by Peter Adams
In their second year, the Vipers produced a six-goal blast to retain the Findus Cup, but perhaps the fledging team’s finest achievement was simply to survive.
An ugly incident in which skipper Rob Trumbley was attacked by a Guildford fan as he left The Spectrum ice in September cup game set the tone for a testing season.
A player who might have made a difference to a weak defensive core, blueliner Jason Robinson, quit after 6 games for the club. He had replaced the Finn, Pasi Jarvinen, but failed to settle on Tyneside.
On the ice, Vipers showed their fighting qualities by winning an epic Findus Cup semi-final second leg tussle in Kirkcaldy against the Fife Flyers. Netminder Tommi Satosaari produced a display which had to be seen to be believed to keep the Vipers in with a chance.
At the death, Stephen Wallace scored to send the tie into overtime. Satosaari saved 42 attempts in 70 minutes, and four penalty shots as the Vipers won with one-on-one successes from Matt Beveridge and Simon Leach.
In December, the club lost a key player ahead of the cup final, as ‘WWF line’ centre Marc West flew home, never to return despite saying otherwise.
Then moments before the final started, David Longstaff decided to risk his ankles which had been seriously damaged in a freak pre-season gym accident. It was as if Lobby’s comeback had been scripted. In his first shift, the Great Britain captain delivered a crunching check and at 9.36 he sensationally put Vipers ahead of the Flames.
With the trophy emphatically won, the club was in turmoil again when the stand-out Satosaari unexpectedly announced that he had accepted a big money offer to play in Slovenia.
Left, in the lurch, Vipers were lucky that their 2002-03 shot stopper Pasi Raitanen was available; the Bear was outstanding at times.
Few games matched the excitement of the Flyers and Flames cup ties, but for many the end of the season was a relief. Vipers would go where the Cobras, Riverkings and Jesters had not - into a third season.
Matt Beveridge
The centreman showed why he was so highly rated by Invicta Dynamos’ fans. He ended the season as Vipers’ second top points scorer in league play and pushed Weaver hard for the honours.
Jonathan Weaver
The Great Britain international played consistently at a high level in defence and attack, and all times produced plays that made fans yell “wow”. Throughly deserved his end of season accolades.
Rob Wilson
In his first season as player-coach, he showed great leadership qualities on and off the ice. His tremendous stamina and effortless skating again meant he regulary logged about 40 minutes of ice time every game.
| League | Pos | W | L | D | OL | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BNL | 5th | 36 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 109 | 135 | 37 |
Findus Cup - Winners
BNL Playoffs - 5th in Qtr Final Group
| Scorer | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Weaver | 60 | 33 | 46 | 79 |
| Matt Beveridge | 61 | 28 | 44 | 72 |
| Paul Ferone | 54 | 23 | 37 | 60 |
| Penalty taker | PIM’s |
|---|---|
| Paul Ferone | 202 |
| Rob Trumbley | 134 |
| Martin King | 126 |
| Netminder | GPI | Mins | SOG | GA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommi Satosaari | 35 | 2086 | 1220 | 110 | 91.0 |
| Pasi Raitanen | 25 | 1511 | 972 | 90 | 90.7 |
| Rory Dunn | 1 | 70 | 40 | 5 | 87.5 |
| Stephen Wall | 1 | 27 | 11 | 2 | 81.8 |
