Vernon, BC – The Silverbacks made the trek down Highway 97 for a Friday night clash at Kal Tire Place to face off against the Vipers. It was the teams third meeting of the season, as the ‘Backs opened up the season with back-to-back wins against Vernon a few weeks ago. Carter Richardson got the nod for the Silverbacks between the pipes as he got his first BCHL start. On the other side of the ice it was Roan Clarke, who got his fourth start of the season for the Vipers.
It was an exciting opening frame as both teams got on the board. It was Isaac Lambert (3) opening the scoring for the Silverbacks with a great individual effort as he buried one five hole on Clarke. Seven minutes later, the Vipers got things tied up as Luke Pakulak (2) found a way to beat Carter Richardson. It was a penalty filled period as both teams, combined, accumulated 12 minutes of penalties.
The second period went in a different direction as things opened up from Kal Tire Place. Just a few minutes into the middle frame, it was Luke Lavery (1) getting the Vipers ahead as he scored on the powerplay. The Vipers added two more before the midway point of period two, as Kurt Gurkan (1) and David Brandes (1) extended their lead to three. The Silverbacks turned things around in the second half of the period, as Owen Beckner (3) pulled the ‘Backs within one as he finished off a great passing play with Lambert and Ullrick. Late in the frame, it was Lambert (4) deflecting home his second of the night on a shot from Will Lavigne.
The momentum carried into the final frame as the high scoring continued. Reagan Millburn (1) opened the scoring in the final period as he restored the two goal lead for the Vipers. Shortly after that it was Hayden Stavroff (1) getting his first BCHL goal with some impressive hand-eye coordination skills as he batted one home out of mid air. The back-and-fourth continued throughout the period as Ayden Third (1) found a way through Richardson to restore the two goal lead once again. A late goal from Nathan Mackie (5) pulled the ‘Backs within one, but it was as close as they would get. The Vipers ended up taking it by a final score of 6-5.
The ‘Backs get right back at it tomorrow night, as they travel to Penticton to take on the Vees. You can catch all the action on Hockey TV as the puck drops at 6PM.
