Lasalle last played St. Mary’s back in September where the Lincolns handed the Vipers their first loss of the season. That game was played on the road in St. Marys, final score 2-1. Now back at the Vollmer Culture R.C, the team was looking for redemption. The Vipers did just that and with tonight’s win, the Vipers are now tied for 1st in the Western Conference with the Lincolns.
Both teams took a cautious start to the first period as only 2 penalties were recorded in those 20 minutes. St. Marys was called for tripping at 4:28, then Joe Gingras was called for cross-checking at 8:03. Neither team found the back of the next, keeping the score locked at 0-0.
The Lincolns came out of the intermission scoring twice in just over 2 minutes. Their first goal came at 4:11 and their second at 6:35. However, down by 2, the Vipers didn’t stop fighting. Adriano Tonin put us on the board at 14:23 and Bryce Belleau added another one at 17:05, leveling the score at 2. The second period ended with some 4 on 4 hockey as Tonin, and a Lincoln went to the box for roughing.
The dramatics of the third period started after Julian Gignac took a penalty at 1:22. The Lincolns were called for 2 penalties at 5:50, giving the Vipers a 5 on 3 advantage. Unfortunately, the Lincolns caught a break and scored on the Vipers advantage. The action during the penalties didn’t end there as Alec Stewart scored on this powerplay, tying the game once again. The game winning moment came at 10:43 when Zach Vaillancourt netted the 4th and final goal. The Lincolns pulled their goalie at 17:01 in an attempt to close the one goal lead that the Vipers held. The Vipers held strong winning this contest 4-3.
The Vipers play at home again on Sunday November 17th when the Elmira Sugar Kings come to town. Puck drop is at 2:30.
