Sssniper & Vipers Blog!!

Friends or Enemies?

By Don Klepp

Dylan Walchuk can’t quite decide whether his BCHL team mates on the Canada West team are his friends or his enemies.

On October 21, he and seven other BCHL players were announced as members of the squad that will represent Western Canada at the World Jr. A Championships in Penticton, November 8-14. Players were drawn from leagues in western Ontario,, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and B.C.

The selection has posed a bit of a dilemma for Walchuk, an intense competitor who gears himself up to play against Vernon’s BCHL rivals.

“Especially in the interior division,” he said after practice on Thursday, “we see each other a lot, and the teams are pretty evenly matched, so it’s a dog fight every game.”

“It’s a little bit easier to get pumped for games when you have a hate built up. I’m sure the Penticton guys don’t care much for Vipers, and I’ll be tempted to mention our 3-0 record against them this year. But now Laleggia and O’Donnell and MacMillan are my team mates, so I guess we’d better get along.”

He admits that “now that I’m getting to know them, I have to admit that they’re pretty good guys. That’s something I wouldn’t have said last week!”

He continues, “Yeah, I played with MacMillan when we were kids, and with the other Penticton guys in last year’s Prospects game, but you put that behind you when you play against them.”

He’s full of praise for Westside’s Grayson Downing, who was also on the 2009 CJHL Top Prospects roster: “That guy’s really smooth. Give him the puck and you’ll get it back in a good position. That’s the best thing about playing on a team like this. There’s so much skill.”

Walchuk is not sure about his relationship with Sam Mellor. “I think we beat them every time last year, but they’ve taken two of three this fall, so he might be trash talking me a little. He’d be good to play with, though. Give him the puck and it’s in the net.”

The Viper scoring leader is certain of one thing: “We’ll have a pretty good hate for Canada East, probably more than any other team in the tourney.”

The two Canadian teams lock horns in a pre-tournament exhibition tilt at Vernon’s Wesbild Centre at 7 pm, November 5. Tickets are just $10. Plenty of good seats are still available through the Viper ticket office, at 250-542-6022.

NHL Oil Change Part One - Changes

Watch TSN's Documentary Oil Change

Twin Blades

By Alex Lippa
Quinnipiac University Quad News Sports

With the loss of five senior forwards, three of whom are playing at the professional level, many wondered who would provide for the scoring in their absence.

Enter the Jones twins.

The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team landed highly touted freshmen Connor and Kellen Jones to play this fall, and they are perhaps two of the best recruits in Bobcat history. Kellen was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the seventh round of this past June's NHL Entry Draft, while Connor also has a chance to play professionally in the future. Both twins attended the Oilers' development camp over the summer.

The brothers have played together on the same team for their entire lives. Connor was originally a defenseman when the two were little, but was turned into a winger, and the two have been inseparable on the ice ever since. It was a package deal for the Bobcats to get them and they are ecstatic about the Jones' decision to play at Quinnipiac.

"The coaching staff are great and were honest with us," Connor said. "The campus is beautiful, and they were one of the only ones to offer free schooling and a full ride."

It doesn't hurt of course that Quinnipiac also has one of the most state-of-the-art facilities in college hockey as well at the TD Bank Sports Center.

"The rink here is unreal," Kellen said. "Our workout facilities are great. We came down with [junior captain Scott Zurevinski] during our fly-down, and we had such a good time with the guys. It seemed like we were already part of the team. So it was a pretty easy decision to come down here. Other schools were here but Quinnipiac was always a little bit higher."

Not only are they identical in their looks, their skill set is identical as well. Both players are only 5'9", yet they are not afraid to throw their body around to deliver rocking hits against the glass. This, and their ability to get to the front of the net, is a reason why the coaching staff put them on the first line with Zurevinski.

"The [physical game] is their biggest asset," said Quinnipiac associate head coach Ben Syer. "They're not very big, but their grittiness level is through the roof. In certain areas you might say that one is grittier than the other slightly, but not enough to make any significant difference between the two."

The line of the Jones twins and Zurevinski has been involved in five of the team's eight goals so far this season which has the junior captain gushing about them.

"They're both really good players," Zurevinski said. "They're good with the puck and away from the puck. They create plays pretty much every shift. You just don't find one player or even two that make plays every time they're on the ice. They are really dynamic players and they will be very exciting for the Quinnipiac community to watch."

Each twin has been hot to start the season. The twins are the top two Bobcats in scoring through four games as Kellen has two goals and three assists, with two goals coming this last Saturday against Holy Cross. Connor meanwhile has a goal and three assists.

While they're here at Quinnipiac now, the biggest thrill in Kellen's life was being drafted this past June by the Oilers.

"It's still quite a shock to be drafted by an NHL team," Kellen said. "You grew up as your dream to be part of an NHL team, so it's still really surreal."

The twins faced adversity throughout their life because of their small stature, and not even their own mother believed in them.

"The day of the draft, my mom told me there's no way either of you get drafted," Kellen said. "You're too small, you're not good enough, you're too short. We went up to play a baseball game and I got about 20 calls and texts saying congratulations, and I heard that I had been drafted in the seventh round."

With Kellen being drafted, and Connor also being highly regarded by NHL teams, there is always the likelihood that the NHL will come knocking on their doors with a contract offer to turn pro before their four years at Quinnipiac are up. But for now they are just centered on being a part of the Bobcats.

"It would be a very tough decision," Kellen said. "To be here four years and to get a free education, that doesn't come to everyone. I'd have to really be able to fill in, in Edmonton and be an impact player. I don't really think about that now though, I kind of just focus on being here and doing well here."

The Jones twins have an opportunity, and the potential, to become two of the most decorated Bobcat athletes of all time, as they attempt to help lead the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team back to the NCAA tournament.

Thank You Valley Auction!

With the tremendous help from Peter and Rodney from Valley Auctions and the great fans of the Vernon Vipers, we raised over $15,000.00 for the Canadian Cancer Society on Sunday afternoon! It was a great weekend all together with the Vipers Parents in town, the Vipers getting 5 of 6 points over the weekend and a huge donation to the Canadian Cancer Society! Thank you to everyone who made this weekend spectacular!

Serenity Tanning Player Profile

Vipers Alumni Quick Update!

Quinnipiac freshman Connor Jones had a goal and an assist in the Bobcats' 3-2 win against Bentley. In that same game Kellen Jones had 2 assists, one on his brothers goal which was also assisted by Viper alumni, Scott Zurevinski. In the Bobcats first regular season game the Jones twins both assisted on the Bobcats first goal scored by Scott Zurevinski's.

On October 15th Cory Kane helped the Ferris State Bulldogs to a 4-2 win over St. Lawrence with 1 goal and 2 assists.

Kyle Bigos and Mike Collins both got assists in the home opener for Merrimack on October 16th. Read Full Story Here

In Boston, Sahir Gill has 1 goal and 4 assists in 3 games played while Garrett Noonan had 1 assist in his 3 games played. The Terriers won their first two games on the road and tied UMass 2-2 for in their home opener.

The Boys Play Ball

After practice on Wednesday the Vipers gathered up some gloves, bats and balls and hit the field to play some baseball. Here are a few pictures from their day out of the rink.