The Silverbacks fell 3-1 to the West Kelowna Warriors last night (Saturday) in West Kelowna. And the ‘Backs dropped back-to-back games this weekend, after a 5-4 loss in overtime to the Warriors on Friday at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm.
The Warriors scored the only goal in the first period on Saturday night, a power-play marker with less than one second remaining.
West Kelowna outshot the Silverbacks 14-10 in the opening period, with Angus Redmond starting in goal for the visitors and Keelan Williams got the call again for the Warriors.
West Kelowna went ahead 2-0 at 3:57, the Warriors third short-handed goal of the weekend, in back-to-back games versus the Silverbacks. And less than two minutes later, the Warriors went up 3-0. Brandon Kelger then came into the game, relieving Redmond after three goals on 19 shots.
West Kelowna outshot the Silverbacks 14-11 in the middle period and took a 3-0 lead into the third.
Colton Thibault scored the ‘Backs first and only goal, with the man-advantage at 14:53.
The Silverbacks outshot the Warriors 13-5 in the third, and the ‘Backs finished ahead of the shot clock 34-33 total.
The Silverbacks are now 7-2-0-1 versus the Interior Division, 6-2-0-0 in eight road games and finish the month of October 7-3-1-1 in 12 games overall.
Both the Warriors and Silverbacks each have three points after three games in the season series. The Silverbacks and Warriors will meet next on Saturday, November 14th at 7p.m. at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm.
The Penticton Vees won their 17th consecutive game on Saturday night, 3-0 over the Centennials in Merritt as the Vees still lead the Interior Division and the BCHL with 34 points in 18 games. The Silverbacks (11-4-2-1) have 25 points in 17 games and are atop the Interior, nine points behind the Vees. The Warriors (11-5-0-2) sit third and trail the ‘Backs by just one point, while the Vernon Vipers (9-9-0-1) sit in fourth and six behind the Silverbacks. The Merritt Centennials (6-13-0-1) are in fifth and 12 points behind the Silverbacks. The Trail Smoke Eaters (6-10) are in sixth, just one point behind the Cents.
The Silverbacks were without defensemen Ryley Booth and Damian Chreck for the two games with the Warriors. Booth served a two game suspension from the BCHL for a blow to the head, a major penalty in Vernon versus the Vipers on Wednesday, November 28th. As well as, Chreck was hit awkwardly on Wednesday in the first meeting with the Vipers and sat out as a precaution.
The Silverbacks will use this first week of November to prepare for three games in as many days next weekend, on the road in the Mainland Division. The ‘Backs will visit the Surrey Eagles (4-13-0-0) at 7p.m. on Friday, November 6th, and take on the Langley Rivermen (10-6-0-0) at 7p.m. on Saturday, November 7th before meeting the Chilliwack Chiefs (10-5-1-2) at 5p.m. on Sunday, November 8th.
The ‘Backs next home game at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm will be on Friday, November 13th at 7p.m. versus the Centennials, and the Silverbacks will host the Warriors on Saturday, November 14th at 7p.m.
The Silverbacks played 12 games in 31 days in October, one of their busiest months of the season. The ‘Backs will play 12 games in both January and February of 2016 as well. The ‘Backs have nine games scheduled in November, five on the road and four at home.
Nick Hutchison leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 14 assists in 18 games. Ross leads the Silverbacks with 12 goals, along six assists.
Each Silverbacks and BCHL game is webcast live, PPV http://bchl.fasthockey.com as well as each ‘Backs road game is broadcast live at CKVS 93.7 FM http://voiceoftheshuswap.ca Each home game is broadcast at http://bit.ly/1s0deO7 Tune into CKVS each Monday night throughout the season beginning at 7p.m. for 30 minutes or more of Silverbacks talk, including interviews and news from around the BCHL.
