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LaSalle, ON - "It's character check time, boys!"

Those words heard coming from the LaSalle Vipers' locker room after last night's 3-2 loss to the Leamington Flyers say it all.

The Vipers will now attempt to stave off elimination as they travel to Leamington tonight for Game 6 of their GOJHL semifinal series, trailing 3-games-to-2.

The formula is simple - a LaSalle win means Game 7 at the Vollmer Complex on Sunday afternoon, a loss brings the season to a close.

For Vipers Head Coach/GM Bill Bowler it all starts with tonight.

"We are in a tough spot obviously," Bowler admits. "Our mission is to win one game. That's where our focus is."

The Vipers never led in Game 5, falling behind 2-0 just over five minutes into the game.

LaSalle tightened the contest in the second period to 2-1 but the Flyers answered right back nearly 4 minutes later with the eventual game winning marker.

"We have a good team and good character people and we're working hard," Bowler said after the game. "Hopefully we have more to give. Only time will tell."

After four games in five nights, both teams enjoyed two days off before last night's Game 5.

With Game 6 the next day, Bowler feels that can work to his advantage.

"We get to forget about this game and play right away," Bowler states. "We were happy with this schedule at the start of the series and now we look forward to the challenge of trying to claw back into this."

No word yet on if there will be any lineup changes for the Vipers ahead of tonight's do-or-die contest.

"I don't know if we have to change a lot," Bowler mentions. "It's obviously been a close series with two good teams. If we get a break or two and limit our turnovers, we'll be fine."