VIPERS SHUTOUT LIGHTNING

VIPERS SHUTOUT LIGHTNING

Cole Sears collects his third shutout in four starts as Red Deer skates past Stettler 7-0.

For Immediate Release

Monday, February 1, 2016

Red Deer, AB – On a Monday evening at the Red Deer Arena, the Red Deer Vipers continued their hunt for first place in the Heritage Junior Hockey League’s Northern Division as they welcomed the Stettler Lightning. The Vipers looked to reigning Player of the Week, Cole Sears, between the pipes, while the Lightning countered with Taylor McLaughlin.

Red Deer jumped out to an early lead just 1:34 into the opening period. Off a faceoff in the right circle, the puck found the stick of Drew Joslin who quickly threw a shot on net that eluded the Stettler netminder for the 1-0 lead. The Vipers continued to pressure the Lighting all period and were awarded their second goal of the night with five minutes to play in the period. From the right point, Connor Veroba threw a shot on net that was deflected by Dustin Spearing through the legs of McLaughlin to stretch the Vipers lead to 2-0. The home side found one more marker before the end of the frame as Joslin scored his second of the night from the left circle off an odd man rush. Red Deer would take their 3-0 lead into the first intermission.

Tye Munro found the Vipers fourth marker of the game eight minutes into the middle period as he burst down the right boards and tucked one past McLaughlin for the 4-0 advantage. Red Deer would strike again with five minutes to go in the period as Nick Glackin and Matt Krusky broke in on a two-on-one shorthanded rush. From the right side, Krusky feathered a pass over to Glackin who quickly rifled a shot past the Lightning netminder for the home side’s fifth goal of the game. The second period ended with the Vipers leading 5-0.  

Red Deer collected their sixth goal five minutes into the final frame as Jonathan Finnigan ripped a one timer from the point past the glove of McLaughlin on the powerplay. Kale Lapointe would add another powerplay goal for Red Deer before the end of the game as the home side cruised to victory. Vipers 7 Lightning 0.

 Red Deer outshot Stettler 42-16.

The Vipers will conclude their portion of the regular season on Saturday, February 6^th when they welcome the Ponoka Stampeders to the Red Deer Arena. Game time is set for 8:00 PM. 

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.