Ice Raiders Defang Venomless Vipers

Phillip Goodman
Mar 2
5 min read

By Phillip Goodman

March 2, 2026

The Breckenridge Vipers flashed their fangs and hissed their warnings at the Reno Ice Raiders Hockey Club, but Reno continued to assert their unflinching dominance over opponents at The Jennifer M. O’Neal Community Ice Arena.

Seven different Ice Raiders found the back of the net and Justin Sand was less than a minute from his second consecutive shutout in a 7-1 thumping of the Vipers on Friday night. Reno repelled the Breck attack on Saturday with another balanced effort led by Bobby Watson's two goals and Justis Gyori's 27-save effort. Sprinkled throughout the 5-3 win for Reno were 17 penalties, 11 power plays, and several incredibly tense moments all worth watching again and again.

To begin the series presented by Peterson Wealth Management, Nathan Hogge put Reno on the board first after Roger Hutchinson won an offensive zone draw right back to Hogge. Hogge's wrister beat Viper tender Brady DeVries low right side three and a half minutes into the game.

Ninety seconds later, Julian Herrera deflected Andrew Peterson‘s blue line shot for the 2-0 lead. Hunter Sine increased his league-leading assist tally on the play.

With three minutes to go in the first, Adrian Nicholas drew a crowd of defenders to the slot and the puck squirted out to Jake Minton who fired it over DeVries' shoulder for the 3-0 lead.

On a 2-on-0 with Adrian Nicholas, Sine made another incredible backhand pass after faking a shot and Nicholas showed deft hands roofing it over DeVries to go up 4-0 in the second. Sine's pass was hands down the Goettl Air Assist of the Weekend.

A minute after that, Rob Hallowell punched in Will McDonnell’s rebound extending the rout to 5-0. Charlie Montgomery also earned an assist on the play.

With just under two minutes left in the second, Roger Hutchinson showed why he is very much the heart and soul of this Ice Raiders club. As the lone man up on the forecheck during a line change, Hutch stripped a Viper of the puck and in one spinning motion, found a couple inches of daylight between the post and DeVries' ear for the unassisted goal and 6-0 lead going into the second intermission.

Starting the third period on a Peterson Wealth Management Penalty Kill, Bobby Watson blew by a Viper defender and rang a shot off the crossbar behind DeVries. Watson and Sine continued the up-ice pressure until Sine found Watson wide open in the slot and Watson's five-hole goal rounded out Reno's seven-goal night.

Garret Bailey, perennial thorn in Reno's side, broke Sand's shutout bid with 49 ticks left on a redirect chip shot from a cross ice pass through the Reno defense.

"[Breckenridge] kept coming hard and really wanted to break the shutout," Justin Sand said after the game. "They came down with a 2-on-1 and made a really good pass across. I didn't get as good a push over as I would have wanted but a really good play by those guys."

At the other end of the ice, Reno launched 41 shots on DeVries and he stopped 34, all of which Sand enjoyed watching from his own end.

"We brought a lot of offensive power today," Sand added. "We had a lot of confidence right off the bat where we all wanted to make good plays and shoot a lot of pucks on net. DeVries took a lot of shots tonight and played really well."

To start Saturday night, Matt Robinson scored the fastest goal in Ice Raiders’ history 12 seconds in. Morgan Ellis' long outlet sprung Jake Minton and Robinson for a 2-on-1 break. Minton sent the puck across the slot to a charging Matty Rob's to redirect in for the early strike.

Eight minutes later, Luke Noble tied the game from a behind the net pass by Derrick McMasters. Just over a minute after that, Nathan Hogge fired another sneaky wrister past DeVries to put Reno ahead 2-1. Bobby Watson and Alex Gunnoe got the assists.

The second period was a rough-and-tumble, hard-hitting affair until Eli Kendall got a shot through with a moving screen in front of Gyori to tie the game 2-2.

Bobby Watson put the Ice Raiders back ahead with just under two minutes to go with a snipe of a shot over DeVries' left glove.

The second period ended with fireworks as Eli Kendall did or said something that ignited Roger Hutchison. Kendall, who was ejected in Friday's third period for unsportsmanlike conduct, turtled on Hutch's invitation to dance and thus was not assessed a penalty for receiving a pummeling.

Reno killed the five-minute major spilling into the third and moments after returning to even strength, Alex Gunnoe rifled a perfect shot through a Viper's legs and over DeVries' leg pad for the 4-2 lead.

Less than two minutes later with the Vipers on a power play, Jackson Tillinghast redirected a blue line shot past Gyori.

The 4-3 score was as close as Breck would get because Bobby Watson's laser on a 4-on-3 Brewer's Cabinet Power Play gave the Ice Raiders a comfy two goal cushion with six minutes left. Reno nearly gave it up though by handing Breck a two-man advantage but Reno killed both and Breck never pulled the goalie for an extra attacker.

At the conclusion of the game, Kendall and DeVries earned game misconducts for giving the officials more than an earful.

The Ice Raiders are now 12-8 lifetime against the Vipers including 6-0 since moving to Reno. On the season, Reno is 15-7 overall and sits atop the Mountain Hockey League standings at 13-5. Most impressively, the Ice Raiders are 12-2 at home.

"I think we're just comfortable playing here," said Justin Sand. "It's always great to rally with the fans. They give us a lot of support behind us so we really appreciate the fan crowd here."

The weekend series was a benefit for Cancer Community Clubhouse, a Northern Nevada non-profit whose mission is to empower the lives of people affected by cancer in Northern Nevada through connection, education, hope, and healing from diagnosis through survivorship. QMS construction generously sponsored the gorgeous sweaters designed by the Ice Raiders' Mighty Mullet and Guru of Graphics, Zeph Fagergren. Make your donation now via Venmo @CancerCommunityClubhouse.

Up next for the Ice Raiders are the Chicago Shamrocks (formerly Top Shelf). Reno Tattoo Removal presents the series where you can expect a battle filled with speed, intensity, and the kind of electricity that defines top-tier hockey. Reno vs. Chicago — a coast-to-coast clash you won’t want to miss. Get your tickets right here right now!

Friday's LT Automotive Three Stars of the Game

Justin Sand, 23 of 24 Saves
Roger Hutchison, 1G 1A
Hunter Sine, 3A

Saturday's LT Automotive Three Stars of the Game

Bobby Watson, 2G
Alex Gunnoe, 1G
Matt Robinson, 1G (fastest goal in Ice Raiders' history - 12sec)

Friday's Brain Bean Stats

Reno - 1-for-1 on the Brewer's Cabinet Power Play, 4-for-4 on Peterson Wealth Management Penalty Kills
Reno won 36 of 51 draws (55.4%)
Point scorers
- Hunter Sine - 3A
- Bobby Watson - 1G, 1A
- Adrian Nicholas - 1G, 1A
- Andrew Peterson - 2A
- Roger Hutchison - 1G, 1A
- Julian Herrera - 1G
- Nathan Hogge - 1G
- Jake Minton -1G
- Rob Hallowell - 1G
- Will McDonnell - 1A
- Charlie Montgomery - 1A

Saturday's Brain Bean Stats

1-for-5 on the Brewer's Cabinet Power Play, 5-for-6 on Peterson Wealth Management Penalty Kills
Reno won 34 of 70 draws (48.6%)
Point scorers
- Bobby Watson - 2G, 1A
- Alex Gunnoe - 1G, 1A
- Matt Robinson - 1G
- Nathan Hogge - 1G
- Jake Minton - 1A
- Julian Herrera - 1A
- Hunter Sine - 1A
- Morgan Ellis - 1A