Nobody needed to tell Dylan Walchuk to step up in the absence of two of his team's top scorers. With twin brothers Connor and Kellen Jones on duty at the World Junior A Challenge, the Vernon Vipers rookie made his presence known on Friday night with a hat trick in a 5-2 victory in Prince George.
The Spruce Kings opened the scoring just 5:49 into regulation when RJay Berra converted a feed from Joe Morgan past Vipers netminder Graeme Gordon. But the Vipers responded with two goals in the second period and another pair early in the third to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Walchuk scored his third into an empty net to cap the scoring, while Drew George and Mike Collins also tallied for Vernon.
Jonathan Gibson scored the second Prince George goal at the 10:36 mark of the third period. The Spruce Kings did come on late in the game, outshooting the defending RBC Cup champs by a margin of 15-9 over the final 20 minutes.
Gordon stopped 24 shots to record the win in net for the Vipers, while Prince George starter Kyle Nielsen allowed four goals in the loss.
Vernon continues their three-game Northern road trip on Saturday evening with a visit to Quesnel, while the Spruce Kings remain on home ice and host the Williams Lake Timberwolves.
