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[Vipers2k9]

Regular Season Game #1
Detroit Vipers vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Consol Energy Center
October 12th, 2012

VIPERS FALL SHORT IN SHOOTOUT, LOSE 6 - 5.

Detroitnews.com - October 12th, 2012 - By Vic Venom

Pittsburgh, PA - Trevor Smith scored the shootout winning goal in round 6 to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 6 - 5 win over the Vipers on the opening night of the season.

This game saw both teams offenses look in mid-season form. Pittsburgh opened the score just 1:20 when Pascal Dupuis scored his first of the season to give Pittsburgh the 1 - 0 lead. Detroit did not let that lead last long as Frans Nielsen would net his first of the year from Mark Streit at the 4:20 mark and the game was tied at 1 - 1. Pittsburgh would finish the scoring in the first though when Evgani Malkin would score the first of two on the night at 15:57 and Pittsburgh would carry a 2 - 1 lead into the break.

The second period saw Detroit dominate the score board starting with at the 3:25 mark of the period when Brad Boyes scored his first of the year on the power play to tie the game at 2 - 2. Boyes would then strike again 10:00 later with his second of the night from Cam Barker and the Vipers would get their first lead of the game at 3 - 2. Pittsburgh was able to tie the game back up 4:00 later when Matt Cooke scored his first of the game and we were all tied up at 3 - 3. Detroit wanted to make a statement though and with just 1:10 left on the clock, Jesse Joensuu scored his first of the season to give the Vipers the lead back at 4 - 3 and head into the break that way.

In the third, the Penguins would come out hard and tie the game up at 4:28 of the period when Evgani Malkin scored his second of the game and we were tied at 4 - 4. The Vipers regained the lead just 2:20 later when Kyle Okposo scored his first of the year to give Detroit a 5 - 4 lead. The Captain of the Penguins would stay silent no longer though. Sidney Crosby would net his first of the season at 12:01 of the third to tie the game at 5 - 5 and send the game to overtime.

While neither team could score in overtime, we went to the shootout and the Vipers were able to strike first when Captain John Tavares scored but Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby countered with a goal of his own and we were tied 1 - 1 in the shootout. It lasted that way til round six when Trevor Smith was able to find the back of the net to give Pittsburgh the 6 - 5 win.

Detroit now heads home and get's ready for the inaugural home opener tomorrow night where they face off with the Philadelphia Flyer at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Detroit Vipers at Pittsburgh Penguins
Oct 12, 2012 1 2 3 F DET (0 - 0 - 1) 1 3 1 5 PIT (1 - 0 - 0) 2 1 2 6 Three Stars Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh 2 goals & 2 assists Brad Boyes - Detroit 2 goals & 1 assists Kris Letang - Pittsburgh 3 assists	Team Stats Comparison PIT Shots on Goal 33 38 Hits 18 28 Faceoffs Won-Lost 40/91 51/91 Penalty Minutes 4:00 16:00 Power Plays Converted 2 0 Power Play Opportunities 8 2 Time on Attack
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD PIT 1:20 P. Dupuis (1), (E. Malkin, K. Letang) DET 4:12 F. Nielsen (1), (M. Streit) PIT 15:57 E. Malkin (1), (M. Niskanen, P. Dupuis) SECOND PERIOD DET 3:25 B. Boyes (1), (F. Nielsen) PPG DET 13:36 B. Boyes (2), (C. Barker) PIT 17:54 M. Cooke (1), (E. Malkin) DET 18:50 J. Joensuu (1), (B. Boyes, E. Nabokov) THIRD PERIOD PIT 4:28 E. Malkin (2), (K. Letang, M. Cooke) DET 6:47 K. Okposo (1), (M. Moulson) PIT 12:01 S. Crosby (1), (K. Letang, C. Kunitz) SHOOTOUT DET R1 J. Tavares PIT R1 S. Crosby PIT R6 T. Smith
Detroit Vipers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Evgani Nabokov 38 33 87% 4.62
Pittsburgh Penguins - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Marc-Andre Fleury 33 28 85% 4.62

[Vipers2k9]

LONG TIME ISLANDERS TRADED TO WASHINGTON.

Detroitnews.com - October 13th, 2012 - By Vic Venom

Auburn Hills, Mi - The Detroit Vipers announced today that long time Islander goaltender Rick Dipietro has been traded to the Washington Capitals for Washington 2nd & 3rd round picks in the 2014 NHL draft.

Dipietro was drafted by the New York Islanders first overall in the 2000 NHL draft and in 2006 signed a 15 year deal worth $67 million. Dipietro has only played 47 games in the last 4 seasons, all with losing records.

"When we signed LeClaire in the preseason it gave us the back up we needed and gave us the green light to shop Rick (Dipietro) around to see what we could get. Since we are good on the goaltender spot we took the deal from Washington with hopes of moving those draft picks later in another deal." said Vipers GM Rick Dudley.

[Vipers2k9]

Regular Season Game #2
Philadelphia Flyers vs Detroit Vipers
Palace of Auburn Hills
October 13th, 2012

LATE GOAL SPOILS OPENER, LOSE 2 - 1

Detroitnews.com - October 13th, 2012 - By Vic Venom

Auburn Hills, Mi - Jakub Voracek scored with just over 10:00 left in the third period to break a 1 - 1 tie and give Philadelphia a 2 - 1 win over Detroit tonight in the inaugural home opener.

While neither team would score in the first period it was Philadelphia who opened the scoring early in the second period when Zac Rinaldo scored his first goal of the season to give Philadelphia a 1 - 0 lead.

The game would stay that way until the 6:23 mark of the third period when Matt Moulson found the back of the net with assists from John Tavares & Casey Cizikas and the game was tied at 1 - 1. Under 4:00 later though it was Jakub Voracek who would break the tie with his first goal of the season to help Philadelphia to a 2 - 1 win here tonight.

The Viper got even more bad news after the game when it was known that Center Marty Reasoner would be out of action for the next 3 months with and elbow injury that required surgery on it. Reasoner only played 0:25 in the game before skating to the bench after a hit and heading down the tunnel.

Detroit now gets a few days off before they head back out on the road for a two game road trip to Florida with the first stop being in Tampa to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 16th.

Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Vipers
Oct 13, 2012 1 2 3 F PHI (1 - 1 - 0) 0 1 1 2 DET (0 - 1 - 1) 0 0 1 1 Three Stars Ilya Bryzgalov - Philadelphia 36 saves Jakub Voracek - Philadelphia GWG Matt Moulson - Detroit 1 goal	Team Stats Comparison PHI Shots on Goal 20 37 Hits 20 11 Faceoffs Won-Lost 44/83 39/83 Penalty Minutes 18:00 0:00 Power Plays Converted 0 0 Power Play Opportunities 0 9 Time on Attack
Scoring Summary SECOND PERIOD PHI 3:33 Z. Rinaldo (1), (B. Coburn, B. Betts) THIRD PERIOD DET 6:23 M. Moulson (1), (J. Tavares, C. Cizikas) PHI 10:56 J. Vorcek (1), (A. Meszaros, S. Hartnell)
Philadelphia Flyers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Ilya Bryzgalov 37 36 97% 1.00
Detroit Vipers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Evgani Nabokov 20 18 90% 2.04

[Vipers2k9]

Regular Season Game # 3
Detroit Vipers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Times Forums
October 16th, 2012

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING, VIPERS LOSE 4 - 2.

Detroitnews.com - October 16th, 2012 - By Vic Venom

Tampa, FL - The Tampa Bay Lightning used a 3 goal second period to push by the Detroit Vipers by the final score 4 - 2.

Tampa Bay did not waste time in scoring in the first period. 1:37 into the period we saw Nate Thompson score his first of the season and Tampa Bay was out to a 1 - 0 lead.

Tampa Bay opened up the lead even more in the second period when Matt Carle scored his second of the season and give Tampa Bay a 2 - 0 lead. Tampa Bay got out to a 3 - 0 when Steven Stamkos scored his first of the season at the 6:55 mark of the period and the Vipers were deep in a hole.

Detroit did finally get on the board as Jesse Joensuu scored his second of the season from Lubomir Visnovsky to cut the lead down to two at 3 - 1. Tampa Bay would gain that goal back though when Tyler Johnson scored his first of the season and Detroit trailed 4 - 1 after two period of play.

In the third Detroit did get another goal. This time it was Kyle Okposo second goal of the season from John Tavares and Andrew MacDonald to make it 4 - 2 and that is how the game would end.

Bad news again strikes the team after this game when word came out that center Frans Nielsen went down with an injury and will be out of action for the next 3 weeks.

Detroit now heads over to Sunrise Florida to try and gain their first win of the year against the Florida Panthers on October 18th.

Detroit Vipers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Oct 16, 2012 1 2 3 F DET (0 - 2 - 1) 0 1 1 2 TAM (1 - 1 - 0) 1 3 0 4 Three Stars Matt Carle - Tampa Bay 1 goal & 3 assists Steven Stamkos - Tampa Bay 1 goal & 1 assist Tyler Johnson - Tampa Bay 1 goal & 1 assist	Team Stats Comparison TAM Shots on Goal 28 34 Hits 15 25 Faceoffs Won-Lost 39/83 44/83 Penalty Minutes 6:00 8:00 Power Plays Converted 0 0 Power Play Opportunities 4 3 Time on Attack
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD TAM 1:37 N. Thompson (1), (V. Hedman, M. Carle) SECOND PERIOD TAM 5:01 M. Carle (2), (S. Stamkos, T. Johnson) TAM 6:55 S. Stamkos (1), (M. Carle, M. St.Louis) DET 13:56 J. Joensuu (2), (L. Visnovsky) TAM 18:09 T. Johnson (1), (M. Carle, D. Tyrell) THIRD PERIOD DET 16:11 K. Okposo (2), (J. Tavares, A. MacDonald)
Detroit Vipers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Evgani Nabokov 34 30 88% 4.07
Tampa Bay Lightning - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Adam Lindback 28 26 93% 2.00

[Vipers2k9]

Regular Season Game #4
Detroit Vipers vs Florida Panthers
Bank Atlantic Center
October 18th, 2012

OKPOSO SCORES TWICE AS VIPERS NET FIRST WIN 4 - 3.

Detroitnews.com - October 18th, 2012 - By Vic Venom

Sunrise FL - Kyle Okposo scored two goals and the Michael Grabner added a power play goal to help Detroit win their first game in franchise history, 4 - 3 over the Florida Panthers tonight.

Detroit shot out to a first period lead when Kyle Okposo scored the first of two on the night. It was his third of the season from Grabner and Tavares and the Vipers led 1 - 0. The extended the lead later in the period when defensemen Milan Jurcina scored his first of the season to make it 2 - 0 and the went to intermission that way.

The score would pick back up in the third period with the two teams trading off goals. The Panthers would start first when Wojtek Wolski scored his first of the season to make it 2 - 1 Detroit. The power play finally click for Detroit as Michael Grabner gave Detroit the two goal lead back with his first of the year and Detroit led 3 - 1.

Florida bounced right back with a goal by Marco Sturm, his first of the year and it was 3 - 2 now. Detroit though put things on ice as Kyle Okposo would add an empty net goal with 0:36 left to seal the deal.

Detroit now heads back home for their next game as they take on the Buffalo Sabers at home on Saturday Night, October 20th.

Detroit Vipers at Florida Panthers
Oct 18, 2012 1 2 3 F DET (1 - 2 - 1) 2 0 2 4 FLA (1 - 2 - 0) 0 0 3 3 Three Stars Kyle Okposo - Detroit 2 goals & 1 assist Michael Grabner - Detroit 1 goal & 2 assists Marco Sturm - Florida 1 goal	Team Stats Comparison FLA Shots on Goal 27 33 Hits 16 20 Faceoffs Won-Lost 40/86 46/86 Penalty Minutes 8:00 2:00 Power Plays Converted 1 0 Power Play Opportunities 1 4 Time on Attack
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD DET 10:45 K. Okposo (3), (M. Grabner, J. Tavares) DET 18:17 M. Jurcina (1), (T. Hamonic) THIRD PERIOD FLA 3:16 W. Wolski (1), (B. Campbell) DET 12:32 M. Grabner (1), (K. Okposo, A. MacDonald) PPG FLA 14:22 M. Sturm (1), (M. Zuccarello, M. Repik) DET 19:24 K. Okposo (4), (J. Tavares, M. Grabner) EN FLA 19:28 T. Kopecky (1), (M. Goc)
Detroit Vipers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Pascal LeClaire 33 30 91% 3.00
Florida Panthers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Scott Clemmensen 26 23 88% 3.01

[Vipers2k9]

Regular Season Game #5
Buffalo Sabers vs Detroit Vipers
Palace of Auburn Hills
October 20th, 2012

VIPERS HANG TOUGH, ALLOWS MOULSON TO NET OT WINNER.

Detroitnews.com - October 20th, 2012 - By Vic Venom

Auburn Hills, Mi - Matt Moulson scored with under a minute left in overtime to lift the Detroit Vipers to their second straight win of the year, 3 - 2 over the Buffalo Sabers tonight.

The scoring started in the second period tonight when Buffalo's Jason Pominville scored the first of his two goals on the night to give Buffalo a 1 - 0 lead. That lead only lasted about 0:33 seconds though as Brad Boyes would tie the game on a goal with the assists from Martin and Visnovsky and the game was tied at 1 - 1.

In the third Buffalo would again gain the lead as Jason Pominville would score his second of the game with the assists going to Leino and Vanek to give the Sabers a 2 - 1 lead. Just like in the second the Vipers did not let that lead last long. Just 0:37 later, Michael Grabner scored his second of the season from Moulson and Barker and the game was tied at 2 - 2 heading into overtime.

In overtime the Sabers drew a critical double minor for high sticking and the Vipers took advantage of the 4 - 3 chance as Matt Moulson was able to fire home his second of the season on the power play from MacDonald and Bailey and the Vipers win 3 - 2 in front of a sold out crowd at the Palace tonight.

Detroit now gets a day of rest before facing off with the very same Florida Panther that Detroit beat two days ago, this time at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Monday Night, October 22nd.

Buffalo Sabres at Detroit Vipers
Oct 20, 2012 1 2 3 OT F BUF (1 - 1 - 2) 0 1 1 0 2 DET (2 - 2 - 1) 0 1 1 1 3 Three Stars Jason Pominville - Buffalo 2 goals Matt Moulson - Detroit 1 goal &1 assist Pascal LeClaire - Detroit 28 saves	Team Stats Comparison BUF DET Shots on Goal 30 26 Hits 34 12 Faceoffs Won-Lost 31/78 47/78 Penalty Minutes 10:00 8:00 Power Plays Converted 0 1 Power Play Opportunities 3 3 Time on Attack
Scoring Summary SECOND PERIOD BUF 3:21 J. Pominville (1), (T. Vanek, V. Leino) DET 3:54 B. Boyes (3), (M. Martin, L. Visnovsky) THIRD PERIOD BUF 8:58 J. Pominville (2), (V. Leino, T. Vanek) DET 9:35 M. Grabner (2), (M.Moulson, C. Barker) OVERTIME DET 4:19 M. Moulson (2), (A. MacDonald, J. Bailey) PPG
Buffalo Sabres - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Jhonas Enroth 26 23 88% 2.80
Detroit Vipers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Pascal LeClaire 30 28 93% 1.87

[Vipers2k9]

VIPERS TRADE FOR YOUNG DEFENSEMEN.

Detroitnews.com - October 21st, 2012 - By Vic Venom

Auburn Hills, Mi - The Detroit Vipers announced today a deal with the Columbus Bluejackets that sees Detroit acquiring 21 year old John Moore from Columbus for an undisclosed draft pick.

Moore played in 67 games last season with Columbus only scoring 2 goals and 5 assists but it was the other numbers that made Detroit confident in the deal.

"Moore is a 4 star young defensemen that will fit well with the third line on this time. When a defensemen his age can be a -23 for the games he played that means he was helping out alot more then his stats were showing." said GM Rick Dudley.

Moore will join the team and we are told will be in the line up for the game tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

[Vipers2k9]

Regular Season Game #6
Florida Panthers vs Detroit Vipers
Palace of Auburn Hills
October 22nd, 2012

LATE GOAL STOPS WINNING STREAK.

Detroitnews.com - October 22nd, 2012 - By Vic Venom

Auburn Hills, Mi - Tomas Fleischmann scored with 1:16 left in regulation and Wojtek Wolski added an empty net goal to give the Florida Panthers a 4 - 2 win over the Detroit Vipers tonight.

The Vipers got on the board first tonight in the second period on a early power play. Brad Boyes would score his fourth goal of the season from MacDonald and Barker and Detroit led 1 - 0. Florida would come back and tie the game when Marco Sturm scored his second of the season and the game was tied at 1 - 1 at the second intermission.

Florida opened the scoring in the third period when Kris Versteeg scored a short handed goal, his third of the season the Florida led 2 - 1. Detroit battled back and the newest Viper was apart of it. John Moore sent a perfect pass to Brad Boyes who would score his team leading fifth goal of the season, Matt Martin would also get an assist on the goal and the game was tied at 2 - 2 with under 4:00 to play in regulation.

Just when it looked like we were overtime bound for the second straight game. Tomas Fleischman score his third of the season with 1:16 left to go in the third to give Florida a 3 - 2 lead and they would go on to add an empty net goal and win the game 4 - 2 tonight.

Detroit returns to home ice for the next game on Friday Night, October 26th when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Florida Panthers at Detroit Vipers
Oct 22, 2012 1 2 3 F FLA (2 - 3 - 0) 0 1 3 4 DET (2 - 3 - 1) 0 1 1 2 Three Stars Jose Theodore - Florida 34 saves Brad Boyes - Detroit 2 goals Tomas Fleischmann - Flordia 1 goal	Team Stats Comparison FLA DET Shots on Goal 30 36 Hits 12 22 Faceoffs Won-Lost 45/77 32/77 Penalty Minutes 6:00 4:00 Power Plays Converted 0 1 Power Play Opportunities 2 3 Time on Attack
Scoring Summary SECOND PERIOD DET 5:50 B. Boyes (4), (A. MacDonald, C. Barker) PPG FLA 14:36 M. Sturm (2), (M. Zuccarello, C. Robak) THIRD PERIOD FLA 2:43 K. Versteeg (3), (M. Waver) SHG DET 16:13 B. Boyes (5), (J. Moore, M. Martin) FLA 18:44 T. Fleischmann (3), (K. Ellerby, S. Weiss) FLA 19:40 W. Wolski (2), (S. Upshall, M. Goc) ENG
Florida Panthers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Jose Theodore 36 34 94% 2.00
Detroit Vipers - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Pascal LeClaire 29 26 90% 3.06