VIPERS FALL TO THRASHERS IN A SHOOTOUT

VIPERS FALL TO THRASHERS IN A SHOOTOUT
Red Deer drops home opener 6-5 to Three Hills.
For Immediate Release Saturday, September 26, 2015
Red Deer, AB – In a Saturday night matchup at the Red Deer Arena, the Red Deer Vipers took on the Three Hills Thrashers in their first home game of the 2015-16 Heritage Junior Hockey League season. The Vipers started Mack Patchett between the pipes while the Thrashers countered with Greg Pois.
Three Hills notched the games first tally just over five minutes into the game after Cody Phillips corralled a loose puck in the slot and roofed a shot over Patchett. The Thrashers continued to press for the next tally and were rewarded with six minutes left in the frame on a man advantage. Jesse Morrison pounced on a loose puck in the crease and slotted a quick shot past the outstretched pad of the Red Deer netminder to give Three Hills the 2-0 advantage. The Vipers quickly responded on a powerplay of their own as Matt Krusky finished off a nice passing play after he wired home a shot from the left circle. Red Deer continued to apply the pressure and found the tying marker less than a minuts later. Anthony Neurauter received the puck on the left side and blasted a slap shot past the Thrashers’ keeper to tie the game 2-2. The teams skated to the dressing rooms tied 2-2.
Just over a minute into the middle frame, Three Hills retook the lead when Patrick Fougere tapped the puck past an out of position Patchett in the crease. The lead was short-lived as the Vipers answered back less than three minutes later. Forward Avery Weenink raced down the right boards and made a nice deke past a Thrashers’ player before setting up Dustin Spearing for the tap in. Three Hills jumped in front again with seven minutes to play in the frame as Fougere converted on a rebound in close for his second of the night. The Thrashers extended their lead shortly after when Tom Vanderlinde broke in alone on the Vipers’ goaltender and finished off a deke to give Three Hills a 5-3 advantage going into the final period of play.

Red Deer pulled within one goal less than four minutes into the third period when Declan Johnson burst down the right wing and snapped a shot through the legs of Pois. The Vipers continued to press for the tying marker and with less than three minutes remaining Brett Marsollier found it. From the point, defenseman Jonathan Finnigan wristed a puck towards the net that deflected off Marsollier into the Three Hills net to tie the game. After 60 minutes of play, the teams headed to overtime tied 5-5.
During the extra frame, the Vipers continued to control a majority of the play, but could not find the winning marker as the game progressed to a shootout. In the shootout, the goaltender stood tall stopping the first nine attempts before the Thrashers’ Tyler Newsham scored in the fifth round to give Three Hills the victory. Thrashers 6 Vipers 5 (SO).
Red Deer outshot Three Hills 49-35.
The Vipers will now travel to Medicine Hat on Saturday, October 3rd for a date with the Cubs. Red Deer will then return home to the Red Deer Arena on Sunday, October 4th for a game against the Banff Academy Bears. Puck-drop is set for 6:45 PM.
The Red Deer Vipers are proud to host the 2016 Hockey Alberta Provincial Championships taking place March 31st – April 3rd, 2016. Head over to the Vipers website at www.reddeervipers.com for more information.