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Wilson praise for Vipers as Belfast beaten by the "Viper Eleven"
After Saturday's overtime loss to Edinburgh, and the subsequent loss of Jerramie Domish (illness) and Matus Petricko (leaving the club), Vipers headed to Belfast with just nine skaters and a total squad of eleven.
Early in the second period, ex Viper Colin Shields made it 4-0 to Belfast, and so began the comeback.
Ben Campbell and Dean Holland (PP) made it 4-2, then after Belfast scored a fifth, Matic Kralj (SH), Ryan Mahrle (PP) and Jason Tejchma (PP) remarkably made it 5-5 two minutes into the final session.
The Giants peppered the Vipers goal with 27 shots in the third period alone but Michel Robinson stood firm making save after save. In total the Montreal native stopped 67 of 72 shots faced - both stats contenders for a League record.
After the game, coach Rob Wilson was understandably beaming.
"I can't say how proud I am of this group of players tonight. Each and every one of them is now a true Viper hero, to have come here with nine skaters was one thing.
"But to turn round a score of 4-0 and 5-2 to eventually get the win, I'm just overwhelmed.
"Robbie [Michel Robinson] will probably get most of the plaudits - and deservedly, his display was sensational - but every single player tonight played out of their skin.
"At the back Ryan and Mark were superb, but Dan Pye got a ton of minutes too and didn't let anyone down.
"Up front Tejchma was pretty much everywhere tonight, while Berry and Kralj worked hard and came up with goals when we needed.
"And I'm so pleased for Nathan, Ben and Dean. They rose to the challenge of playing 30+ minutes, and contributed with the first two goals to kickstart our fightback."
Wilson also had a word for captain David Longstaff, who although injured, played a big part on the bench.
"David's got a heck of a lot of experience, and that was crucial in this situation. I explained to him what I wanted and he helped on the bench to keep the guys motivated and focussed on the job in hand."
The win was also sweet for the Vipers' band of travelling supporters, who have endured some tough times in Belfast before tonight.
"A huge thank you to our fans who made the trip over, there were probably more of them than there was of us!
"It always gives you a lift when you see your own fans in an opponent's rink, to know you aren't battling against them alone.
"Hopefully tonight went some way to making up for one or two of our previous visits to Belfast."
Having seen off one title challenger, Wilson will now prepare for another when Coventry Blaze come to Whitley Bay on Saturday (6.30pm).
"The first thing is to probably let the guys rest on Monday, we'll see how Jerramie is doing and fingers crossed he'll be good to go for Saturday too. Then we should have a new forward and defenceman in this week so it will be a much more crowded bench on Saturday!"
Tickets for Saturday's game - which is not covered by the 24-game season ticket - are available from the club in person from 16 Shakespeare Street, by telephone 0191 2610909 or online via the Vipers website.
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| 11th February 2012 19:00 | ||
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| 11th February 2012 19:00 | ||
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| 11th February 2012 19:00 | ||
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| 11th February 2012 19:00 | ||
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| 11th February 2012 19:15 | ||
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| 12th February 2012 00:00 | ||
6-2 |
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| 5th February 2012 18:30 | ||
4-5 |
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| 5th February 2012 18:00 | ||
2-4 |
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| 5th February 2012 17:00 | ||
6-1 |
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| 4th February 2012 19:30 | ||
4-1 |
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| 4th February 2012 19:00 | ||
6-2 |
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| 4th February 2012 19:00 | ||
| Club | GP | W | L | OL | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belfast Giants | 41 | 33 | 8 | 3 | 167 | 83 | 69 |
| 2 | Nottingham Panthers | 40 | 30 | 10 | 2 | 182 | 87 | 62 |
| 3 | Sheffield Steelers | 35 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 133 | 77 | 60 |
| 4 | Coventry Blaze | 40 | 25 | 15 | 1 | 153 | 113 | 51 |
| 5 | Cardiff Devils | 39 | 20 | 19 | 10 | 124 | 112 | 50 |
| 6 | Braehead Clan | 39 | 22 | 17 | 2 | 146 | 127 | 46 |
| 7 | Hull Stingrays | 41 | 11 | 30 | 4 | 107 | 165 | 26 |
| 8 | Edinburgh Capitals | 38 | 11 | 27 | 3 | 89 | 170 | 25 |
| 9 | Dundee Stars | 40 | 7 | 33 | 5 | 95 | 163 | 19 |
| 10 | Fife Flyers | 39 | 7 | 32 | 5 | 79 | 178 | 19 |
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| 8th February 2012 19:45 | ||
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| 11th February 2012 17:45 | ||
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| 11th February 2012 18:00 | ||
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| 11th February 2012 18:30 | ||
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| 11th February 2012 19:00 | ||
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| 11th February 2012 19:00 | ||
3-0 |
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| 5th February 2012 18:30 | ||
4-2 |
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| 5th February 2012 18:00 | ||
6-3 |
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| 5th February 2012 17:30 | ||
6-8 |
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| 5th February 2012 17:30 | ||
3-0 |
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| 4th February 2012 19:30 | ||
1-3 |
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| 4th February 2012 19:00 | ||
| Club | GP | W | L | OL | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guildford Flames | 38 | 26 | 12 | 3 | 172 | 111 | 55 |
| 2 | Manchester Phoenix | 39 | 24 | 15 | 3 | 145 | 123 | 51 |
| 3 | Slough Jets | 37 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 167 | 117 | 50 |
| 4 | Sheffield Steeldogs | 38 | 22 | 16 | 4 | 119 | 101 | 48 |
| 5 | Milton Keynes Lightning | 37 | 22 | 15 | 1 | 116 | 99 | 45 |
| 6 | Basingstoke Bison | 38 | 21 | 17 | 2 | 135 | 126 | 44 |
| 7 | Swindon Wildcats | 39 | 15 | 24 | 5 | 126 | 134 | 35 |
| 8 | Bracknell Bees | 37 | 13 | 24 | 8 | 107 | 142 | 34 |
| 9 | Peterborough Phantoms | 38 | 14 | 24 | 2 | 123 | 164 | 30 |
| 10 | Telford Tigers | 39 | 9 | 30 | 2 | 106 | 199 | 20 |
- No Elite League for Vipers in 2011/12
- Holland looking for back to back wins
- Effinger has no regrets
- Hartmanis wants wins for fans
- Longmuir looking to finish in style
