Just this Wednesday Adam Thompson, Garrett Noonan, Graeme Gordon, and I all went to Kelowna for the Rockets game. On the way down we stopped at Cactus Club for a quick meal and then headed to the game. Adam and Graeme both know kids on Calgary so we were able to get free tickets. What was going to be just an average hockey game turned into quite the night. Halfway through the second period Garrett and I went for a snack and drink at the concession. We left Adam behind who said, “I’m here for the game not the food,” an obvious remark that costed him a good time. As me and Garrett were buying our food we were asked to do the intermission relay race. Hesitant at first it was only a matter of seconds before we agreed. As we made our way the zamboni tunnel we were briefed on the event, we were to run down the ice putting on pants, a jersey, and gloves on and then had to shoot the puck into the net. We sent Adam and Graeme a text to make sure they watched and of course they didn’t believe us. After we put on our helmets we made our way to the ice with the other contestants under our fake names of “Adam” and “Rick”. After the crowd was rallied up for the show we lined up at the goal line. The announcer counted us down and then we were off. Garrett had a false start, but the race went on. The first station was the pants, which didn’t seem to fit at first so I just kept them around the ankles. Garrett continued to try to pull them up which costed him the race. The other two contestants were constantly running and at the red line at this point, I knew I had to make a move. As I got to the jersey I threw it on quick and made my way to the gloves. While I was putting on the gloves I noticed that the net was backwards and the mascot was turning it around. I almost fell as I picked up the stick, grabbed the puck and fired a shot past the two people ahead of me into the net for the win! After a hands in air/running man celebration I looked back to see Garret still grabbing his stick, and then shot his puck past me and everyone into the net. It was a good effort. We were then given our gift bags and made our way back up to our seats where we were able to watch our performances, taped by Graeme. That made the night very entertaining!
Rockets games are just one thing we do in our free time. We spend a lot of time going out to restaurants around town or in Kelowna. On weeknights if we aren’t hanging out together we will all go to a movie at Famous Players. When we get a day off, generally on Sundays, if we aren’t relaxing a lot of time we go to the Kelowna mall and walk around for a bit. As mentioned before our team is big on the NHL 10 game so when were hanging out we always come around to playing that. Currently Garrett Noonan is the best and has continued his winning this past weekend. Other than that we don’t do much, with our busy schedule it’s nice to use the free time to just hang out and catch up on rest.
Were on the road for the next couple weeks so hopefully you can make it to our next home game on Friday, November 13th!
Cole Ikkala Blogs - Rockets Game Fun
Why Aren't The Vipers Ranked 1st....
So currently the Vipers stay ranked 3rd in the CJHL Power Rankings and will play 6 road games before they come back to the Wesbild Centre. There first stop is this Friday night when they face the Merritt Centennials for the first time in their barn this season. Then in a week they will go to Salmon Arm to face the Silverbacks for the 3rd time this year and then the boys will head up north again to play Prince George, Quesnel and Williams Lake.
Vernon will play Merritt one more time on the road before playing a double header against the Trail Smoke Eaters on the 13th and 14th of November at the Wesbild Centre and the Vipers will also welcome all the parents of the players for the annual Parents Weekend!!
So the Vipers may not be playing a home game for 3 weeks, but they will be keeping busy!!! As always tickets are available for the next home games weekdays from 9am-4pm at the Vipers Office or book by phone at 542-6022.
Vipers, Vees maintain Top-5 spots in CJHL rankings
The CJHL Weekly Top 15 as of Monday, October 26th:
1. (2) Kingston Voyageurs (OJAHL)
2. (1) Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)
3. (3) Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
4. (5) Dauphin Kings (MJHL)
5. (4) Penticton Vees (BCHL)
6. (6) Georgetown Raiders (OJAHL)
7. (8) Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL)
8. (7) Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL)
9. (10) Newmarket Hurricanes (CCHL)
10. (9) Bonnyville Pontiacs (AJHL)
11. (HM) Oakville Blades (OJAHL)
12. (11) Woodstock Slammers (MJAHL)
13. (14) Fort William North Stars (SIJHL)
14. (13) Abitibi Eskimos (NOJHL)
15. (15) Les Pantheres de Saint-Jerome (LHJAAA)
Honorable mention goes to the Surrey Eagles (BCHL), Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL), Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL), Soo Eagles (NOJHL), Burlington Cougars (CCHL), Wellington Dukes (CCHL), and the Cornwall Colts (CJHL)
The rankings are based upon a variety of factors which includes the league in which the teams belong to, their winning percentage, their win-loss record, total points accumulated, their goals-for versus goals-against ratio, amongst other factors.
The CJHL is an amalgamation of ten Junior A hockey leagues from across Canada. More information on the CJHL can be found by clicking on the league website. www.cjhlhockey.com
Vernon Vipers Take Part In D.E.A.R.
Last October Home Game
Well October is coming to an end and the Vipers have one last home game to play this month so you better get to the game!!! The Vipers will host the Quesnel Millionaires on October 24th at 7pm @ the Wesbild Centre. Quesnel is a very unpredictable team, that may be struggling in the standings, but they always put in a good fight and have always put 100% in when the face the Vipers. No matter what team the Vipers host we need fan support...it makes a huge difference on the atmosphere and how the boys play!
Looking around the league, when the Vipers are on the road, the visiting teams attendance doubles in some arenas as fans from other towns want to come see the Vipers play...so Vernon, you have them here all the time and each and every night they come out and play spectacular hockey...and as one fan mentioned the other day..."This is the most special team I have ever seen since I started following the Vipers."
Don't miss out on any home game this year and come cheer on the team that is creating the most buzz in ALL of Junior A Hockey!!
Get your tickets today!!
Blogging On The Northern Road Swing With Adam Thompson
Day 1 – Thursday- Game vs. Quesnel @ 7 Pm
Thursday morning marked the first day of our first Northern Road swing of the year, with an early 9 am departure time. I picked up some Tim Horton’s for breakfast on the way to the rink, specifically a couple sesame seed bagels and an Iced Cappuccino. After we pack our bags and allow the rookies to load the bus, we get settled in our regular spots on the bus (veterans in the back, rookies closer to the front and coaches/staff at the head of the bus). This road trip we lucked out because a little less personnel came on the trip thus allowing everyone to get there own two seats for more room and comfort on the long trip. I spent a solid 3-4 hours sleeping and the rest listening to music or watching movies on my ipod. On this specific trip we decided to stay in Williams Lake for the first two nights because of the close proximity between Williams Lake and Quesnel. We dropped off our belongings into our rooms, ate a quick pregame meal consisting of spaghetti and meatballs and then headed back to our rooms for some rest and relaxation before the game. I had to pleasure staying with Darren Robak, or Dale Dobak as most teammates call him. He is quite the character and we had some good times. Before we knew it, we were required to shake off our bus legs and get on the ice for a big game against Quenel.
I didn’t get to play the first two games this weekend due to an undisclosed injury (along with my fellow teammate Cole Ikkala); therefore I got to watch the team from a different perspective. I was fortunate enough last year to only sit out one game, so it was somewhat of a new experience for me. After a good group effort and a solid 60 minutes of play, we went onto win the game 9-1. The whole team came to play tonight but I was particularly amazed by the efforts of our so-called fourth line. Just goes to show our team depth is a definite strong point. Before we knew it, we were in, out, and back on the bus to the hotel in Williams Lake.
Day 2 – Friday- Game vs. Williams Lake @ 7 pm
Day two began with breakfast in the hotel lobby, a pregame skate at the arena in Williams Lake and more rest and relaxation. I got to participate in the pregame skate but unfortunately I was unable to play in the game tonight. That meant Cole Ikkala, Dan Nycolat (who unfortunately got suspended in Quesnel for standing up for a teammate) and I had to participate in a conditioning skate. Lets just say the sausages and so-called “eggs” did not sit well during this event. Dobak and I watched numerous episodes of Wild N’ Out, which might be the best show on these days. While it may not be good for the younger kids, there are a lot of good laughs for the more mature audiences. After a lot of sitting around, we were getting our suits on and heading back to the rink for another big game against the Williams Lake Timberwolves. They are a new expansion team that entered the league this year, therefore they have a whole bunch of rookies on their squad that are new to the BCHL experience. That being said, they have a bunch on young speedsters that are known to put in a good effort and work hard… which they did, for about 45 minutes of tonight’s game. The other 15 minutes was lost in an onslaught of goals by your very own Vipers. Another 9-goal game with only 2 against highlighted the night. Blake Voth got to start tonight and looked solid. It’s hard not to with such a solid defense corps in front of him. Captain Kraus looked really good and Eric Soderlund and Darren Robak both got to play. There were also two spirited fights by Sawyer Mick and Darren Robak, in which both of them won (obviously). Dobak was again standing up for a teammate, which is good to see from the young kid from Red Deer (not quite as good of a city as Calgary, but nonetheless in the great province of Alberta). However the best news of the night came from the P.A. announcer after he told the disgruntled crowd that the Calgary Flames had beat the Canucks again. Back to the hotel again where we got to relax after 2 solid games and got to look forward to a well-deserved day off on Saturday.
Day 3 – Saturday- Day off
Today we woke up, had another delicious breakfast, which was sooo delicious that most people went to the gas station Market after it, to get more food. This was definitely one of the more boring and uneventful days of the season for me. The team hopped back on the bus and drove to Prince George, the location of our third and final game that is going to be played tomorrow afternoon. This time I got to room with the two goalies. Blake Voth is a good kid, but seems to enjoy squirting me with water. This incident was settled on the bus ride home Sunday. The other, Graeme Gordon is a great guy and a person that I will most likely remember for the rest of my life. I was lucky enough to room with him all season last year and we had some good times. As I said before, this day consisted largely of time wasting. Vother and I watched American Pie and about 5 hours more of useless television. The ALCS baseball game was ridiculously entertaining and much to Gordo’s dismay, Vother and I were both happy to hear that the Stampeders and Roughriders (CFL) got a point in an exciting tie. A lot of ice followed by sleep capped the day off.
Day 4 – Sunday – Game vs. Prince George @ 3 pm
We got to sleep in longer this morning and the breakfast was a lot better. I knew today was going to be a good day and I luckily got to play in today’s game. Prince George is known to be a bit of a tough challenge for us especially on the road in their barn. It was our first meeting against them this year, but for the most part we had no trouble. Winning the game 5-1 we collected 2 more points to help us maintain in first place in the Interior Conference and league standings. Today’s game was a solid team effort as we stuck to our systems and put together a solid 60-minute game. Gordo had a pretty ridiculous glove save and nice passing plays were highlighted in some of the goals. The team offense in the last 7 games has been pretty unbelievable and has allowed us to take the lead for the most goals for in the league. Perhaps more impressive is that we also have the lowest goals against in the league as well. The team is coming together well I’d say. All in all it was a great road trip as we got all six points that we came for. We got to enjoy a good Boston Pizza meal on the way home and have now watched a few movies.
Keep on cheering for your first place Vipers and be sure to come to Wednesday’s game against Merrit. It will be a special night as we will dawn our special edition breast cancer jerseys and lots of money will be raised for a great cause. I plan on going to bed now so until next time, in the words of the great Ron Burgundy (with our own twist) stay classy Vernon.
