The Lasalle Vipers looked to finish 2024 strong with a pair of back-to-back road games to close out the year.
On Friday December 20th, the Vipers traveled to Stratford for their fourth and final meeting of the season with the Warriors. The Vipers had won both home games against Stratford at the Vollmer earlier this season, but their previous visit to Stratford resulted in a tough 4-0 loss.
The game started with an early opportunity for the Vipers when Stratford took a slashing penalty at 6:28 of the first period. The Vipers used this advantage to start the scoring. Joe Gingras got his fifth goal of the season on the power play at 7:50. The period ended with a penalty to Alec Stewart for interference. The Vipers held onto their 1-0 lead going into the second frame.
In the second period, the Vipers faced three penalties. At 6:51 Zach Vaillancourt was called for slashing, followed by a roughing penalty to Michael Lavigne at 10:28. Just moments later, Connor Chartrand took a penalty at 11:13, leading to Stratford’s first goal of the game directly off the face off.
Stratford opened the third period scoring two goals within the first five minutes to take a 3-1 lead. Despite numerous penalties handed to Stratford throughout the period, the Vipers were unable to capitalize on the power play opportunities. Stratford scored their final goal at 19:30 into the empty net. Final score 4-1 Stratford
On Saturday December 21st, the Vipers wrapped up their 2024 with a road game against the Komoka Kings. After a tough loss the previous night in Stratford, the Vipers were looking to end the year on a high note.
Jak Thiessen got the Vipers off to a strong start, scoring the opening goal at 8:57 of the first period. Less than a minute later, Thiessen struck again, netting his second of the game. Komoka took 3 penalties, one of them being recorded at 19:47 which would carry over into the second period
Connor Chartrand scored on that power play just 1:18 into the second. Shortly after, Noah Caswell scored his second of the season at 2:07, extending the Vipers lead to 4-0 before the game reached its halfway point. The Vipers then began facing penalty challenges of their own. Bryce Belleau was called for holding at 9:02, followed by a cross-checking penalty to Nick Graniero at 16:10. During Graniero’s time in the box, Komoka scored their first goal of the game at 17:46.
Komoka scored their second goal early at 3:22, but not long after Alec Stewart’s eventual game-winning goal was recorded at 6:26. Komoka responded with a power-play goal at 8:03 while Brendan Gouin was serving a hooking penalty. Matteo Vilardi added the sixth goal for the Vipers at 12:29 on the power play. Komoka scored their fourth goal at 15:00 during a 5-on-3 advantage with Brody Jones and Nick Graniero both in the box. The Vipers held on for a 6-4 victory to close out the year on a positive note.
The Lasalle Vipers will be back home at the Vollmer on January 8th, 2025. Before then, they take on the Stars in St. Thomas on January 3rd and the Siskins in Kitchener-Waterloo on January 5th.
