Newcastle Vipers sign off with a win

Mar 22 2010 by Peter Adams, The Journal

A DISAPPOINTING league season finished on a high note for the Vipers who responded positively to Saturday night's 6-1 away defeat in Belfast.

After Jason Tejchma had wasted a golden opportunity in the opening minute the Vipers took the lead in the second. Deployed as a forward due to the injury-enforced absence of David Longstaff, Ryan Jorde won the puck by the left-hand boards and transferred possession of it to Brent Hughes.

The Vipers’ number nine skated towards goal and his shot went in off netminder Mark Hartley’s right leg and crossed the goalline by the near post.

Hartley then gave up a big rebound on the Vipers’ next attack before being beaten again on four minutes. Set free by Jerramie Domish, Jamie Tinsley bore down on goal before releasing a mid height shot that beat Hartley on his glove side.

It was the hard-working British forward’s first goal of the season in what was his 54th start. Moments after a shot had rebounded off Michel Robinson’s left hand post, the netminder was forced to make a point-blank save to deny Marty Gascon.

Tinsley was serving an interference penalty when the Panthers got on the scoreboard with four minutes of the period remaining. Robinson was moving across his goal from left to right as the puck smashed across the crease but he couldn’t get across quickly enough to prevent Marc Levers scoring at the far post. Against the run of second period play, the Vipers went two ahead again on 33 minutes. Ben Campbell darted in from the left wing to beat Hartley at extremely close range with a backhanded strike.

The lead was cut less than a minute later. Robinson saved Thomas Soar’s shot but was unable to re-position himself in order to stop Ross Dalgleish’s shot through his legs.

The Vipers restored their two-goal advantage five minutes after the restart. With two assists already to his credit Domish added a goal with a low blast from point which like Campbell’s earlier score was on the powerplay.

The outcome was put in doubt with just under five minutes left on the clock Jade Galbraith was successful with a long-range shot that flew in over Robinson’s left-hand shoulder to bring a powerplay to a successful conclusion. But it was a different story on Saturday.

The last time the Vipers visited Belfast they had come back from a 5-2 deficit to win 5-6 after a penalty shoot out.

However, history was not about to repeat itself as the Giants took control of the game and apart from allowing Ben Campbell to strike a 37th minute shorthanded marker, never allowed their grip on the encounter to lessen.

Two goals from Jeff Swzez (five and 23 mins) and a third hit by George Awada put the Giants 3-0 ahead on the half-hour mark, and five minutes later Campbell shortened the goal gap.

Swzez then hit his hat-trick marker and in the 42 minute the puck was bypassing Vipers’ goalie Michel Robinson twice more, with Craig Peacock and Evan Cheverie making the scoring contacts.

VIPERS: Domish & Hughes 1+2, Campbell, Holland & Tinsley 1+0, Jorde & Mahrle 0+1.

PANTHERS: Dalgleish, Galbraith & Levers 1+0, Richardson 0+2, Gascon, Neilson & Soar 0+1.