the puck more than we did and they sort of controlled the game. We’re disappointed in that, but we’re just learning lessons right now as a team. This is what this whole early part of the season has been. That’s the conversation we just had in the dressing room was what lessons do we take from today. There was a long list as the guys spoke and that’s good. We’ve got a good group here. The kids are working hard and we still have a lot to learn and that was evident tonight.”
Marritt deftly deflected Michael Young’s point shot past Nanaimo goalie Austin Roden at 3:08 of the opening period. Jandric upped the lead with a mid-air point shot with 2:44 left in the stanza. Captain Jagger Williamson and d-man Jack Judson drew assists. Jandric was named second star.
“It was so great, it was such a great feeling to get that first one off your back,” said Marritt, who was born in Vernon and played minor hockey here until age 11 when he moved to Kelowna. “It was a tip off a shot by the defenceman Mike Young and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
The roadrunner winger rang up 12 goals and 31 points with the Okanagan Academy in Penticton last year. He’s loving the Junior A level and feels more comfortable by the minute.
“It’s unbelievable. I love the team, I love the league, it’s a great league. The boys on this team are just amazing; they’re a pleasure to be around. Every practice, I get more and more confident, especially with our veterans leading the way. They make us feel right at home. Our leadership and our team atmosphere make us a winning group. Everyone’s included and it is truly is team.”
First star Ty Taylor, in his sophomore season with the Snakes, delivered a big stop off Clarkson commit Jamie Collins on a shorthnded 2-on-1 with Tristan Crozier midway through the second period.
Millette was on Taylor’s doorstep when he banged in a rebound of a Brad Belisle shot from in tight. Taylor was down and out in the fray at 8:27.
Millette was on Taylor’s doorstep when he banged in a rebound of a Brad Belisle shot from in tight. Taylor was down and out in the fray at 8:27.
The highly physical Clippers kept going hard to the net in the middle frame and Taylor showed frustration when he wrapped his glove around David Silye after taking a slight bump in the crease. Taylor was assessed a roughing minor.
Kelly put the Vipers up a deuce 3:15 into the third with a seeing-eye wrister from the right sidewall. Brett Stapley and Jimmy Lambert garnered helpers.
Roden registered back-to-stop sweet saves off Coleton Bilodeau and Marritt with nine minutes left in the tilt.
Sandhu, who faced the Clippers a lot last year while with the Alberni Valley Bull Dogs, shot from a sharp angle from the left side and the puck just trickled through Roden’s pads. Sandhu was chosen Vernon’s Fortis Energy Player of the Game.
Nanaimo outshot Vernon 28-27. The Vipers improved to 7-3-0-2 atop the Interior Division, while the Clippers dipped to 5-5-0-1 for third in the Island Division.
Vernon hosts the Island-leading Powell River Kings tonight (6:00).
After a pair of late goals by Jonny Tychonick to set the stage for overtime, Grant Cruikshank scored the winner in the extra session for 3-2 Penticton Vees win over the host Merritt Centennials before 425 fans.
There was no scoring in the first and Merritt’s Colten Gerlib got the Cents on the board with the only tally of the middle frame. In the third, Rylen Van Unen made it 2-0 Centennials but with just under five minutes to go, Tychonick got his first. The second goal to tie it came just 2:19 later as the Vees outshot the Cents 19-5 in the third.
Penticton had the only two shots on goal in overtime with Cruikshank’s winner coming at 1:05 of OT. Jacob Berger was the game’s 1st Star, making 42 saves for Merritt while Nolan Hildebrand stopped 23 for Penticton
The feel-good vibes keeps coming from the Colorado Avalanche and their start to the season.
The latest is the first NHL goal for rookie forward and former Coquitlam Express star Alex Kerfoot.
The West Vancouver native scored the opening marker of the game Wednesday night in a 6-3 Avalanche home win over the Boston Bruins.
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His goal put the Avs up 1-0 at 8:19 of the first period.
“It obviously is a great feeling,” Kerfoot told NHL.com. “I mean, it’s a dream to play in the NHL, and to get a goal is pretty special.”
There was another BCHL connection on the play as the goal came as the result of a point shot by Tyson Barrie, who played for the Victoria Grizzlies in the 2007 BCHL playoffs. Perhaps not the prettiest moment of Kerfoot’s hockey career as the puck caromed off his body while he was creating traffic in front of the net, he was just happy it got past Bruins goalie Tuuka Rask.
“I was driving to the net and it was lucky that it banked off me,” Kerfoot said, again talking to NHL.com. “I scored two in preseason and one of them went off my body too, so two of the three goals so far haven’t touched my stick.”
Kerfoot made the Colorado lineup out of training camp after signing with the club in August. He has a goal and an assist and is +3 in four games so far. There was more BCHL content in the Wednesday night game as Penticton Vees alum Tyson Jost scored an empty-net tally to round out the Colorado scoring.
Kerfoot is the fourth Express graduate to score for the Avalanche joining David Jones, Brandon Yip and Patrick Wiercioch.