Riley Wood scored at 4:15 of overtime to give the London Nationals a 2-1 victory over the LaSalle Vipers on Sunday afternoon in LaSalle.
In what was the final regular-season game of the season, both teams rested several players in an otherwise meaningless game for both clubs. AP call-up Matt Herniman scored the lone Vipers goal in the second period, while Matt Sbrocca and Kyle Downey split the goaltending duties. Prior to the opening faceoff, a nice ceremony was held for three graduating Vipers who were playing in their final regular-season home game, Nic Pavia, Ryan Barwitzki and Stephane Crevier.
Having locked down fourth-place and home-ice advantage in the first round of the GOJHL Sutherland Cup Playoffs, the Vipers now turn heir attention to their opponent in that series, the St. Marys Lincolns. The two teams had an odd season series with each other, with the away team winning all six games. The Vipers won all three contests in St. Marys, while the Lincolns returned the favour and won all three games in LaSalle.
Game 1 in the best-of-seven series goes Wednesday, April 6 in LaSalle.
