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In a very entertaining hockey game the Vipers scored 2 unanswered goals in the third period and came back to beat the Assabet Valley Patriots 2-1. The fans got their money's worth in this one as both teams played to a quick pace up and down the ice. After a scoreless first period the Patriots struck first as a forward was allowed to walk out of the corner untouched and slide one past keeper Aaron McDonnell. The period would end with the Vipers trailing after 2 periods 1-0. The Vipers hard work would pay off as half way through the third period Dante Maribito would strike on the power play to tie the game at 1, Ryan Connearney  and Kyle Hentosh would add the assists. Just 40 seconds later Chris Goggin would bury the game winner from the slot off a nice feed from JT Chamberlain, who had himself a nice weekend. Aaron McDonnell and Andrew Krajeski would do a fine job between the pipes for the Vipes. Once again the Vipers continue their solid play in their own end, Patrick McCarthy and Matt Tauro would chip in with a fine game on the blueline.

The 98 Vipers got some timely scoring and applied consistent pressure to the cage as they upended the Devils 5-3 at Umass-Boston. The Vipers moved the puck very nicely in the offensive zone, and did a good job at the possession game, if not for some strong Devil goaltending the Vipers could have extended their lead on many different occasions. Kyle Lynch (2-2-4) had a strong game while pacing the offense got the Vipers on the board first with a power play goal, helpers went to Dante Maribito (0-4-4) and Kyle Hentosh (1-2-3), Brendan White (1-0-1) would then strike for the visitors with  an outstanding wrist shot over the keepers blocker and into the top corner, Rob Murphy picked up the assist (0-1-1), JT Chamberlain (1-0-1) would be in the right spot at the right time as he deposited the eventual game winner on a nice backhand shot form the slot, Maribito and Lynch picked up the assists and the Kyle Hentosh would add the insurance as he poked in a loose puck in front of the net to finish off the scoring, Lynch and Maribito again on the help. Ryan Connearny and Jack Moretti would lead the way on the blue line as they both turned in solid efforts.. The Vipers are now 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.

                                                  

Game 1 v. NorthStar Selects of MA - The Vipers opened the Can Am tournament in Lake Placid in thrilling fashion as they edged the Northstar Selects 2-1 on Rob Murphy's goal with just 1:07 left in the game. Dante Maribito tied the game in the second period with an assist going to Kyle Hentosh, and Murphy netted the winner after some nice forecheking and a nifty pass out front, Murphy would slide the game winner through a screen, Noah Maercklein and Brendan White picked up the assists. Aaron McDonnell played a solid game in net for the winners

Game 2 saw the Vipers come flying out of the gates and never stopped as they upended the New England Moose 6-1. Kyle Lynch (1-2-3) Dante Maribito (1-1-2) and Kyle Hentosh (1-1-2) would pace the offense. Chris Goggin, JT Chamberlain and Brendan White would also tally, while Noah Maercklein, Rob Murphy, Aaron Dollin and Ryan Connearney, after a fine play on the blueline to keep the puck in and get a shot off would all add assists. Andrew Krajeski came up just short of posting the shutout as the Moose would get their only goal with 1:36 left in the game.

Game 3 the Vipers ran into a solid Cumberland Jr. Grads team of Ontario Canada. The Grads would grab the 4-1 win (and win Gold by going 5-0) but not before a scrappy effort from the Vipers. Down 2-0 at the start of the third period an unassisted goal from Rob Murphy would cut the lead in half and give the Vipers some life. They could not sustain the pressure though as with 5 minutes left in the game the Grads would get 2 goals in 30 seconds to seal the win. Both Aaron McDonnell and Andrew Krajeski would see action in this one both playing very well

Game 4 v. St Clair Shores Saints of Michigan, the Vipers would be looking for the win to advance them to the Gold Medal game, showing some fatigue the Vipers did not play their best game but managed to come away with a heartbreaking tie as the Saints would grab a lucky bounce and get out of the game with a 2-2 tie with just 1:21 left in the game. Kyle Lynch from Kyle Hentosh would get the Vipers out in front in the first period,  the Saints would tie it at 1 in the second period, then about 1 minute into the third Kyle Hentosh would get the go ahead goal (una) and it seemed like it would be enough, until the Saints would throw one toward the net that would find the back of the net and tie the game at 2. The Vipers still looked in pretty good shape to advance to the Gold Medal game, but a 3 way tie for seocnd place had some unusual tie breaking scenarios which pushed the Northstar Selects into the Gold Medal game, even after losing to the Vipers in the first game.

Bronze Medal Game, Vipers v. Greater Red Bank Generals of New Jersey, The Vipers played a sound, disciplined game in all 3 zones to shutout the Generals 4-0 and win the Bronze Medal. The Vipers offense would take advantage of the few chances they had and they would play a great game in their own end with some strong D-Zone coverage. Brendan White would get the Vipers on the board with the goal of the tourney from an incredible individual rush beating 3 General defenders and finished with a nifty backhand deke wround the goalie, this would come with just 2 minutes left int he first period. The Vipers would continue the momentum scoring 2 goals in the first four minutes of the second period, as Noah Maercklein would bang in the rebound of an Aaron Dollin shot that rang of the iron, Kyle Hentosh would then tally the Viper third goal with a tear dropper that would fall in behind the General goalie, Kyle Lynch and Dante Maribito would add assists, and then with a minute left in the game game Heath King would be rewarded for his tireless efforts all night as he deposited a wrist shot over the blocker to round out the scoring, Chris Goggin and JT Chamberlain would add assists. Aaron McDonnell would shine between the pipes picking up the shutout. McDonnell and the Viper defense would take care of their net all night by only allowing one shot and clearing or covering up any other loose pucks.

Vipers next 3 games will all be of the non-league variety as they will take on the St Moritz Devils, Assabet Valley Patriots and New England Bulldogs next week

Christian Kukas of the 98Vipers won the Challenge Cup Essay Contest this past weekend in Lake Placid after submitting his winning Essay. Christian won a free week at the Can Am Hockey Camp for his submission. Congratulations Christian !!!!

On Sunday the 98's were back in league action as they hosted the 98 Monarchs. The Vipers would score 3 in the second and 3 in the third as they skated past the Monarchs 7-0. A very nice team effort in this one as the Vipers played a solid game in all 3 zones, getting strong efforts all around from the cage to the blue line and up front. Dante Maribito (2-2-4) capped a solid weekend, others hitting the scoresheet were Heath King (1-2-3), Kyle Lynch (1-2-3), Kyle Hentosh (1-2-3), Chris Goggin (1-1-2), JT Chamberlain (1-1-2). Aaron McDonnell stood strong between the pipes for most of the game, and Andrew Krajeski came in and immediatly made a nice save on a breakaway chance to keep the shutout in tact.

The 98 Vipers now take their show on the road as they pack their bags and head to Lake Placid on Thursday....

On Saturday the 98 Vipers hosted the Manchester Flames for a non-league tilt that saw the Vipes take a 5-2 decision against a good Flames team. The Vipers scored first in the second period on their first shorthanded goal of the season, as Kyle Hentosh stole a pass on his own blue line and raced in on a partial breakaway, his attempt was stopped but Dante Maribito was there to collect the rebound and send the Vipers on their way. The Home team would go up 4-0 before the visitors would answer with two late goals. Goaltender Andrew Krajeski came up huge in the first period making some very nice stops to keep the game scoreless. The Vipers would also hit on the  power play as well as Maribito (2-0-2) found the net from Kyle Lynch (0-1-1) and Kyle Hentosh (0-2-2), Heath King (2-0-2) from JT Chamberlain and Noah Maercklein from Rob Murphy and Brendan White would finish out the scoring

The Future Vipers will be starting their weekly skills session in January.  All sessions will be run by Select Skills Hockey with a concentration on overall skating development and fun.  Any players born in 2001-2002 are eligible to enroll.   It will be held each Wednesday at the Holland Arena in Woburn, MA.  Any interested candidates should contact vipers@vipersicehockey.com as this will be a limited enrollment.   

In their fourth game of the weekend the Vipers came from behind and won going away 8-5. Give the Blackhawks credit as they jumped all over the home team and held a 3-1 lead after one period. The Vipers scored 4 unanswred second period goals to give them some breathing room and went on to the victory. The line of Kyle Lynch (2-1-3) Dante Maribito (2-2-4) and Kyle Hentosh (0-3-3) sparked the offense. Noah Maercklein (1-1-2) Brendan White (0-2-2) and Chris Goggin (1-1-2) also pitched in and Robbie Murphy would add the game winner half way through the third period.

In a very big game and the teams 3rd game in 24 hours the Vipers came out and played inspired hockey for 45 minutes and posted a strong 4-1 win over the Nashua Panthers. The Viper defense of Matt Tauro, Patrick McCarthy, Aaron Dollin, Christian Kukas and Jack Moretti pictched in with a solid effort in front of Aaron McDonell who contuned his fine play over the weekend. Dante Maribito (2-0-2) and Kyle Lynch (1-1-2) led the Viper offense, Brendan White also added a goal to go along with a solid effort, not hitting the scoresheet but playing a solid 3 zone game was Robbie Murphy. Kyle Hentosh, Aaron Dollin and Heath King all added assists. Ryan Connearney played another strong game up front filling in for the injured JT Chamberlain. The Vipers moved into a fourth place tie with the Springfield Flacons

The bad news is that the 98 Vipers dropped to heartbreaking games to the Falcons by identical scores of 4-3, the good news is that the Vipers played extremely well in both games and took home many positives to build on. It wasn't all roses as the Vipers did let a 3-1 lead late in the second period slip away in the second game.

Game 1 started quickly for the Falcons as they scored just 15 seconds into the game, they would add another and lead 2-0 after 1. The Vipers would then go on to tie the second period and win the third period but it wasn't enough to come out on top as the Falcons held on scoring the game winner with 4 minutes left. Ryan Connearney scored a pretty goal after being moved up from defense after JT Chamberlain went down with a shoulder injury which will put him out for a week. Kyle Lynch (2-0-2) Kyle Hentosh (0-2-2) both hit the scoresheet and Christian Kukas, Dante Maribito and Heath King all chipped in with single assists.

Game 2 started much the same with the Falcons striking first but the 98's would end the period up 2-1 with a solid period of play, Dante Maribito from Noah Maercklein and Kyle Lynch from Dante Maribito and Kyle Hentosh would give the home team the edge after 1. Kyle Hentosh from Dante Maribito on the power play would push the Vipers up 3-1 before the Falcons would come storming back with 2 goals in the third period to win it, the winning goal coming with 3 minutes to play.

Both games would end with the Vipers mounting extreme pressure with the goaler pulled for the last minute of each game, but just couldn't bang the tying goal home missing many chances in both games. Aaron McDonnell playing 2 full games came up with many fine saves to keep both games close..