Who: Salmon Arm SilverBacks @ Vernon Vipers
When: Saturday, Aug. 24, 7:00 pm
Where: Kal Tire Place, Vernon
Pay-Per-View: FAST Hockey
Radio: Mixlr
After a 5-1 victory at home last night, the SilverBacks go for the pre-season sweep in Vernon tonight against a Vipers squad that is sure to include more veterans. Salmon Arm struck early and often last night at Shaw Centre and despite being outshot, enjoyed long spells of persistent offensive pressure for the second consecutive night.
The SilverBacks' top line of Evan Anderson, Landon Smith and Taro Hirose generated numerous chances, while Californians Taylor Maruya and Thomas Plese found great chemistry with Vernon product Colton Thibault too. The 'Backs dressed three 20 year-olds on the blue line (Zach Urban, Blake Box and Sam Wolfe), a move that surely made life easier on goaltenders Angus Redmond and Kyle Michalovsky, who both stood tall despite being faced with a few precarious circumstances, especially in the second half of the game.
With just more than thirty players remaining in camp, expect some, but not many changes this evening for the 'Backs, as head coach/GM Troy Mick and his staff get another chance to evaluate players in the interest of determining the final roster of 22. One area the 'Backs coaches should surely be pleased with is the club's early returns on special teams. Salmon Arm's power-play is 2/3 through two games while the team's penalty-kill has yet to surrender a goal.
Last Meeting: Four veterans, and five different players overall lit the lamp last night (the lone exception being Plese's power-play beauty). The regular-season series between Salmon Arm and Vernon begins September 13th for the 'Backs home opener.
Our Opponent: Several of Vernon's top guns, including Demico Hannoun, Mason Blacklock and both returning goaltenders, watched last night's game from the stands and certainly head coach Jason Williamson could well use the opportunity to showcase that talent in front of his team's home fans tonight. Despite the loss last night, the Vipers managed to generate several quality offensive chances (including a 2-on-oh rush in the third period) but were unable to capitalize save Craig Martin's early first-period tally.
