Vernon, BC – For the second consecutive night, a poor start to the game led to a Chiefs loss as the Chiefs suffered an 8-3 road loss in Vernon.
In Friday’s 4-3 loss in Merritt Chilliwack fell behind 2-0 with 10:08 gone in the first period.
Saturday night in Vernon, the start was twice as bad as the Chiefs trailed the Vipers 4-0 after just 10:02.
Goals by former Chief Darren Rizzolo, Joe Cipollone, and Riley Brandt in the game’s first five minutes chased Chiefs goaltender Aidan Pelino from the game.
Five minutes later Steven Jandric beat Pelino’s replacement Matteo Esposito when his centering pass deflected in off a Chiefs defenseman.
While the Chiefs were much better over the game’s final fifty minutes, soundly outshooting the Vipers, the early hole was dug too deep.
In the second period, the Chiefs outshot the Vipers 21-9 and outscored them 2-1.
The Vipers upped their lead 5-0 on a goal by Riley Brandt six minutes into the middle period before the Chiefs answered with late period goals by Jesse Lansdell and Vimal Sukumaran. Sukumaran’s goal, his team leading fourth of the season came on the power play.
Third period goals by Odeen Tufto and Colton McCarthy gave the Vipers a 7-2 lead.
Mark Esposito’s first of the season on the power play made it 7-3 before Jandric scored his second of the game, this one into an empty net to finish the night’s scoring.
Vipers goaltender Jarrod Schamerhorn was excellent in picking up the win as the Chiefs outshot the VIpers 45-29.
Chilliwack finishes weekend action in Salmon Arm Sunday afternoon.
