La version francaise suit l'article en Anglais
Vipers Celebrate Their Season
May 3rd2010
The Legal Vipers' end of season "Get together" was once again a great success. Most of the players and their families showed up for the occasion and a good time was had. It was a relaxing event during which time the players and management along with the spouses were able to chat and exchange pleasantries about the season or whatever subject that surfaced throughout the evening. It was particularly warming to see the children of the players enjoying the evening with their parents. The format of the evening this year made this possible for the players and that in itself, in my view, is a very valid reason to maintain this format for the years to come.
The 2010 "Get together" was also the moment for award presentations. Like in the past years, awards were presented to recognise the effort and successes of some players in three categories; "Top Scorer", "Viper of the Year" and "Player with Most Heart". It is hard, in some instances, to choose individuals over others for the purpose of the awards however, we live in a competitive world and that is the nature of the beast. In terms of worthiness, it is fair to say that our Vipers are all hard working individuals with a high degree of intensity primarily centered on the well being of the team. In other words the chemistry within the team is conducive to excellent team spirit and that again was obvious at the get together where teammates were pleased to meet again only a couple of months after the end of the season.
The top scorer award this year,for the third year in a row, went to Chris Page . Chris scored 19 goals and reaped 24 assists along with this to end the season with 43 points. The Viper of the Year award went to Adam Gialet and the "Player with Most Heart" award went to Barrett Dupuis. Hearty congratulations to these players.
More to come on the "Get together" in the next couple of days. Included in the next report: pictures of the award presentations, picture of the people present including farmer Maurice and farmer Norm and many more photos taken during the evening.
Farmers Maurice & Norm with Ray & George
In the meantime, enjoy
R Tremblay
Les Vipers célèbrent leur saison 2009-10
Bonjour à tous
Les Vipers se sont réunni pour célébrer une autre saison de hockey samedi dernier et en même temps faire les présentations coutumières d'après saison à cette occasion. Suite à quelques mois de séparation les joueurs étaient heureux de se revoir et partager quelques souvenirs de la saison passée et jacasser de choses et autres. Le format de la soirée fut bien différent des années précédentes tant qu'au degré de formalité mais à mon avis, la simplicité de la soirée a permit aux joueurs de venir avec leurs enfants et célébrer avec leurs famille. La soirée a débuté par un souper suivi par la présentation des trophés.
Trois trophés furent présentés: Le trophé pour le meilleur marqueur est allé à Chris Page qui semble avoir une solide prise sur ce trophé l'ayant rapporté pour la troisième année consécutive. Le trophé pour le Viper de l'année a été présenté à Adam Gialet et finalement Barrett Dupuis s'est mérité le trophé présenté au joueur qui a démontré le plus de coeur au jeux.
La soirée a été un grand succès. Visitez le site web des Vipers dans les prochains jours pour plus de détails.
À la prochaine
Raymond Tremblay
Vipers lose series to Onoway
February 13th
Vipers lose in second overtime
Feb 12th 2010
After coming from behind twice in the game, the Vipers lost a heart breaker to the Onoway Ice Dogs last night in double overtime. With less than 5 minutes left in the third period, the Vipers scored the equalizing goal and forced the game into overtime. The first overtime period was a diminutive version lasting only 10 minutes. Neither team was able to score in that period.
The Vipers started the second overtime with a two men advantage but were unable to get one past the Onoway goalie. Both teams had golden opportunities to end the game early and finally at the 14:39 mark of the second O.T. Onoway scored the winning goal. With the victory the Ice Dogs have taken a commanding lead in the series with two victories to none for the Vipers.Final score: Onoway 5, Legal 4.
The defeat was hard to take for the Vipers but they were quick to regroup in their dressing room and they are again raring to go for the next game which will take place in Onoway on Friday night.
This series is not over. A winner is declared only after one team wins three games. So far neither team has done it. So, "Go Vipers Go!"
R. Tremblay
Vipers point getters last night
Chris Page: Two goals one assist.
André Létourneau: one goal.
Mark Nysetvold: one goal.
Barrett Dupuis: one assist.
Paul DeChamplain: one assist.
Laine Allen: One Assist.
Joe Peters: one assist.
Bonjour à tous mes lecteurs francophones
le 13 février 2010
Les Vipers ont disputé un fort bon match de hockey hier soir mais non pas réussit à vaincre les Ice Dogs encore une fois. Après 60 minutes de jeu le pointage était de quatre à quatre et il a fallut se rendre en deuxième prolongation avant de connaître l'issue du macth. Lors d'un avantage numérique au début de la deuxième période de surtemps, les Vipers ont obtenu cinq bons lancés au but adverse mais se sont fait littéralement volé par le gardien des Ice Dogs. Finalement après une dizaine de minutes Onoway a trouvé le fond du fillet des Vipers et se sont emparé de la victoire pour prendre une avance de deux parties contre aucune dans la série. Le prochain match entre ces deux équipes aura lieu à Onoway le venredi 20 février et si les Vipers espèrent poursuivre leur course vers la coupe ils leur faudra gagner les trois prochains matchs. Chose pas facile mais non impossible.
R.Tremblay
REFERENCES back to References
Vipers lose series opener
February 12th 2010
The Vipers were caught by surprise last night as the Ice Dogs scored three times in less than four minutes after the opening face-off last night in Onoway. The Ice Dogs scored their first goal at the 18:46 mark of the first and repeated the performance at 16:33 and again at the 16:17 mark to take a rapid lead of three to nothing. The Ice Dogs, the top team in the league, went on to eventually win the game by a score of 8 to 6 and take a one to nothing lead in the series. The Vipers again showed a lot of class in a comeback attempt and scored two of their own in the first period. Unfortunately the Ice Dogs scored three more in the first to close the scoring story at 6 to 2 by the end of the period.
The second period presented a revived Vipers team. Many teams would have folded over in a situation like this, but the Vipers came back in force, kept the Ice Dogs off the score board, scored two goals in the second to bring the team within two after two periods.
In the third period both teams exchanged a couple of goals and both goalies played excellent hockey. The Vipers lost the game but in a way the defeat is a bit of a victory for the Vipers as it became evident that the Vipers can skate with Onoway and keep them in check. Penalties played a vital role in the Vipers' defeat as they were caught with 5 on 3 situations a couple of times in the third. That kind of opportunity can't be given to the Ice Dogs and not pay the price. The Ice Dogs took advantage of the 5 on 3 situations and got their two third period goals during that time.
The Vipers are playing the second game of this series tonight in Legal. The Vipers hope to see a lot of fans at the game to cheer them along in their hope of tying the series tonight. See you tonight!
R Tremblay
REFERENCES back to References
Vipers point getters last night:
First Period:
Second Period:
Third Period:
Les Vipers perdent le match d'ouverture
Le 12 Février 2010
Les Ice Dogs d'Onoway ouvrent le match d'hier soir avec force en comptant trois buts rapides au début de la premier période pour se donner une avance quasi insurmontable dans moins de quatre minutes de jeu. Les Vipers n'ont tout de même pas paniquer devant une telle situation et ont répondu avec un effort constant mais malheureusement ils ont dû s'incliner face à une équipe forte qui s'était donné une avance de 6 à 2 après une période de jeu.
Les Vipers, en deuxième, réussirent à tenir les Ice Dogs en écheque et compter deux buts sans ripostes pour réduire l'écart à deux avant d'entreprendre la troisième période. En troisième période les deux équipes se sont échangés deux buts chacun dont les deux buts des Ice Dogs en avantage numérique.
Quoique la défaite est dure à accepter, il faut noter, qu'en un sense, les Vipers ont connu une certaine victoire hier soir. Il est évident qu'ils peuvent faire compétition avec les Ice Dogs et même leur faire subir la défaite. Je crois que le match de ce soir va nous démontrer une équipe prête, dès le début à faire face au Ice Dogs. Du moins c'est ce que nous espérons. Au plaisir de vous voir se soir. Voir la section anglaise pour les pointeurs.
R. Tremblay REFERENCES back to References
Vipers Take Series Two Games to None
February 7th 2010
As is to be expected when the Vipers meet the Winter Hawks the fans from both places were witnesses to most exciting hockey between these two teams over the week-end. The Vipers, took the first game at home by a score of 6 to 3 to the great satisfaction of their fans in Legal and proceeded to defeat the Hawks on their own ice the next day in front of an enthusiastic Hawks crowd that showed up to support their favorites.
The first period saw the two teams playing cautious hockey each one waiting for the breaks to come. The goaltending from the beginning was irreprochable as both goalies came up with unbelievable saves time and again. Sanford Lamouche, the dimunitive goalkeeper for the Hawks came un strong every time he was called upon to keep his teammates in the game. At the opposite end of the rink, Tyler Day was every bit as effective stopping all the rubber directed at him by the Hawks sharp shooters. The first period was a real goalies' duel ending up in a draw as neither team was able to break the barrier and get one passed the goalies. After one: Vipers 0 - Hawks 0.
The second period was definitely the Vipers best period of the year. Paul DeChamplain, who seems to have rediscovered his scoring touch lately, fired one over the goalie's shoulder to make it one to nothing for the Vipers. Prior to the goal Cody Millar literally fought his ways with a few Hawks, first to keep the puck in the zone and then to make the perfect pass to a wide open Paul DeChamplain who made no mistake. Toward the end of the second period, Chris Page and André Létourneau combined their efforts to make it two - nothing for the Vipers. That concluded the scoring story for the second period.
From a fan's point of view I believe the Vipers played their best hockey of the season. The team was concentrated, alert, and continually on the move. In the offensive zone, they were constantly a menacing factor for the opposition. The back checking was quick with no one relying on someone else to do it. The players skated with ardor and the whole team was right on the action. The defencemen's tasks, with the help provided by the back-checkers was much easier and they were able to make better exit and zone clearing passes. I had the chance to talk to Ray DeChamplain after the second period and he was delighted with what was going on the bench and on the ice. "These boys do not need coaching right now. They know what has to be done and they are doing it. They have motivation, communication is good, the camaraderie is at a high and I do believe that we have now reached a chemistry level within the team that will help us immensely for the rest of the season." Well said, Coach!.
The Vipers played with the same determination in the third period and made it three to nothing at the 14.05 of the period(Gialet from Page & Dupuis). But then the long arm of the law reached into the action as the Vipers fell victim to a rash of penalties. For the remainder of the game the Vipers found themselves in a few 5 on 3's back to back and by the time the teams came back on even strength the score was now 3 - 2 fortunately for the Vipers, thanks to a penalty killing team that did a fantastic job and a goalie(Tyler Day) who most probably played his best game of the year. Final Score: Vipers 3 Hawks 2
Written by R Tremblay
REFERENCES back to References
Les Vipers gagnent la serie d'ouverture
février le 7 2010
Après une victoire plutôt facile vendredi dernier, les Vipers en ont eu pour leurs argents hier dans le deuxième match, cette fois à Slave Lake. Cependant il est bon de dire que les Vipers ont probablement joué leur meilleur match de la saison. L'équipe s'est vu fonctionner dans diverses situations et s'en ai sorti brillamment. L'équipe a connu un bon jeu de puissance, a démontré beaucoup d'abilité à tuer les punitions(surtout en troisième période) et a bien joué à cinq contre cinq. Trois points bien importants à ce temps ci de l'année.
La partie s'est déroulée rapidement, du moins pour les deux premières périodes pour se terminer par un pointage de 3 à 2 en faveur des Vipers. Le pointage après la première période était 0 à 0, les deux équipes jouant du bon hockey de série. Après deux périodes les Vipers s'étaient donnés un avance de 2 à 0, pour finalement l'emporter 3 à 2.
Le prochain match des Vipers se transporte maintenant à Onoway, une équipe qui a donné du bien mauvais temps aux Vipers toute la saison. Cependant l'équipe joue bien maintenant et nos chances sont très bonnes.
À la prochaine R Tremblay
Press Coverage
Vipers tied with Drayton Valley for 2nd place
January 22nd 2010
The Vipers knew they had to win tonight and consequently came up big to defeat the Athabasca Aces in a closely disputed game. The score, after the first period was 1 to 1 and 4 to 4 after two. It was late in the third period before the Vipers finally broke the tie with a goal from Al McClaren (Neustaeter/Shaun Witschen) at the 3:49 mark. A minute and four seconds later, Chris Page score the insurance marker and basically put the game out of range for the Aces. The final score: Legal 6 Aces 4.
Scoring Story for the Vipers
January 22nd 2010
First Period
Laine Allen/Chris Page
Second Period
Shaun Maslyk/Unassisted Third Period Al McClaren/Jeff Neustaeter/Shaun Witschen REFERENCES back to References
Jeff Neustater/Shaun Maslyk
Paul DeChamplain/Chris Page/Laine Allen
Chris Page/Paul DeChamplain/Josh Kaliel
Victoire des Vipers contre Athabasca
janvier le 22 2010
Les Vipers se devaient de gagner contre Athabasca se soir pour conserver leurs chances de terminer la saison au deuxième rang. Chris Page a connu un très bon matche marquant un but et trois aides. Paul De Champlain, Laine Allen, Jeff Neustaeter, Shaun Maslyk et Al McClaren furent les autres marqueurs des Vipers. La victoire place les Vipers à l'égalité avec Drayton Valley pour le second rang. Les Vipers rencontre Drayton Valley demain pour le dernier match de la saison. Plus de détails suivront demain.
R. Tremblay REFERENCES back to References
Vipers lose to Drayton Valley
January 20th 2010
The Vipers had a chance to move into second place in the standing last night, but un fortunately the Wildcats had plans of their own and that did not include a Vipers' victory. The two teams had a lot at stake with the victorious team claiming sole possession of second place in the standings. The first two periods ended up in ties, three to three after one and five to five after two. The third period however saw the Wildcats score three unanswered goals to take the victory and moved to second place in the standing, at least for the time being. With two game left in the season the Vipers are still in contention for that position as they will confront the Athabasca Ice on Friday of this week and the Wildcat again on Saturday. Both games are in Legal. Game time 8:30 p.m.
Vipers scoring story
1st Period:
Laine Allen: Shaun Witschen/Chris Page
Shaun Maslyk: Matt Kuzio/Adam Gialet
Chris Page: Unassisted
2nd Period:
Shaun Witschen: Paul DeChamplain/Rod Kaliel
André Létourneau: Mark Nysetvold
3rd Period:
No scoring
Written by R.T.
REFERENCES back to References
Les Vipers s'inclinent...
Les Vipers ont manqués une chance en or de s'emparer du deuxième rang au classement en s'inclinant 8 à 5 face au Wild Cats. Les Vipers furent encore victime d'un relâchement en troisième période pour voir les Cats briser l'égalité et en plus compter deux autres buts d'assurance dans le dernier vingt. Les Vipers peuvent encore aspirer de terminer la saison au deuxième rang en gagnant leur deux derniers matches de la saison. Mais beaucoup dépend de certains autres matches dans le circuit qui pourraient leur rendre la tâche plus difficile.
Pour les détails du matche voir section anglaise ci-haut.
REFERENCES retour aux références
Vipers playing with Fire?
January 17th
For the second time in as many days the Vipers win by the skin of their teeth. One has to wonder what is going on. What new technique have the Vipers introduced in their strategy system in the last few games. It seams like they take off like lions on the war path to gradually slow down to a pace that allows the opposition to grind their way back into the game or set the tempo of the game.
This is the situation that is afflicting the Vipers at the present time. Fortunately thanks to the Vipers' determination not to give-up, they have found a way to win and have accumulated four points in the standings with the two week-end games. The first game was won, thanks to a three goals performance in the last minute and a half of the game and the second game, an overtime victory after relinguishing a four goal advantage from the first period.
I am sure the coaches and the players will find a solution to this problem as they are all very aware of the possible consequences. In the meantime games like that are most exciting and a treat to watched but... never-the-less, one has to hope that the situation will be remedied prompto!
Are the Vipers playing with fire? Of course not. Hockey is hockey. Teams experience good stretches and difficult ones. The players are pleased with the four points they pick-up on the week-end but they know they have to pull themselves out of this situation and they will!
Oh! By the way the final score in this game was:Legal 6, Edson 5.
Written by R. Tremblay
REFERENCES back to References
Les Vipers gagnent en temps supplémentgaire
Dimanche le 17 janvier
Suite à une victoire de dernière seconde hier, les Vipers gagnent à nouveau aujourd'hui, cette fois en temps supplémentaire. Comme cela semble être la coutume depuis quelques parties, les Vipers partent avec force pour graduellement perdre de l'altitude au cours de la partie et se mettrent dans des situations périleuses. Après une période de jeu, le pointage était 4 à 0 en faveur des Vipers qui semblaient être en routes vers une victoire facile. Cependant, croyez le ou non, avec moins de deux minutes à jouer dans le match, les Vipers tiraient de l'arrière par un but. L'égalité fut créé à 1:55 minute de jeu dans la partie, grace à un but de Tom Soetaert pour transporter la partie en temps supplémentaire. Barrett Dupuis marqua le but victorieux à 3:19 en surtemps pour enfin procurer la victoire aux Vipers.
R. Tremblay
REFERENCES back to References
Vipers come from behind to beat The Hawks
January 16th 2010
With a minute and forty five seconds left in the game and the Winterhawks leading by two, the game was pretty well out of reach for the Vipers who were on the verge of falling to 8 and 8 record for the season. However, even though the Vipers might not have played their best game of the season one must recognize that they did show a lot of class as a team for never throwing the towel for as long as there was time left on the clock. For the last 120 seconds of the game the Vipers played desperate hockey giving it their best effort. The score at this point was 4 to 2 for the Hawks. At the 1:45 mark, their efforts were rewarded with a goal from Jeff Neustaeter who accepted a pass from André Létourneau to bring the score within one. Nineteen seconds later Chris Page (Adam Gialet/Laine Allen), score his third of the evening to even the score and most likely send the game in overtime. However the Vipers were not done yet and with .01 second left in the game they scored again to claim the victory. Final Score: Legal 5 Slave Lake 4.
The Vipers next home game is Sunday the 17th at 2:00 p.m.
REFERENCES back to References
Victoire des Vipers
Le 16 janvier 2010
Les Vipers ont connu un match difficile, peut-être même leur pire match de la saison, mais ont réussi, tout de même d'arrache pieds, à remporter la victoire contre les Hawks hier soir. Avec seulement une minute et quarante cinq secondes dans la partie et tirant de l'arrière par deux but les Vipers marquent a trois reprises pour gagner la partie en temps reglementaire. Incroyable mais vrai!
Chris Page a connu un de ses meilleurs match de la saison en marquant trois buts dont un le but égalisateur à 1:17 second de la fin. Jeff Neustaeter et Shawn Witschen furent les deux autres marqueurs pour les Vipers.
Le prochain match des Vipers est dimanche le 17, encore à Legal. Bonne chance Vipers
R.Tremblay
REFERENCES back to References
Ice Dogs have the Vipers number
January 6th 2010The Ice Dogs seem to have the Vipers number this year as they concluded the regular season with a perfect record of 3 and 0 against the Vipers. The Vipers came prepared for the mid-week game on January 6th but were unable to capitalize on their chances and as a result could not keep pace with the Icedogs who ended up with a 4 to 1 victory. The game however was a lot closer than what the score indicates. After one period the Vipers were trailing by 1 to 0 and after 2 the game was tied a 1 to 1. The third period unfortunately did not favour our favorites as they saw the Ice Dogs score three times to win the game by a score of 4 to 1. Joe Peters got the lone goal for the Vipers. The next time these two teams meet again could very well be in the play-off. Let's hope that, by that time, the Vipers will have discovered a way to defeat the Ice Dogs. One thing we can be assured of is should these two teams meet again, we will be in for most exiting hockey games.
R. Tremblay
REFERENCES back to References
Les Ice dogs continuent leur domination sur les Vipers
janvier le 6 2010
La partie du 6 janvier fut chaudement disputé mais encore une fois les Vipers ont manqué de vent en troisième période pour s'incliner 4 à 1 contre Onoway.
Sauf pour le dernier vingt, les Vipers ont voltigé au même rhytme qu'Onoway et après deux périodes le pointage était de 1 à 1. Les Ice Dog cependant, marquèrent trois but sans riposte en troisième et se sont enfuient avec deux points au classement.
Le prochain match des Vipers aura lieu à Edson le 9 janvier. Soyez de la partie.
R.Tremblay
REFERENCES back to References
Vipers hunt the Wolves down
December 20th 2009
The Vipers came up strong today following the defeat at the hand of the Hinton Heat yesterday. This being the Vipers' second game in two days and in the aftermath of a bit of a "party" under their belts from the night before, the Vipers played well enough to almost double the score on the Wolves and win the game by a score of 10 to 6.
The Vipers experienced a slow start today for the better part of the first period as they seemed to be running low on fuel or was it due to the use of the wrong type of fuel? Whatever the case may be, it was not before the 2:27 mark, that the Vipers finally got it all together and scored three goals in a span of less than three minutes to end the period with a three to one advantage.
The Vipers were never in trouble after that as they added another four goals in the second period to the Wolves' two. The third period turned out to be a draw in terms of goals scored with both teams scoring three each.
Laine Allen, who took time off in the first game,(due to a friendly exchange with one of the Hinton players yesterday)came in today well rested and on fire. After two consecutive goals by Tom Soetaert in the opening frame, Laine scored his first of four at the 27.9 seconds mark of the same period, thus increasing the Vipers' lead to two goals. Laine added another two in the second period and finally one more in the third. Chris Page, André Létourneau, Josh Kaliel, Mark Nysetvold and Paul DeChamplain completed the scoring story for the Vipers.
Also taking part in the scoring parade today, were Shaun Maslyk with three assists,Adam Gialet and Cody Millar with two each, Chris Page, Paul DeChamplain, Rod Kaliel, Al McClaren, Mark Nysetvold, Laine Allen and Tom Soetaert with one each. Geoff Puchala recorded his first hat-trick of the season but it was registered at the bottom of the gamesheet under the penalty column. All in all the Vipers ended up with the victory and are now at 8 and 5 for the season.
Ray DeChamplain declared himself happy with the split on the week-end and found that the little get together after the first game was excellent for the players and the managerial personnel of the Vipers. The little, let's call it, "bound creator" after the game, varied considerably in terms of duration for various attendee but was reflexive of the "esprit de corp" and the healthy social climate within the Vipers' organization. The Vipers are now starting their Christmas break and will not be playing until after the new year. At this point they wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEWS YEAR.
Written by R.T.
Back to referencesBack to top of the Page
The Hinton Heat turn the heat on the Vipers
December 19th 2009
The Legal Vipers who had been winning with relative ease lately, were caught by surprise by the Hinton Heat last night who held them in check and ended up with the better end of the stick with a 7 to 5 victory. The vipers outshot the heat but Jeff Scott, the Heat's goalkeeper, was strong in net for Hinton and on many occasions, kept his teammate in the game. The Vipers were first to open the scoring and took the lead but the Heat were quick to retaliate with two of their own from the stick of Rick Coss the dimunitive little player for the Heat who was a constant threat to the Vipers last night. The game remained close to the end when finally with the Vipers goalie pulled out for an extra attacker the Heat scored in the open net. The final score: Heat 7 Legal 5.
The defeat was a difficult one to take for the Vipers who are constanly trying to climb the ladder for a better position in the standings. However the players were quick to realize that a game is a game and that the best way to recuperate from a lost is to leave it behind and charge at full speed towards the next game. Tom Soetaert addressed his teammate in the dressing room after the game pointing out some of the weaknesses that have been costing games to the Vipers this year. Ray DeChamplain the Vipers coach held a close session with his boys after the game to which I was not privy, but knowing Ray, I know his efforts were directed at pointing out the Vipers flaws in last night's defeat with a firm but constructive approach and encourage his players for the next game.
Shortly thereafter, I met with Ray to gather some of his thoughts on the game. Like everyone else, Ray was disappointed with the results on the scoresheet but was confident that the players would rebound strongly for the Jasper game today. "It's almost Christmas we are away from home, the boys are all together here in Jasper, lets go back to our Hotel and enjoy a bit of a Christmas cheer and celebrate our successes of this season." Basically Ray was reiterating the old saying that "there is no need to cry over broken eggs or spilled milk", and suggesting that we celebrate, on this splendid occasion, the camaraderie and friendship that is so characteristic of this team. I can't agree more.
Written by R.T.
Back to references
Back to top of the Page
Les Vipers divisent leur voyage dans les montagnes
Les Vipers perdent une partie et gagne l'autre lors de leur voyage dans les montagnes cette fin de semaine dernière. En effet les Heats de Hinton qui avaient subit la défaite le 12 décembre à Legal prennent leur revange samedi dernier et infligent une première défaite en six match aux Vipers. Avec seulement une minute et demi dans le match les Vipers qui tiraient de l'arrière par un but, retirent leur gardien en faveur d'un sixième attaquant mais la strategie ne réussit pas et les Heats enregistrent un but dans un filet désert. Le pointage final: Heat 7, Legal 5.
Le lendemain, les Vipers retournent sur la glace cette fois pour faire face au Wolves de Jasper à Jasper. Les Vipers sont lents à démarrer, après avoir fêté un peu le soir d'avant avec leur amies et épouses ainsi que le personnel administratif des Vipers. L'occasion était bonne étant donné le début tard de la partie du lendemain et le magnifique site des Montagnes Rocheuses. On s'amusent bien sans abus cependant, même si quelques uns gagnent leur chambre à un heure tardives. Chose surpennante, le lendemain ils sont tous frais et dispos pour le match en après midi. Mais tout de même, il faut l'admettre, frais et dispos ou non, il a falut presque qu'une période entière avant que la machine se mette en marche. Après une période les Vipers mênent 3 à 1 après avoir compté trois buts dans les deux dernières minute de la période.
Pour le reste de la partie les Vipers n'ont jamais été menacé sérieusement. Ils marquent 4 buts en deuxième contre seulement 2 pour les Wolves. En troisième période les équipes s'échangent des buts à tour de rôle et finalement la partie se termine avec une victoire, relativement facile, pour les Vipers. Pointage final: Vipers 10, Wolves 6. Vous trouverz la liste des marqueurs dans la section anglaise de cette page.
À tous mes lecteurs francophones je tiens à vous souhaiter d'heureuses fêtes et une nouvelle année des plus fructueuses.
Raymond Tremblay
Retour aux réferences
Retour au haut de la page Page
The Vipers leave for a two game road trip
December 19th 2009
With five win in a row under their belts, the Vipers hope to continue their present string of successes with two more victories on the road. The task will not be easy but the Vipers are confident that they can do it. A strong effort from the team as a whole can certainly end-up with four more points for the Vipers but no one should count the eggs before they are laid. We can only hope that the Vipers will take control of the play early on and not fall victims to costly penalties in the process. As fan we know the Vipers can win these games and they have our full support. By the way, if you would like to make the trip with the Vipers, the bus is leaving Morinville today at 3:00 P.M. and will be coming back on Sunday.
R. Tremblay
ReferencesREFERENCES
Vipers lose Feb 12.Vipers lose Feb 12
Vipers win Feb 07.Vipers win Feb 07
Vipers win Jan 22.Vipers win Jan 22
Vipers lose jan 20.Vipers lose Jan 20
Vipers win jan 17.Vipers win
Vipers win jan 16.Vipers win
Vipers lose jan 9.Vipers lose(no write-up)
Vipers lose jan 6.Vipers lose
Vipers win Dec 20.Vipers win
Vipers lose Dec 19.Vipers lose
Vipers Win Dec 12. Viper:Five in a row!!!!!
Vipers Win Dec 06. Vipers:Four in a row !!!!
Vipers Win Nov 28. Vipers: Three in a row !!!
Vipers Win Nov 21. Vipers two in a row !!
Vipers Win Nov 20. Vipers: Victory !
Vipers Win Nov 14. Vipers: Struggling???
Vipers defeat The Heat on a cold night
The Hinton Heat could not produce enough heat to defeat the Vipers last night on one of this season's coldest night. With the cold temperatures freezing the air, the Vipers chased the Heat all evening in an effort to keep warm and at the same time score a few goals. However the Heat were first to get one behind the Vipers' goal line early in the first period to take a one nothing lead before the Vipers even had a chance to warm-up to their cruising speed.The first period was drawing to an end( 3:02) when finally the Vipers hit the scoresheet with a goal from André Létourneau(Maslyk/R. Kaliel). This one tied the game at one but not for long as the Vipers scored again(Chris Page/Gialet/Maslyk) at the 59.6 second to end the period with a one goal lead.
The second period will be better remembered for the number of penalties called over the number of goals. The Vipers' Jeff Neustaeter(Maslyk) scored one goal for the Vipers, the only goal of the period, whereas 14 penalties were called by the referee with nine of them going to Legal. The score after two: Legal 3 Hinton 1.
The third frame was relatively quiet in terms of goals and penalties. Page and Gialet each scored one for the Vipers with assists going to Al McClaren and Geoff Puchala on Page's goal and Page and Kuzio on Gialet's goal. Todd Seabrook scored one for the Heat at the 2:16 mark of the third period to conclude the scoring story for the game.
The Vipers with this victory, now have a record of 7 and 4 and are tied with Hinton and Drayton Valley for second place in the standing. Both Drayton Valley and Legal have two games in hand over the Heat. Taking into consideration the goals for and against, the Vipers take second place with 63 over Drayton Valley with 61 goals for.
The race is getting tighter and tighter game after game. The next Vipers home game is after the Christmas break. See you then
R. Tremblay
Les Vipers en deuxième position
Les Vipers battent Hinton par un pointage de 5 à 2 et par le fait même se trouvent au deuxième rang dans division Nord de la NCHL. Par un temps extremement froid, il est appropos que les Vipers rencontrent les "Heat" (qui signifie chaleur) dans un match d'une importance capital. Les Heat qui occupaient le second rang dans la division Centre Nord deux points en avance sur leur plus proche rival, les Vipers, se devaient de gagner ce match afin de conserver leur position. Une victoire pour les Vipers par contre leur assuraient la deuxième position avec en plus deux match en mains sur les Heat. Il faut dire que même avec six joueurs sur la liste des blessés, les Vipers se sont présentés pour se match bien préparés et ont fait preuve de profondeur en y mettant un effort d'équipe pour vaincre les Heat.
Les marqueurs pour les Vipers furent Chris Page avec deux but une passe, André Létourneau un but, Adam Gialet un but une passe,et Jeff Neustaeter un but. Shaun Maslyk pour sa part a contribuer à trois des buts des siens ainsi que Matt Kuzio, Al McClaren, Rod Kaliel et Geoff Puchala avec une passe chacun. Le gardien Chris Gauthier ne fut pas tellement occupé mais il a tout de même fait plusieurs arrêts clés qui auraient pu changer l'allure du match s'il n'eut été à point. Généralement les Vipers ont joués un bon match de hockey!
R. Tremblay
Retour au haut de la pageVipers Squeeze by the Hawks and Pick Up The Two Points in the Standings
As the season progresses, things are not getting easier in terms of acquiring victories. The last Vipers/Hawks game yesterday confirms this reality in the NCHL where almost any given team can beat any other given team in the league at any given time. From a spectator's point of view you can't ask for a better situation.
This situation was most obvious yesterday as the Hawks and the Vipers came face to face for the third time this season with each team sporting one victory. The Vipers were first to draw blood with a goal from Jeff Newstaeter(Joe Peters) at the 9:15 mark of the period and some three minutes later scored again to take a two to nothing lead. This time the Captain, Paul DeChamplain lifted the netting behind the goalie in an unassisted effort. However, with less than a minute left in the frame the Hawks fired one in pass Tyler day in net. The period ended with a score of 2 to 1 for the Vipers.
In the second period the Hawks came up flying high and scored three times before the Vipers' replied with a few of their own. Laine Allen, unassisted, scored at 8:07 bringing the Vipers within one and finally André Létourneau (Page) scored his ninth of the season at 7:39 to even the score at four. The period ended a tie at 4.
In the third period the Vipers continued their come-back and tallied at the 17:46 mark taking the lead for the second time in the game. Jeff Neustaeter notched his second of the afternoon with an assist going to Lindsay Mohr. Penalties again created problems for the Vipers who found themselves shorthanded for a good part of the period and eventually, the Hawks scored a powerplay goal to even the score again at 2:42. Twenty eight seconds later, at 2:15 the Hawks scored again to retake the lead and almost seal the deal but at O:49 seconds Chris Page scored for the Vipers to again even the score and bring the game into overtime. Finally at 3:45 of the overtime period the Vipers' Jeff Neustater/Ron Soeteart scored his second of the game and claimed the Victory for the Vipers. Final score: Vipers 7 Hawks 6.
Victoire difficile pour les Vipers
Le 6 décembre 2009'
Les Vipers ont fait face aux Hawks pour la troisième fois cette saison et se sont mérités la victoire en temps supplémentaire. La partie fut très intéressante avec les equipes s'échangeant les devants à tour de rôle. Après une période les Vipers menaient par un pointage de deux à un. Après deux périodes le pointage était égale 4 à 4. Avec seulement 02:42 en troisième les Vipers avait l'avance par un but quand dans l'espace de 30 secondes les Hawks comptent à deux reprises pour prendre les devants une autre fois. Heureusement avec 49 secondes de jeu en temps régulier Chris Page trouve le fond du filet et envoit la partie en temps supplémentaire.
La période de surtemps cependant ne fut pas très longue. À 03:45 les Vipers comptent pour finalement réclamer la victoire. Pointage final: Vipers 7 Hawk 6.
R. Tremblay
Retour au haut de la pageVipers make it three in a row
Nov. 28 2009
With the grey Cup only one day away, the Vipers have yet another reason to enjoy the CFL's most celebrated game of the year, the Grey Cup game. A victory against the Drayton Valley Wildcats tonight set the stage perfectly for a relaxing, well deserved rest in front of the T.V. set tomorrow to follow the battle between two of Canada's best football teams. Lord Grey's cup, the most coveted grail in Canadian football is up for grab. One should not be bold enough as to make predictions on this game but... maybe the "water-meloned heads" will be rewarded for boosting the economy of the water melon producers and go home a happy bunch. But... don't bet on it.
Back to hockey, the Vipers who experienced a difficult start this year, made it three in a row tonight and for the first time this season earned a winning record of 5 and 4. Joe Peters and Scott Reid led the scoring parade with a pair of goals each, followed by André Létourneau, Al McCleran and Shaun Maslyk with one each. Tom Soetart, Joe Peters and Scott Reid were the top point getters for the Vipers with three each, Al McClaren and Rod Kaliel finished the evening with two points each and Barrett Dupuis with one. The final score: Legal 7 Drayton Valley 3. The vipers were coached by Yvon DeChamplain for this game. It was his first game behind the bench this season. A victory is certainly a nice way to start.
These same two teams will meet again next Saturday in Drayton Valley at 07:30 p.m. We hope to see you there. Please note that the Vipers appreciate your presence at their games and are very thankful for your support. Special thanks to all the Viper fans who make it to the game last night.
Written by R.T.
Back to top of the Page version française novembre le 28 Il semble que nos Vipers ont retrouvés la route qui conduit à la victoire. En aucun temps se sont-ils vue menacés hier soir dans un match plutôt facile contre les Wildcats.
Les lancés au but favorisaient hautement les Vipers qyi auraient pu obtenir un pointage beaucoup plus élevé n'eut été d'un gardien vigilant dans le filet des Wildcats. Il faut aussi reconnaître que Tyler Day, gardien de
but des Vipers a été solide face aux Wildcats. La stratégie des Wildcats, évidemment, consistait à bien surveiller la grosse ligne des Vipers dans l'espérence d'anéantir leur attaque. La stratégie s'est démontrée effective face à nos gros canons mais chose intéressante c'est que d'autres joueurs des Vipers ont pris la relève et par sept fois la rondelle s'est retrouvée au fond du filet adverse.Les pointeurs sont identifier dans la section anglaise ci-haut. Le Vipers rencontrent encore les Wildcats la semaine prochaine à Drayton Valley. La partie devrait être fort intéressante. À la prochaine...
R. Tremblay
Retour au haut de la page Continuation from last night's (Nov.21) story November 22 2009 The Vipers managed to hold on to a commanding lead mid-way in the second period to eventually defeat the high flying Hawks in a high scoring affair last night. It took the Vipers less than four minutes to open the scoring in a game that resulted in 16 goals between the two teams. The vipers took a six to two lead halfway in the second period only to see it disappear before the end of the frame. The Hawks simply did not want to fly away. Lead by their big guns namely Brent Hill, Scot Sinclair Auger and the likes, they reduced the Vipers four goal lead to one with only a minute left in the period. The Score after two: Vipers six, Hawks five. In the second period the Hawks were the first one to strike and at the 13:41 mark of the final frame Aaron Auger scored to even the score for the first time since the beginning of the game. For the remainder of the period the teams kept on exchanging goals but in the end the Vipers prevailed. The Final Score: Legal 9 Hawks 7. It goes without saying that from a spectator point of view, the game was well worth the $6.00 admission fee but very hard on the nerves regardless of whom you were cheering for. The players played hard and clean hockey, many penalties were called but nothing serious. The only unfortunate incident was the injury to the Hawks' coach who was struck by a puck in the players box. We wish him a fast recovery. The scoring story for the Vipers goes like this:
R. Tremblay Après s'être bâtit une avance the quatre buts vers le milieu de la deuxième période, les Vipers se sont écroulés pour laisser place aux gros cannons des Hawks qui en ont profités pour réduire l'avance des Vipers à un seul but avant la fin de la période. Plus rien ne semblait fonctionner! Au grand soulagement des Vipers la période à pris fin avant que les Hawks puissent faire d'autres domages. Les Vipers de retour au vestière en ont profités pour se regrouper et revenir avec plus d'ardeur en troisième période.Tout de même les Hawks furent les premiers à frapper et dès la 13ième minute de la troisième ils égalisent le pointage à 6 à 6. Heureusemnt les Vipers qui avaient tout de même démontrés beaucoup plus de vivacité en troisième, ont concervé leur aplomb et finalement l'emportent par un pointage de 9 à 7. Pour les pointeurs S.V.P. référez-vous à la section anglaise November 21st 2009
In the absence of Ray DeChamplain, Paul, his son , took over as a playing coach for the Vipers last night and led the team to victory. Paul received a lot of support from his teammates, as all the players worked together as a well knitted group, very conscious of the fact that only by supporting one another could they win. And win they did. Amazingly enough, Geoff Puchala didn't get a single penalty during the whole game. Obviously he didn't want to make things harder for Paul. I am mentioning this because I'm so used to receiving his visit in the penalty box that I was almost lonely. However, joking aside, I thought the Vipers showed a lot of class yesterday accepting and cooperating with a teammate who suddenly had the power to decide who is playing and when and who isn't. I found that the mood on the bench was very indicative of a group of players with a sense of duty, fully understanding that one person had to be in charge, end of discussion. Bravo Vipers for your sportmanship! Ray and Yvonne we hope you are enjoying your short holiday. Forget about the Vipers, they're doing fine. However Ray, it will be nice to have you back behind the bench soon. I am ending this write-up on this note tonight, as the hour is getting late. Dear readers, check again tomorrow for the complete story on the Slave Lake vs Legal game. Written by R. Tremblay
Back to top of the Page Le 21 novembre 2009 En l'absence de son père, Paul DeChamplain joue bien son rôle de capitaine de l'équipe et guide ses co-équipiers vers la victoire. La victoire n'a pas été facile étant donné la tenacité des Winterhawks qui refusaient de lancer la serviette mais les Vipers n'ont, en aucun temps, tiré de l'arrière. Les joueurs, sans leur entraineur habituel, ont bien accepter qu'un copain prenne les charges en main et ont démontrer un bel esprit de co-opération et de support pour leur copain. Je n'irai pas dans les détails de la partie se soir étant donné l'heure plutôt avancé, mais revenez-nous plus tard aujourd'hui et les détails de la partie Hawks vs Vipers, vous seront présentés À bientôt R. Tremblay
Victoire des Vipers face aux Wildcats
Vipers win with Paul DeChamplain at the helm
First Period
Time ----Goal---- ----Assist(s)---- 16:49 Dupuis Page -Gialet 01:01 Allen Neustaeter Second Period
19:03 Allen Newstater-Kaliel 14:35 Létourneau Page 13:12 Létourneau Page-Kuzio 06:44 T.Soetaert Maslyk-Reid Third Period
09:51 Létourneau Barrett Dupuis-- 03:02 Page Letourneau
Dupuis03:22 Létourneau Page
Continuation du 21 novembre
Paul DeChamplain conduit ses collèques à la victoire
Vipers defeat the Athabasca Aces in a convincing manner
November 20th 2009
The Vipers turned the heat on the Athabasca Aces last night and clawed them apart to claim a relatively easy victory of 9 to 1. The victory gave the Vipers a 3 and 4 record and brings them within one victory from a 500 record. The Vipers are playing again tonight, in Legal, against the Winter Hawks from Slave Lake. The last encounter between these two teams resulted in a defeat for the Vipers. As a result, winning this revenge match tonight against the Hawks has become a high priority on the Vipers' "to do" list.
More details following tonight's contest
Written by R.Tremblay Back to top of the Page
Vipers continue to struggle
Nov 14th 2009
After last week's convincing victory(8 to 3) against the Jasper Wolves, the Vipers' fans had good reasons to believe that their team finally had it all together and that they would continue with their habitual winning ways. However the Edson Ice crushed the Vipers' fans' hopes last night and tortured the Vipers scoring five unanswered goals in the final two periods of the game winning by a score of five to two. It was the Edson Ice's third win of the season giving them a record of 3 and 5 for the season. The Vipers, with the defeat, fall to a 2 and 4 record and continue to struggle in the new season.
The Vipers started like lions last night and scored two goals in the first period to the Ice's single. The first Vipers goal came off the stick of Jeff Neustaeter assisted by Paul DeChamplain at the 12:45 minute mark of the period. Two minutes later Laine Allen got the Vipers second goal with an assist going to Lindsay Mohr. The Vipers appeared to be on their way to a victory but the Ice had plans of their own and came back strong to make the score two to one before the period was over.
From this point on, the Vipers started showing signs of trouble. The first period was penalty free but such was not the case in the second period. The penalty bug hit the Vipers again and the Ice tied the game on a power play situation at 14:40 mark of the second and took the lead at 7:28 mark, again while enjoying a power play situation. With the lead in hand, the Ice proceeded to win the game five to two
There is no doubt that there are grounds for concern at this stage of the season with a record of 4 and 2 but the Vipers are young men with a lot of character and talent and certainly it is not time to panic. The fans are certainly not panicking and remain confident that the Vipers will turn things around soon and remain a strong contender for the post season. I talked to many fans following the game last night and that seems to be the concensus so far. So, GO VIPERS GO!!
Written by R.T.
Back to Top of PageLa lutte s'intensifie pour les Vipers
Le 14 novembre
Avec une autre defaite hier soir, la lutte s'intensifie pour les Vipers. Après un début en force, les Vipers se sont écroulés face aux Ices d'Edson hier soir. Les Vipers ont ouvert le pointage tôt en première période pour se donner un avance de deux buts mais ils ont ensuite vu les Ices compter cinq buts sans riposte pour leur assurer une victoire de cinq à deux. Les punitions continues de faire mal au Vipers qui ont accordés deux buts à l'adversaire suite à des punitions. Avec maintenant une avance de trois buts contre deux, les Ices y sont allés d'avant et ont tenu les Vipers en écheque jusqu'à la fin de la partie. Il faut cependant donné crédit au Vipers qui ont encore fait face à un gardien en pleine forme et qui a brillé continuellement lorsque les Vipers bouillonaient alentour de sa cage. Il ne faut pas faire des excuses mais les Vipers cette année n'entretiennent certainement pas une bonne relation avec "Lady Luck". Elle doit être partie en vacances.
Les prochaines parties des Vipers seront contre Athabasca vendredi le 20 et Slave Lake le 21 Novembre. Nous leur souhaitons bonne chance. Espérons que "Lady Luck" sera de retour.
Retour au haut de la PageNovember 7th 2009
The Legal Vipers took an early lead in last night's game against the Jasper Wolves and never looked back to eventually defeat the Wolves by a score of 8 to 2. After two consecutive defeats last week, the Vipers were determined to change things around and hit the winning track again. Coach Ray DeChamplain boosted his players' adrenaline levels by a few notches with an impassionate little pep talk before the game, stressing determination, giving his best and working relentlessly as a team. "We will win tonight", were his closing words. The players responded with a genuine effort and we ended up with a jolly bunch in the dressing room after the victory.
The Vipers opened up the scoring at the 16:34 mark when Jeff Neustaeter, with passes going to Paul DeChamplain and Laire Allen, whistled one in, passed Justin Wagner in net for the Wolves. Wagner had a very busy night last night, holding the Vipers back in what could had been an even higher score. Some twelve minutes after the first goal, the Vipers struck again. This time Cody Miller accepted a nice pass from Tom Soetaert and made the score two to nothing. Finally, with only 59 seconds left in the period Tom Soetaert with an assist going to his brother Ron, fired one in to complete the scoring story for the first period.
In the second period, Chris Page got his first of 4 goals for the evening. Lindsay Mohr, who is still going strong this year,and Adam Gialet assisted on the scoring play.The Wolves got their first goal at the 2:02 mark, a goal from #17 Kyle Gladieux, but the Vipers were quick to get that one back at the 1:08 minute with Jeff Neustaeter scoring his second of the evening with an assist going to Paul DeChamplain and Laine Allen.
The final period was very much in favour of the Vipers who got three goals off Chris Page's stick, a natural Hat-trick, which secured the game for the Vipers. André Létourneau assisted on all three goals along with Lindsay Mohr and Barrett Dupuis each getting an assist. The assist gave Barrett 6 points for the season so far and places him third in the scoring race for the Vipers. Laine Allen, and Paul DeChamplain are close behind with four points each.
The Legal Vipers were without the service of André DeChamplain who sustained an injury in the game against Onoway on October 30th. When he will be able to return is not known at this time and the seriousness of his injury is still under evaluation by the medical people. We wish him a prompt return with the team.
Written by R. Tremblay
Victoire des Vipers
Le 7 novembre 2009
Après deux défaites consécutives les Vipers retrouvent le chemin de la victoire. Avec un record de 3 et 1, les Vipers se devaient de gagner hier afin de tenir le pas avec les autres équipes gagnantes du circuit. Dès le debut de la première période les Vipers ouvrent le pointage et prennent les devants pour les maintenir jusqu'à la fin du match. Le pointage final Vipers 8, Jasper 2. Chris Page y est allé avec quatre but dont trois dans la troisième période. André Létourneau continue sa course lui aussi à côté de Chris Page et Barrett Dupuis. Les trois sont présentement premier, deuxième et troisième meilleurs marqueurs de l'équipe. Cependant il faut dire que toute l'équipe a joué avec force et détermination.
La joute d'hier étant la première partie à domicile cette saison pour les Vipers, ils en ont profité pour honoré leur premier entraîneur, Roger Legault, qui a pris sa retraite à la fin de la saison dernière. André DeChamplain a fait la présentation au nom de l'équipe. Roger a reçu une chaude ovation de la foule et c'est avec fierté et un large sourire au lèvres que Roger a salué la foule en quittant la glace pour la dernière fois. Félicitation Roger et bonne retraite.
La prochaine partie des Vipers aura lieu samedi prochain, encore à Legal. Cette fois ils feront face à l'équipe d'Edson qui affiche présentement un record de quatre défaites et une victoire.
À la prochaine;R Tremblay
Vipers Play Their Best Hockey in a 6 to 4 Defeat
Nov 1st
I certainly do not claim to be the highest auythority in matters of hockey, but I can say that I have seen my share of hockey action in my life and the Vipers today, in my opinion, played their best hockey of this yet young season. Even though the game went to the opposing team, I really believe that this is a case where the better team did not win. As unfortunate as this may be, the consoling thing about it, is that we have seen today a team that is starting to gel together and whose potential is becoming more and more prominent. As much as it is true that you have to be good to be lucky, the Vipers today, simply had very few bounces going their way. I am not trying to make excuses but sometimes mother luck looks the other way. This one was one of those. Let's chuck it behind us and look ahead to the future. The final score in today's game : Slave lake 6 Legal 4.
I had a short chat with the Vipers' coach after the game and true enough, he was disappointed to see the two points going to the other team but he felt strongly that his team played well and showed no sign of panic."The boys never gave up and I am pleased with their performance. Hockey is a game of ability, tenacity, determination and also some luck. Today we didn't get the breaks" George Prefontaine the team's general manager was also satisfied of the way the team played. I can't agree more with both of them. The next Vipers' game is in Legal on Nov 7th against Jasper at 8:00 p.m. Finally we will have a game at home!
Vipers'Game summary
Period 1
15:59 Barrett Dupuis from André Létourneau and Chris Page
Period 2
07:00 Barrett Dupuis from Chris Page and André Létourneau
Period 3
13:07 Shawn Maslyk from Adam Gialet
02:10 André Létourneau from Chris Page and Barrett Dupuis
Written by R.T
Les Vipers en arrachent
Novembre le 1er.
Quoiqu'ils aient jouer une solide partie de Hockey contre Slave Lake cette après midi les Vipers retournent à la maison les mains vides. Leur deux parties à l'extérieur, en fin de semaine, ne furent pas un succès et l'équipe a vu disparaître une posibilité de quatre points au classement. Les punitions ont encore joués un rôle important dans la partie de cette après-midi, les Vipers écopant 14 des 22 punitions appellées par les officiels. Cependant tout n'est pas perdu. Les Vipers ont démontrer beaucoup de vitalité et il est juste de dire que la chance ne leur a pas sourie. De plus en plus une chimie se forme au sein de l'équipe. C'est un début difficile pour les Vipers mais l'avenir est prometteur. Le pointage cette après-midi: 6 à 4 pour Slave Lake.
R.Tremblay
Vipers lose to Onoway
For the second time in as many encounters, the Ice Dogs defeat the Vipers. The final score after 60 minutes of play in last night's duel, was seven to three in favour of the Ice Dogs.
Similarly to the first contest between these two teams this season, the Vipers found themselves in a deep hole after one period of play, trailing the Ice Dogs by a score of three to nothing. A three goal deficit against the Ice dogs is definitely not an enviable position to find yourself in. The Vipers played good hockey throughout the first period but were unable to capitalize on their chances. R.Jones, in net for the Ice Dogs, came up big on many occasions keeping his team in and repeatedly frustrating the Vipers. Finally, after seventeen minutes of play in the second period Chris Page accepted a nice pass from André Létourneau and broke the Jones' barrier scoring the Vipers' first goal. Unfortunately the score by that time was six to one for the Ice Dogs. Less than a minute later, Laine Allen also scored with an assist going to Paul DeChamplain. In the dying seconds of the period, the Vipers applied a lot of pressure, but again Jones kept the door shut. The score was now six to two.
The Vipers showed a lot of character throughout the game. With the outcome now pretty well determined they did not give up. They played with heart and conviction. The game was exciting and definitely a crowd pleaser except for the later part of the third period which was marred with a rash of penalties sending many players to the penalty box on repeated occasions. The Ice dogs eventually outscored the Vipers two to one in this period and clinched a 7 to 3 victory. Laine Allen got the third Legal goal with an assist going to Paul DeChamplain. The two teams will meet again one more time this season in a game which will take place in Legal. This is a make up game due to the game cancellation of October 17th No doubt the rivalry is intense between these two teams and the next game should be most exciting. See you there Legal fan. Show your support, bring a friend!
. Written by R.T.Vipers' Victory
The Vipers won a big game last night, their first of the season and a most rewarding one for their new coach Ray DeChamplain. Ray's boys are now at one and one for the season but their first victory was not an easy one. The Athabasca Aces showed a lot of character and kept gnawing back at the Vipers gradually closing the gap on the two nothing lead the Vipers had given themselves in the first period. Incidently,the two goals for the Vipers were tallied with the Vipers negotiating in short handed situations. However the Aces fought back and kept pace with the Vipers throughout the game, responding to each of the Vipers additional goals. At one point they had a seven "shot on goal" advantage over the Vipers but could not even the score. With a two men advantage, in the dying minutes of the game, the Aces scored again to narrow the gap to only one goal and maintain their drive alive. With a full two minutes left in the game and still with the benefit of a man advantage, the Aces gave it all they had, pulled the goalie but thanks to a near heroic performance from Tyler Day and his teammates on the ice the Aces were kept off the score board. The final score Legal 5 Athabasca 4.
As mentioned before, the Vipers took a two to nothing lead in the first period with two short handed goals. The first came in a scramble in front of the net from the stick of André Létourneau(1st) who played a giant of a game for the Vipers last night. Barrett Dupuis got an assist on that goal. A few minutes later, again in a short handed situation, Chris Page(2nd) received a run away pass from André Létourneau, waltzed his way to the net and made no mistake. The score after one: Legal 2 Aces 0.
In the second period, André Létourneau(2nd) kept on harrassing the Aces with his second goal of the evening, accepting a precise pass from Chris Page at the 7:12 minute of play. However the three goal lead was short lived. At 14:11, Steve Simmonds got one past Tyler Day and that sort of rejuvenated the Aces who went on and scored two more before the end of the second period. Fortunately for the Vipers, Geoff Puchala(1th), accepted a nice pass from Scott Reid and cannonaded one pass the Aces' goalie at the 11:38 mark. The score after two: Legal 4 Aces 3.
The third period was a real crowd pleaser regardless of whom you cheered for. Good strong, solid hockey is always exciting. The coaches on both teams registered a lot of stress, the crowd was tense, and the players were up to the situation on both sides. Fourteen minutes and 12 seconds went by with both teams slugging it out with no result showing on the board. Then, André Létourneau (3rd) struck again, this time with the assitance of the Aces' goalie who misplayed the puck and delivered it directly to André who shot at the empty net. The Aces added one more before the end of the game to make the score, Legal 5, Aces 4.
Written by R.T. Cilck here for slide showP.S. Pictures (Snap Shots) and player stats are in
Victoire des Vipers
Octobre le 23 1909
Les Vipers ont de peines et misères arrachés la victoire contre les Aces d'Athabasca hier soir au Sportplex d'Athabasca . Non pas que les Vipers n'ont pas bien joués, au contraire, l'équipe y a mi un effort constant et acharné. Le fait est qu'il y a de plus en plus de parité dans la N.C.H.L. Il est évident que chaque victoire devra être le résultat d'un effort d'équipe solide. Heureusement nous croyons que les Vipers seront encore cette année une équipe forte qui, plus souvent qu'autrement, trouvera les moyens d'aller chercher des victoires.
Brièvement le match d'hier s'est déroulé rapidement, les deux équipes marguant à tour de rôle. Les Vipers heureusement se sont donnés une avance de deux buts dans le premier vingt et ont conservé l'avance en tout temps durant le match. André Létourneau, y est allé de trois buts et une passe, Chris Page un but une passe, Geoff Puchala un but. Barrett Dupuis, Scott Reid,et Shawn Maslyk ont obtenu un assitance chacun.
October 16th 2009
Vipers Loose Season Opener to Onoway
The Legal Vipers experienced a relatively slow start last night and found themselves in a difficult position after one period as they headed to the dressing room with a three goal deficit. Penalties, in the first period were costly to both teams with the advantage going to the Ice Dogs who tallied three time to the Vipers two goals.
Vipers' scoring story after one
(Scott Reid/Jeff Neustaeter/Rod Kaliel)
In the second period,the Vipers extended their claws, showed a little more teeth, and generally played more aggressively to finally outscore the opposition by two to one. With the score now five to three in favour of Onoway, a margin of only two goals, the game was far from over! Was a comeback in the making? With a full twenty minutes to go a comeback was certainly possible. At this point the stage was set for an exciting third period.
Vipers, scoring story in the 2nd period (Matt Kuzio/Adam Gialet/Chris Page)
(Tom Soetaert/Cody Millar)
The third period was very exciting with one team trying to maintain its lead and the other one playing catch-up hockey.The Icedogs however were the first to strike, scoring at the twelve minute mark of the third period. The Vipers, now behind by three again, continued to work hard and at the 2:33 mark they got a beauty from Chris Page who managed to split the defence and shoot high on the goalie. But the Icedogs were not to be denied. They held the Vipers back and got the two points.Vipers' scoring in the third (Chris Page/unassisted)
Written by R.TLes Vipers s'inclinent face aux Icedogs
October le 16Nos vipers perdent leur premier match de l'année mais ils demeurent confiants pour l'avenir. L'équipe inclus plusieurs nouveaux joueurs cette année et il faudra sans doute quelques temps avant qu'une chimie prenne forme. Cependant même dans la défaite les instructeurs se déclarent heureux de l'équipe qu'ils ont mis en place. Il ne faut oublier non-plus que l'équipe des Ice Dog n'est pas la dernière des venus dans le circuit. Je ne fais pas d'excuses mais cette défaite n'est pas une catastrophe!
Le pointage, au cas où cela peu vous intéresser, était de six à quatre en faveur des Icedogs. Les marqueurs pour les Vipers furent Scott Reid, Matt Kuzio, T. Soetaert et Chris Page.
La prochaine partie des Vipers aura lieu le 23 octobre prochain. La partie du 17 octobre fut remise faute d'une panne du plant à glace.
Raymond TremblayOctober 1st 2009
I went to the Vipers' practice last night and I was amazed to see the large number of people aspiring to play for the Vipers this season. I looked at all those young men on the ice, going through gruelling drills, laboring like work horses, responding to the demands of their trainner and enjoying every minute of it. I estimated that if I would have been going through this kind of tortured I would have died at approximately the 4th minute of the practice.
In the photo above the guys are not taking a break, they are simply listening to their trainner telling them what is coming next. And that usually took less than a minute.
Was I impressed? Totally. These young guys gave themselves, heart and soul, for two hours straight with only a short break after an hour to allow the caretaker to flood the ice. That being done, they immediately were back at the grind for another hour. Chapeau to them!
Of course the coaching staff and the trainner are pleased with what is happening, but on the other hand, it does create a taxing problem. Only twenty can be picked, meaning that majority of these hard working athletes will have to be cut. That my friends is not going to be and easy task!
Ray and Yvon DeChamnplain were both very happy with the players dispositions and attitudes. The atmosphere throughout the practice was very positive. It was very well planned,the players kept on the move at all times. Sure it was strenuous, but nobody complained knowing very well that this type of trainning would eventually reap in very positive results. And hockey fans, I am telling you now. You want to see high caliber hockey this season? Well, you will not have to go very far for it. It will all happen right here in our arena. Hope to see you there in large numbers.
In conclusion, special thanks to George and Suzanne Prefontaine, Maurice Touchette, and Gus Menier who volonteered to help for this practice in one way or another.
Raymond TremblayLa version française suivra sous peu
Deuxième pratiques des Vipers
Agréable surprise hier soir alors que 50 aspirants pour l'équipe des Vipers se sont présentés pour la deuxième pratique de l'année. Cependant en autant que la situation peut créé un certain montant d'envie chez d'autres équipes du circuit, la tâche n'en demeure tout de même pas moins difficile pour les dirigeants de l'équipe qui devront éffectuer les coupures. Certe, si nous avions des équipes où l'ont pourrait envoyer les coupures dans l'espérence d'en rappeller au besoin le problème serait moindre mais comme se n'est pas le cas, une coupure signifie donc la perte d'un joueur prometteur qui pourrait peut-être nous être utile dans l'avenir.
La pratique d'hier fut très ardue sous la direction d'Yvon DeChamplain,assistant instructeur de l'équipe. Les joueur se sont vu dans une situation de travaille intance pour une duré de deux heures. J'étais heureux de ne pas être un aspirant pour l'équipe. Je n'en serais sans doute pas sorti vivant!
Même si la pratique fut très difficile, les joueurs en sont sortis satisfaits et confiants que tout se labeur aurait de bons effets. Les stratégies mis en place auront certainement pour effet de créer une équipe en forme, bien équilibrée, qui sait se qu'il faut faire et qui peut le faire. En fait c'a me semble bien prommetteur pour la saison nouvelle qui débutera le 17 octobre procahin.
À la prochaine
R. Tremblay
September 30th 2009
Vipers' training camp opens on a positive note
Interest is high within the Vipers' ranks as 45 players showed up for the Vipers' first on ice practice on September 27th in the Morinville arena. According to coach Ray DeChamplain, the future could be bright for the Vipers and their fans. However, as usual, Ray is very conservative with his comments and does not want to give the fans a wrong impression. "We will be competitive, no doubt, but hockey is hockey and the other teams are not just going to roll over and play dead. They too are working hard to better themselves and only time will tell how we will fare in the league this coming season".
Well, obviously all the ingredients are there! The league should be most exciting again this season and the fans, of course, will be the beneficiaries. No doubt our Vipers will be competitive but parity in the league this year will be higher than ever before. Teams like Onoway, Slave Lake,Edson, and Athabasca, could very well all be contenders for a high position in the standings. Not to say that the others will not be. Things change drastically from one season to another. I am confident that the teams who ended up lower in the standings last year will strive to reach the higher echelons in this season's standings. For sure, hockey fans, another season is in the making and again it should be a most exciting one. The sport goes on...
The Vipers second practice will take place, again in Morinville this coming Thursday at 9:30 p.m. I am hoping to be there and give you more information as things are unrolling. In the meantime have a good week.
Written by R.T.
Allô les ami(e)s
Octobre le 1er 2009
Bonjour à tous mes lecteurs francphones et bienvenue à une nouvelle saison des Vipers de Legal. En effet les Vipers sont bel et bien en marche encore cette année et les indications préliminaires, tant qu'au succès de l'équipe pour la saison 2009-2010, sont prometteuses!
Les Vipers ont ouvert leur camp d'entrainement mardi dernier à l'arène de Morinville. Quarante-cinq joueurs ont répondu à l'appel pour la première practique officielle de l'année. L'entraineur, Raymond Dechamplain, se dit très heureux face au grand nombre d'aspirants à l'équipe. Le calibre, semble t'il, est de haute qualité et l'intérêt est à son pique.
Les vipers retrournent sur la glace se soir et je compte bien y être. De cette façon je serai en meilleur mesure de vous présenter un rapport plus complèt la prochaine fois.
En attendant bienvenue encore une fois et à la prochaine
Raymond TremblayCheck Player Profiles section for more info on the individual players.
New players will be included as soon as the new team is formed.
Schedules:
Schedule Ice Times Arena MapsMeet the Team
Coach Profiles Awards Support Team Player Profiles StatisticsIn Action:
Snap Shots Media CoverageThe League:
NCHL Drayton Valley Wildcats Onoway Ice Dogs Fox Creek Bandits