Dylan Compton delivered the stuffies.
He and his Vernon Vipers teammates delivered a win.
The Vipers closed out their pre-Christmas B.C. Hockey League schedule Saturday, Dec. 17, with a 3-2 win over the Wenatchee Wild on Teddy Bear Toss Night at Kal Tire Place.
Compton’s unassisted goal at 1:51 of the second period opened the scoring for the Vipers. His laser wrist shot over the shoulder of Wild goalie Andy Vlaha made it rain stuffed animals and toys onto the ice from the crowd of 2,010.
Goals from Seiya Tanaka-Campbell, at 3:02, and Julia Facchinelli, on the powerplay, at 14:25 staked Vernon to a 3-0 lead.
Cade Littler scored on a Wenatchee powerplay at 17:21 to make it 3-1 Snakes after 40 minutes, and Littler pulled the Wild to within one with another man advantage marker just 41 seconds after the ice clean.
Vernon goalie Roan Clarke stopped the remaining 11 shots from the Wild in the period to help the Vipers pick up two points. Clarke finished with 29 saves while Vlaha stopped 21 Vernon shots.
The evening started with a poignant ceremonial face-off with Kal Tire Place rink attendant Jonny Rockall, paramedic Fiona Morgenthaler-Code and recreation hockey player Al Winther. Rockall and Morgenthaler-Code helped save Winther’s life when he went into cardiac arrest on the bench during a game in February 2020.
The trio received a standing ovation from the crowd.
The Vipers enter the BCHL Christmas break in seventh place in the Interior Conference with a 13-12-0-4 record. They’re four points ahead of Wenatchee (12-15-0-2), but only two points back of the fourth-place Prince George Spruce Kings.
The Penticton Vees lead the conference and the league with a 27-2-0-0 record, and a 15-point lead on the second-place Cranbrook Bucks.
The Nanaimo Clippers lead the Coastal Conference at 23-4-1-0.
Vernon returns to action Friday, Dec. 30, with a home game against the Merritt Centennials, 7 p.m., Kal Tire Place.
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roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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