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A MIXED weekend saw the Vipers put on two very different displays in front of bumper crowds at the Metro Radio Arena on Saturday and Sunday night.
Only 24 hours after beating sixth place Cardiff Devils 4-3, the fifth placed Vipers failed to make ground on fourth placed Nottingham with a 0-3 home defeat to the Panthers.
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However, while the Vipers were fortunate to see a devils goal dubiously wiped out , which would have altered the course of the narrow win, they were somewhat less lucky on Sunday, hitting the pipes three times during the defeat.
Saturday night saw the weekend start brightly, despite the Vipers failing to capitalise on a five-on-three powerplay in the early going. However, Ben Campbell put the home side ahead at 9.22 with a back-stick effort from just in front of the crease.
The lead lasted only three minutes and three seconds, though, when Tyson Teplitsky scored the first of his hat-trick goals, crossing the blue line and firing over Ryan MacDonald's shoulder.
Teplitsky netted a second at 13.49 as the Devils did what the Vipers couldn't and made the most of a two man advantage, with Derek Campbell and David Longstaff in the sin bin.
After returning to the ice, Campbell was denied at the end of a fantastic move only seconds before Dion Darling was binned for the Devils.
The extra man paid dividends for the Vipers on this occasion and Colin Shields started his own road to hat-trick glory with a shot from the blue line which levelled things at 17.47.
The sides were skating with four men each when the Vipers once again took the lead, Shields this time getting on the end of a pinpoint Jeff Hutchins pass to score at 24.22.
Devils were unlucky to have a goal ruled out at 46.03 when referee Moray Hanson ruled the puck had been kicked over the line, however, it appeared the last touch had come from a stick.
Vipers held the 3-2 lead until the final period and, indeed, struck next when Shields finished off his hat-trick with a wrist shot from the blue line at 52.59, again on the power play.
Four seconds after the restart, Derek Campbell and Brad Voth went toe-to-toe, with the Devils man shading a victory, while it took only another nine seconds to run down before Jeff Hutchins picked a fight with Sylvain Deschatelets and used some neat upper cuts to finish his man.
Teplitsky rounded off his hat-trick at 54.26, thanks to a couple of deflections, at 54.26 but it was too little too late.
The visit of the Panthers on Sunday was an opportunity to close the gap, but it was an opportunity missed as the Vipers looked tired and lacked the cutting edge of Todd Jackson, who had picked up a head injury caused by an elbow the previous night.
Vipers again started brightly, Shaun Johnson and Derek Campbell coming close.
However, with Hutchins binned for hooking Sean McAslan was unlucky not to score, with MacDonald getting a glove to the puck, which bounced down and bobbled just wide of the post at 4.20.
As they had done the previous night, the vipers squandered a five-on-three, leaving the game goalless at the first interval.
Kevin Bergin made sure it did not remain that way after McAslan turned his man and set up his teammate to shoot low at 28.54.
The roles were reversed less than four minutes later, when scrappy defending allowed Bergin to feed McAslan on 32.47 for 0-2.
Andre Payette attempted to put some fire in Vipers' bellies when he dropped the gloves with Ryan Shmyr seven seconds into the final period, but it was a poor fight which reflected the overall match.
Ben Storey hit the post in the 56th minute, but it was Patrick Wallenberg who finished the scoring at 58.31, firing through MacDonald's legs to make it 0-3.
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