Greene nets OT winner on his birthday

Kyle Greene turned 19 Wednesday and he celebrated with his buddies by scoring the game winning goal to help the LaSalle Vipers beat St. Mary's 4-3 in overtime.

"Great experience. Just great to get the extra point. That's all that matters." said the soft-spoken forward.

His 15th goal of the season came at 1:31 of the extra frame after he stripped the puck off a St. Mary's player, took it to the slot and scored low blocker on Lincoln's goalie Brandon Abbott for the win.

The extra point coupled with a 4-3 win London over Chatham creates a log jam at the top of the Western Conference with St. Mary's, The Nationals and Vipers tied with 47 points. Add Strathroy and Chatham to the mix and seven points separates first from fifth.

"Every game is a big game for us," said head coach Chad Shepley. "We're just trying to focus on playing the right way heading into the playoffs."

Patrick McManus, Jak Thiessen and Connor Tucker also scored for the Vipers who are on the road for their next four games starting in Komoka Saturday.