VIPERS SINK COPPERHEADS IN OT

VIPERS SINK COPPERHEADS IN OT

Brett Hoppus scores overtime winner as Red Deer gets past Coaldale 5-4.

For Immediate Release

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Red Deer, AB – On a Saturday evening at the Red Deer Arena, the Red Deer Vipers welcomed the Coaldale Copperheads in their first home game after the Christmas break. Goaltender Cole Sears made his first home start for the Vipers, while the Copperheads countered with Dillan Kelly between the pipes.

The visiting team opened the scoring four minutes into the opening period after Craig Lyon finished off a give-and-go play past Sears. Coaldale’s lead was short lived as Red Deer stormed back to tie the game not even a minute later. Defender Marc-Antoine Viens corralled a pass at the top of the right circle and rifled a shot off the crossbar, over the right shoulder of Kelly, for his first Heritage Junior Hockey League tally. The home side then took their first lead of the game minutes later on the man advantage as Colten Weseen slotted home a rebound in the blue paint for the 2-1 lead. The Copperheads would tie the game back up at the halfway mark of the period as Connor Gross fired a slap shot past the glove of Sears from the right faceoff circle. Bailey Lawson would restore Red Deer’s one goal lead with just under three minutes to play in the period as he deflected Connor Veroba’s point shot through the wickets of Kelly. The Vipers took their 3-2 lead into the second frame.

Coaldale would again score the opening goal of the frame, as Brady Parenteau burst down the middle, past a Vipers’ defender, and fired a shot past the outstretched glove of Sears minutes into the period to tie the game 3-3. The Copperheads then retook the lead with six minutes to play in the period as James Price deflected a point shot past the Vipers’ netminder. The visitors 4-3 lead would hold for the remainder of the period, as the teams headed to the dressing rooms for the second intermission.

Red Deer found themselves down two men early into the final period, but some very strong penalty killing kept the home team within one goal. The penalty kill proved crucial as the Vipers found the game tying marker minutes after the kill. From the right corner, Weseen threw a no look, behind-the-back pass out front to Spencer Yeats who quickly tapped the puck past the blocker of Kelly to tie the game 4-4. Yeats’ goal would hold up as the only marker of the period has the two teams remained tied 4-4 after regulation and headed to overtime.

In the extra frame, having controlled a majority of the play, the Vipers found the game winning marker with two minutes to play. Off a weird play in front of the Copperheads’ goal, the puck found its way past Kelly, with Brett Hoppus credited as the overtime hero. Vipers 5 Copperheads 4

Red Deer outshot Coaldale 45-32.  

The Vipers will now travel to Banff tomorrow afternoon to take on the Banff Academy Bears before they return home on Monday, January 11^th to take on the Mountainview Colts. Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM at the Red Deer Arena.

The Red Deer Vipers are proud to host the 2016 Hockey Alberta Provincial Championships taking place March 31^st – April 3^rd, 2016. Head over to the Vipers website at www.reddeervipers.com for more information.