Vernon, BC: The Vipers put 44 shots towards Johnny Derrick on Friday night, but the Warrior netminder turned aside all but two as he backstopped his team to a 3-2 win over the Vipers.
The Warriors jumped on the Vipers early as Damon Jugnauth scored just 39 seconds into the game to make it 1-0. Riley Sharun added another as the Warrior lead was increased to 2. A few minutes later Tyler Cristall struck to make it 3-0 for the Tribe after 1 period despite being outshot 14-10.
In the second the momentum swung in the Vipers favour as they were awarded a five minute major powerplay. They would score two goals in just 29 seconds as a shot from Nick Kent found the twine before Tyler Carpendale converted on a wrap around to make it 3-2 after 2 periods.
The Vipers had a glorious opportunity to draw even, but Johnny Derrick robbed Zack Tonelli with a highlight reel save to keep it 3-2. The Vipers would pull Porter Jr. with just over two minutes remaining, but couldn’t find the equalizer.
The Vipers are next in action on Saturday night when they play the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
