CHILLIWACK- Julian Facchinelli scored the game-winner at 4:37 in overtime to lift the Vernon Vipers to a 5-4 win at the Chilliwack Coliseum Saturday night.
Facchinelli’s chance came on the only shot of the powerplay period for the Vipers, but he made it count. After driving the puck down the ice, Facchinelli beat Chiefs goalie Cole Savage over the shoulder upstairs to secure the win.
The Vernon Vipers (4-1-0) won their fourth in a row, while the Chilliwack Chiefs (2-4-1) lost their first overtime game of the season.
The first period saw plenty of alternating sequences, with the Chiefs scoring first. At 6:09 Brian Morse got one past Vipers goalie Ethan David five-hole after a great read off a pass from Mateo Mrsic. It was Morse’s third goal of the season, which leads the BCHL for defensemen.
The Vipers came back with one of their own three minutes later, as an initial shot stopped by Nikitin was shot through the legs on a rebound by Isaac Tremblay.
Less than a minute later, Chilliwack’s Morse was in the box and the momentum had shifted to the Vipers. The number one powerplay unit in the league skated in and got the 2-1 goal. After winning the faceoff, centreman Hank Cleaves got his third of the season only four seconds into the man advantage.
The Chiefs tied it back up at 12:38 with a goal from star Stone Rolston. This is the third game in a row Rolston has scored. The forward found himself out in front after a good sequence of passes from Elliot Dutil and Trey Patterson. Rolston stopped the puck and then found his spot five-hole to beat David.
The back-and-forth scoring was not done there as the Vipers made it 3-2 a little over a minute later. After a save by Nikitin and tic-tac-toe in front of the net, the Chiefs goaltender swerved to the left, leaving it open for Erik Pastro to score his third of the season.
The second period saw the Chiefs have the majority of the scoring chances and plenty of opportunity to take charge of the game.
Chilliwack got the only goal of the period, a powerplay goal by Savin Virk for his first in the BCHL. Caleb Elfering and Dylan Kinch each got their third assist of the season on the goal.
Now tied 3-3 heading into the third, Nikitin looked confident. The Kazakhstan-born goalie was making impressive pad saves to keep it even.
However, at 7:00, Luke Buss earned his first goal of the season after taking advantage of a Facchinelli screen and fooling a distracted Nikitin. Owen Kim had his second assist of the night, and Anthony Cliche also got on the scoresheet.
In the dying minutes of the third, Brady Milburn squeezed one past the arm of David and into the back of the net. It was not the prettiest angle or the best trajectory, but Milburn tied it 4-4 with 1:49 left. Olivier Beaulieu was in on the goal, as was Caleb Elfering for his second assist on the night.
The Chiefs played strong and pushed a hot Vipers team to the brink, but were only able to salvage a point.
Before Nikitin came out in the late third period, he stopped 14 shots and had given up four goals. He has surrendered at least four goals in every start he has made this season.
David stopped 31 shots in the win.
Chilliwack’s next home game is October 20th against the first-place Surrey Eagles. Tickets are available online or from the Chiefs office at the Coliseum.
