The Vernon Vipers may yet hoist the Doyle Cup, but one thing is certain: To do so, they'll need to solve Spruce Grove Saints netminder Vince Marozzi, who was named the first star for the second consecutive game in his team's 3-2 triumph in Game 6 at the Wesbild Centre on Saturday.
Saints captain Malcolm Tomlinson scored the icebreaker at the 16:06 mark of the first period, putting his team ahead despite being outshot by a margin of 12-6 in the opening 20 minutes. Vernon drew even late in the second when Adam Thompson jumped into the play to net a shorthanded goal set up by the Jones twins, but Spruce Grove grabbed back the lead just 17 seconds later on a Nate Fleming tally.
The Vipers' power-play had chances to tie the game in the third period, but the Saints killed a hooking penalty to Tomlinson before Joshua Lazowski scored shorthanded at the 9:53 mark of the period to stretch the lead to 3-1. Jonathan Milhouse's goal three minutes later pulled the home side back within one, but Marozzi shut the door from there to seal the win.
The Saints' netminder made 14 saves in the third period and 36 on the night, shutting down a deep Vernon offence on a night when his team gave up more than twice the number of shots they generated at the other end of the ice. The BCHL champions have now beat Marozzi just three times on 76 combined shots in Games 5 and 6.
Saturday's result sets up a one-game showdown for the 2010 Doyle Cup title. Game 7 is set to face-off from the Wesbild Centre at 7:00 PM on Sunday.
