Ethan David made 22 saves for his third B.C. Hockey League shutout of the season as the hometown Vernon Vipers blanked the Prince George Spruce Kings 2-0 at Kal Tire Place Wednesday, March 3.
The victory improved Vernon’s record to 22-17-4-3 and moved them into fifth place in the Interior Conference, one point ahead of the Cranbrook Bucks and four points behind the fourth-place West Kelowna Warriors.
The Bucks host the second-place Salmon Arm Silverbacks Thursday, March 3.
Prince George (25-12-3-8) remains in third place, nine points behind the Gorillas and six ahead of the Warriors.
Zack Tonelli scored both goals for the Vipers in the second period, his second on a five-minute major powerplay after a blow to the head penalty against Prince George’s Austin Fraser.
Aaron Trotter made 13 saves for the Spruce Kings, who have dropped six of eight contests against Vernon this season. The two teams meet one more time on Friday, March 11, in Prince George.
The Vipers visit the Centennials in Merritt Friday, March 4.
SNAKE BITES: Former Vipers all-star goalie Ty Taylor has signed with the Orlando Solar Bears of the East Coast Hockey League. He allowed one goal on nine shots in 26 minutes of play in his pro debut, a relief appearance for starter Brad Barone, in a 5-0 loss Feb. 27 to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Taylor, 22, played in 13 games this season for the Grant MacEwan Griffins in Edmonton in the Canada U-Sports League where he had a 1-11-0 record with a 4.16 goals against average. Taylor, from Richmond, played two years with the Vipers where he was named the BCHL’s top goalie and first-team all-star in 2017-18. He went on to play three years at the University of New Hampshire. Taylor was chosen by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh round, 214th overall, in the 2018 NHL Draft.
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We've signed goaltender Ty Taylor, a 2018 draft pick of the @TBLightning, in our latest @pizzahut Transaction Report: https://t.co/fbw8GU0qGy
— Orlando Solar Bears (@OrlandoHockey) February 24, 2022