The Vernon Vipers rode a four-goal first period to back-to-back Doyle Cup championships on Sunday night, topping the Spruce Grove Saints by a 7-3 margin to conclude a classic seven-game series between the teams at the Wesbild Centre.
Vernon's Braden Pimm opened the scoring midway through the first period when he converted a Jonathan Milhouse feed for a shorthanded marker. But the lead was short-lived, as Scott Allen evened the score minutes later before Spruce Grove's Liam Darragh put the visitors ahead at the 16:34 mark of the frame.
The Vipers quickly awoke after the Saints' go-ahead goal, however, as Pimm tied the score just 13 seconds later before Cory Kane and Kellen Jones put the Fred Page Cup champs up by a pair before the end of the first. They went on to extend the lead to four goals with a Connor Jones effort halfway through the second.
Jordan Draper gave the visitors a spark late in the middle period when he forced home a power-play goal, but the Saints failed to beat Vipers netminder Graeme Gordon on 11 shots in the third. Connor Jones and Rob Short rounded out the scoring late in the game with Vince Marozzi pulled for an extra attacker.
Solving Marozzi was a key for Vernon, as the Spruce Grove netminder had posted tremendous performances in Game 5 and 6 wins for the AJHL champs. At the other end of the rink, Gordon made 26 saves.
With the victory, the Vipers now advance to the 2010 RBC Cup in Dauphin, Manitoba. Vernon's quest for a second consecutive National Championship begins on Saturday, May 1st when they face off against the host Dauphin Kings.
