SALMON ARM, BC: Felix Trudeau had a goal and an assist in the second period as he helped lift the West Kelowna Warriors over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks 4-1 in Game 2 of the best of seven series.
In the opening twenty minutes of Game two, the Silverbacks had a better start. They got a pair of chances right off the top. Simon Tassy had a couple of shots in tight but was denied by Johnny Derrick. Nathan Mackie then got a breakaway, but he lost the handle in the process of deking. The Warriors got the only powerplay in the opening period. Tassy was called for roughing. Tyler Cristall found some space at the side of the net, Marcus Joughin found him, and Cristall redirected it past Owen Say to open the scoring. The Silverbacks responded nicely, with a flurry of chances late in the period. Although they didn’t solve Johnny Derrick, they gained some momentum. Isaac Lambert had a chance at the top of the circles but was stopped. The next great opportunity came off the stick defenceman Kieran Ruscheinski; he just missed blocker side. The Warriors outshot the Silverbacks 13-11 in the opening twenty minutes.
In the second period, the Warriors got the offence started early. After a turnover at the Silverbacks, blueline Felix Trudeau and Elan Bar-Lev-Wise skated in on a 2 on 1, and the two made a nice give-and-go, and the end result was Bar-Lev-Wise putting it past Say, doubling the Warrior lead. The Silverbacks got their first when Daniel Panetta had his stick slashed out of his hands. The Silverbacks failed to convert. Soon after the Warriors struck again, Trudeau picked up the puck below the goal line, took a shot on goal, and caught Say by surprise, beating him five-hole, extending the lead to 3-0. The Silverbacks got two more powerplay’s near the end of the middle frame, and it served as an opportunity for the Silverbacks to climb back into the hockey game. They created a couple of chances but failed to beat Derrick. The Silverbacks outshot the Warriors 11-10 in the second period.
In the third period, the Silverbacks needed a big push. They started the final frame on a brief 26 second powerplay, but nothing came from it, as the Warriors cleared it twice. After some good pressure in the offensive zone, the Silverbacks finally solved Johnny Derrick. Nathan Mackie was able to find Zack Smith out front, and he roofed it glove side on Derrick cutting the lead to three. However, the Warriors responded 1:30 later. Jake Lammens lost the puck below the goal line, and Nick Roukounakis was able to beat Say from a sharp angle, restoring the Warriors’ three-goal lead. The Silverbacks drop the first two games of this series at home and find themselves in a 0-2 hole heading to West Kelowna for games three and four. Puck drop for Game 3 is slated for 6:00 PM.
