Vipers 2006 Team
by Peter Adams
Early in the 2005-06 season player-coach Rob Wilson told his players that they were good enough to win silverware. His confidence proved well founded when the Vipers capped an impressive debut Elite League season by winning the Playoff Final.
Goals from Andre Payette and David Longstaff earned the Vipers a gritty 2-1 victory in the showpiece event against the Sheffield Steelers.
Naturally conservative and defensively orientated, Wilson assembled a team around the British core of the Vipers’ British National League side and gifted Canadian netminder Trevor Koenig.
Trevor Koening on the ice
Three stand-out Eastern Europeans - defenceman Jan Krajicek and Pavel Gomenyuk, along with forward Matus Petricko - signed despite being picked on by the Vipers during their BNL encounters.
Former Belfast Giant Mel Angelstad and Coventry Blaze Grand Slam winner Payette were introduced to give the Vipers toughness and ex-NHL forward Eric Beaudoin arrived on an open-ended contract.
When top Finnish side Jokerit came calling, however, Beaudoin was on his way after just seven games. Angelstad was the next to leave, under a cloud after a serious assault on a Coventry player.
Their replacements both made their scoring debuts in a 9-2 win over Edinburgh Capitals in November. After London Racers folded, combative winger Jeremy Cornish headed north to take on Angelstad’s role and another ex-BNL star, Cory Morgan, joined after completing a fire service training course. The playmaker proved another inspired recruit but he unexpectdly left during the playoffs.
At the start the Vipers looked a force to be reckoned with but they struggled against the run-and-gun of the Belfast Giants, losing their first five contests against the eventual league champions.
The sixth game was a memorable 6-4 home win for the Vipers but having seen off the Panthers’ strong challenge for the second place, they couldn’t win their games in hand and overtake the Giants.
The Vipers dominated their playoff group and with the hoodoo broken, triumphed over the Giants in a thrilling semi-final by four goals to two.
Trevor Koenig
His agility and positional sense made him by far the best netminder to have played in Newcastle and a league first All Star team selection.
Jonathan Weaver
Played as a captain should and finished as top points scorer. Leading from the blueline, his rushes were some of the highlights of the season.
Rob Wilson
Ended what was meant to be his last season as the writers’ Coach of the Year and a Playoff champion.
| League | Pos | GP | W | L | D | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EIHL | 2nd | 42 | 25 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 133 | 101 | 55 |
| Scorer | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Weaver | 60 | 23 | 45 | 68 |
| Matus Petricko | 57 | 23 | 39 | 62 |
| David Longstaff | 61 | 23 | 30 | 53 |
| Penalty taker | PIM’s |
|---|---|
| Andre Payette | 312 |
| Pavel Gomenyuk | 132 |
| Paul Ferone | 109 |
| Netminder | GPI | Mins | SOG | GA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Koenig | 60 | 3545 | 1752 | 128 | 92.7 |
| Mark Lee | 10 | 204 | 112 | 11 | 90.2 |
