A four goal third period helped the Vernon Vipers take game two of their best-of-seven first round BCHL playoff series against the Trail Smoke Eaters, 5-2.
After a 2-0 game one victory on Friday, the Vipers were back inside Kal Tire Place on Saturday.
Ethan Warrener was the lone goal-scorer in the opening period, as Trail was able to get on the board first. Vernon responded in the second, with Isaac Tremblay scoring his first of the playoffs, to knot the game at one.
Three minutes into the final frame, the Vipers offence exploded. Carson McGinley, Luke Pakulak, Owen Kim and Etienne Lessard all scored within seven minutes of each other, to put the Vipers up 5-1. Kim and Lessards’s markers were on the power-play, after an Adam Marshall charging call that led to a four-minute man advantage for the home team.
Judah Makway would slice into the Vipers lead at the 15:19 mark of the third, but it wasn’t enough as Vernon would win, 5-2.
Ethan David had another stellar day in net, stopping 28 of 30 shots faced for his second straight playoff victory. Teagan Kendrick was busy behind the pipes for Trail, fending off 34 of 39 shots.
The series now shifts to Trail for games three and four, on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9-10.
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