The Vernon Vipers clinched top spot and a perfect record in the preliminary round of the 2009 RBC Cup, topping the Kingston Voyageurs in a high-scoring round-robin game on Thursday afternoon.
Steven Weinstein scored once and added a pair of assists, all on the power-play, to spur the the Vipers' cause in an 8-5 victory. Weinstein, along with Kellen Jones, Cory Kane, Kyle Bigos and Rob Short, scored five unanswered goals from the second period on after Kingston had taken a 5-3 lead midway through the game.
Graeme Gordon, starting for the first time in the tournament, turned aside 16 shots for the win, while Voyageurs netminder Shawn Sirman turned away 25 shots in the loss.
Regardless of the result of Thursday night's game between Humboldt and Summerside, the Vipers and Voyageurs will meet again in the RBC semi-finals at 2:00 PM on Friday.
The second semi-final match-up will take place between the Victoria Grizzlies and Humboldt Broncos at 7:00 PM.
