The Silverbacks (14-18-1-2) will host the Penticton Vees (28-5-0-1) tonight (Saturday) at 7pm at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm. The fourth meeting of the season will begin less than 24 hours after the Vees got by the Silverbacks 3-2 in overtime last night (Friday) in Penticton.
Neither team found the back of the net in the first period on Friday, the Silverbacks outshot the Vees 10-8. Penticton opened the scoring in the second at 7:05, and the Vees went ahead 2-0 at 12:31. Penticton lead 8-5 on the shot clock in the second period. The Silverbacks found the back of net with less than six minutes remaining in regulation, Elijiah Barriga’s team leading 17th at 14:48 and Justin Wilson tied the game 2-2 at 16:46, Wilson’s seventh of the season.
Salmon Arm outshot Penticton 11-4 in the third, 3-1 Vees on the shot clock in 4-on-4 OT and 27-23 total the Silverbacks finished ahead on the shot clock. Taylor Ward potted the game winner at 1:31 of the extra period, his seventh. Nic Tallarico made 20 saves on Friday night, including a number of diving and glove stops in the Silverbacks second consecutive loss. The Silverbacks finished 0-for-2 with the power-play on Friday, and 3-for-3 on the penalty-kill.
The Vees lead the season series 2-1, as the Silverbacks won 4-3 in double overtime in Penticton on December 2nd and the Vees opened the season series with a 4-1 victory in Salmon Arm on November 4th. The Silverbacks have four wins, two losses and one tie in OT, while the Vees have a record of 8-1-0 in extra sessions. Penticton has won five straight and five of their first six in this final month of 2016, the Silverbacks are 3-1-1-1 in December.
Salmon Arm is 4-9-1-0 on home ice, while the Vees have a road record of 14-3-0-0. The Silverbacks are 9-10-1-1 in the Interior, and Penticton is 14-2-0-1 within the division. The Silverbacks will move into their Christmas break following tonight’s (Saturday) action in Salmon Arm. And, the Silverbacks will resume game action on Thursday, December 29th at the Vernon Vipers (17-13-2-2) at 7pm before hosting the Vipers on Friday, December 30th at the Shaw Centre at 7pm.
Each Silverbacks game is webcast PPV at hockeytv.com Each road game is broadcast live via voiceoftheshuswap.ca CKVS 93.7 FM and each home game is available audio only at mixlr.com/salmon-arm-silverbacks/ Tune into Salmon Arm community radio each Monday at 7pm, Tuesday at 7am for 30 minutes or more Silverbacks hockey talk.
