The Silverbacks (16-23-1-3) host the Chilliwack Chiefs (20-17-3-2) tonight (Friday) at 7pm at the Shaw Centre. Salmon Arm will visit the West Kelowna Warriors (21-20-1-1) tomorrow (Saturday) night at 7pm.
The Silverbacks are 3-2-1-0 in the first six of 11 on the schedule in January. Salmon Arm salvaged three of a possible six points last weekend on the road. The Silverbacks opened the scoring and held all three leads but settled for their first tie of the season, 4-4 last Friday night at the Powell River Kings (21-13-4-4). Salmon Arm fell behind 3-0 in the second period last Saturday night in Port Alberni and lost 5-4 to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (12-24-4-3). The Silverbacks finished last weekend with a 5-4 victory at the Nanaimo Clippers (22-17-2-3) on Sunday afternoon.
Newly acquired Silverbacks defenseman Sol Seibel began the game with a penalty for head contact and a 10 minute misconduct at 2:13 of the first period. Justin Wilson gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the first with his sixth of the season at 18:25. Salmon Arm outshot Nanaimo 17-11.
Nick Unruh’s eighth increased the lead to 2-0 at 9:20 of the second. And Trevor Adams put the Silverbacks ahead 3-0 with his 10th and short-handed at 12:04. The Clippers got on the board on the power-play at 14:47 following Max Wutzke’s hooking penalty at 14:23, 3-1 Salmon Arm. But Rhett Kingston restored the three goal advantage with his 19th of the season at 15:05, 4-1 Silverbacks. Unruh finished the period with a tripping penalty at 17:15. Salmon Arm outshot Nanaimo 16-12 in the second and 33-23 Silverbacks overall.
The Clippers opened the scoring 1:27 into the third on Sunday, 4-2 Silverbacks. But at 5:07 Kingston gave Salmon Arm a 5-2 lead with his second of the game, fourth of the weekend and 20th of the season. Nanaimo then scored back-to-back in the final frame, 5-3 with a short-handed marker at 13:02 and 5-4 at 16:54. Julian Timba was penalized for tripping at 14:43 and Wilson for hooking at 17:11.
Nanaimo outshot the Silverbacks 16-4 in the third and 39-37 Clippers total.
Salmon Arm finished 0-for-5 on the power-play and 6-for-7 on the PK on Sunday.
Kingston was given an honourable mention for BCHL Player of the Week with four goals and one assist in three games, including the game winner in Nanaimo.
Silverbacks General Manager and Head Coach Scott Atkinson announced on Thursday that Rhett Kingston has committed to the Western Michigan Mustangs NCAA for next season. “The Silverback organization is proud to announce that Rhett Kingston has accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Western Michigan. We are very happy for Rhett and we think that the Broncos have secured a player that will be a significant contributor to their program in the future. From the Silverback perspective Rhett has been everything we could’ve asked for this season. He is our leading scorer and a leader in the dressing room. It’s gratifying to see this sort of success come to such a deserving individual.”
The 20-year-old of Okotoks, AB has 39 points in 39 games and is the first Silverback of the season to commit to NCAA hockey.
Chilliwack won 5-1 at the Coquitlam Express (11-27-3-1) last Sunday. The Chiefs have a record of 2-2-1-0 to begin 2018. Chilliwack won 6-1 at home over the Silverbacks on Friday, October 20th. Jared Turcotte returns to Salmon Arm tonight (Friday) after two full seasons with the Silverbacks. Turcotte has five goals, two assists along with 46 penalty-minutes in 35 games with the Chiefs.
Prior to the opening face-off tonight (Friday) the Silverbacks will honour the life of Dr. Duncan Wray. The longtime owner of the Vernon Vipers/Lakers and the chair of the BCHL Board of Governors passed away peacefully at his home last week at the age of 68.
Home game tickets are $14, (Srs $12, Under 12 – $7). A $25 family pack includes includes 2 Adults and 2 Children’s tickets, along with 4 complimentary Silverbacks hats.
Each game is webcast PPV at hockeytv.com Road games are broadcast via voiceoftheshuswap.ca CKVS 93.7 FM and Home games are available, audio only at mixlr.com/salmon-arm-silverbacks
