Solid goaltending and special teams play helped the Vernon Sun Valley Source For Sports Vipers defeat the visiting Penticton Vees 3-0 to kick off the Okanagan Bantam Tier 2 Hockey League regular season at Kal Tire Place North.
Austin Seibel collected the shutout for Vernon, making a number of big saves in the second half of the game as Vernon ran into penalty trouble.
Logan Killingbeck opened the scoring near the midway mark of the second period with an even-strength goal after some hard work by Gunnar Nyberg and Bryson Helmer behind the net left Killingbeck all alone out in front.
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Late in the second period, the Vipers took advantage of a sloppy Penticton line change and sprung Jonathan Reynolds on a shorthanded breakaway. Killingbeck and Nyberg assisted on Reynolds’ first of the season to put the Vipers up two late in the frame.
Strong penalty killing and some timely saves by Seibel kept the Vees off the scoresheet in the third long enough for Reilly Beer to bury his first of the season on a power play with assists from Bogdan Savelyev and Charlie Swartz.
The Vipers hit the road next weekend for league games against the Kelowna Rockets and West Kelowna Warriors.
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