Snakes take bite of Warriors

Photo: Wayne Moore - Castanet File Photo

A game that could have gone either way in the third period Wednesday night in Vernon, went the wrong way for the West Kelowna Warriors.

The Vipers snapped a scoreless tie with three unanswered goals in the final period in a 3-0 win over the visiting Warriors.

A back and forth battle through the first 40 minutes wielded no goals, five posts and 45 shots combined between the two teams, as Jarrod Schamerhorn and Andy Desautels made big saves when asked to.

The Vipers got the only goal they would need on the power-play at 4:24 from Anthony Latina as he ripped a wrister over the glove of Desautels to break the dead-lock.

Vernon doubled their lead with a Luke Shiplo goal from Latina at 10:49, on a play that will be more remembered for the crowd that gathered in front of the Warriors net after the goal, with Desautels buried beneath Latina and a pile of players.

Latina would pick up the extra two minutes after the goal, but the Warriors could not make it click with the man advantage, which was 2nd in the league on the road heading into the game.

Another scrum at 15:14 led to Rylan Yaremko and TJ Dumonceaux trading blows and earning early showers, while Mac Ferner, Latina, and Liam Coughlin all drew misconducts to ensure nothing further would come from it.

Liam Finlay sealed the deal with an Empty Net goal at 18:57 to give the Vipers a 3-0 win, as Schamerhorn made 33 saves in picking up his 11th win and 2nd shutout on the season.

The Warriors will head back to Trail on Friday to meet up with the Smoke Eaters at Cominco Arena, before returning home Saturday to host Coquitlam inr the annual Teddy Bear Toss game.