The Silverbacks (22-10-2-2) get back to practise this week at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm, ahead of back-to-back road games this weekend in both Wenatchee and Penticton.
The ‘Backs fell 6-1 to the Penticton Vees (33-4-1-0) this past Saturday night, January 2nd in Penticton.
The Vees opened the scoring in the opening period with Scott Conway’s 35th at 7:53. Colton Poolman put the home team ahead 2-0 with his sixth at 16:01. The Vees lead 2-0 after 20 minutes and outshot the ‘Backs 17-5 in the first period.
Nic Jones scored the first goal of the middle period, his 10th at 7:57 as the Vees went ahead 3-0. Conway’s second of the game and 36th made the score 4-0 at 15:32. And Conway completed his hat-trick with his 37th of the season at 17:11, 5-0 on the power-play with the Silverbacks Ryley Booth penalized for high-sticking. Taylor Ward’s 2nd gave the Vees a 6-0 lead after 40 minutes.
Angus Redmond started in goal for the ‘Backs but was replaced by 17-year-old call-up Nic Tallarico. Redmond allowed six goals on 22 shots. Tallarico of Surrey, B.C. is with the Valley West Hawks in Langley in the B.C. Major Midget League. Brandon Kegler sat out injured after starting and leaving Friday’s 5-2 victory at home over the Surrey Eagles (5-31-1-0).
Penticton outshot the Silverbacks 11-10 in the second.
The Silverbacks scored the lone goal of the third, Josh Blanchard’s 12th with 4:17 remaining and on the power-play with Nic Jones off for goaltender interference.
The ‘Backs outshot the Vees 13-7 in the third, but the Vees outshot the visitors 35-28 total. Tallarico stopped all seven shots he faced in his first regular season action with the Silverbacks.
The ‘Backs still lead the season series with the Vees after two wins, 4-2 in Salmon Arm on September 11th and 5-2 at the Shaw Centre on December 11th. The ‘Backs fell 5-4 in overtime in Penticton in the last meeting on Saturday, December 12th, 2015.
Cam Coutre, Marcus Mitchell and Mitch Newsome each sat out in Penticton and will miss Friday’s game in Wenatchee as they serve two game suspensions for being involved in a multiple fight situation in the third period of Friday’s win at home over the last place team in the BCHL. ‘Backs head coach Brandon West watched Saturday’s game in Penticton after a one game suspension for his players involved that multiple fight situation. Assistant coaches Misko Antisin and Brooks Christensen worked the Silverbacks bench on Saturday night. Michael Winnitoy and Sam De Melo each got back into the line-up, along with 17-year-old forward Justin Wilson of the BCMML’s Vancouver North West Giants.
The Vees remain atop the Interior Division and BCHL with 67 points. The ‘Backs sit second in the Division, and now tied with the West Kelowna Warriors (23-14-0-2). Each have 48 points, but Silverbacks have three games in hand on the Warriors who won 7-2 at home over Surrey on Sunday.
The ‘Backs are now 10-6-0-1 on the road, 13-4-0-2 in the Interior. The Silverbacks have scored 148 goals in 36 regular season games, while allowing 105.
The Silverbacks will make their first trip south of the border later this week on Friday, January 8th to take on the Wenatchee Wild (22-10-3-2) at 7:05p.m. The ‘Backs and Wild tied 4-4 back at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm on Friday, October 2nd. The Wild lost 3-2 at home to the Chilliwack Chiefs (24-8-1-4) on Sunday in Wenatchee.
The Silverbacks will be back in Penticton on Saturday at 6p.m. The ‘Backs play a total of 12 games in January, including seven on the road.
The BCHL trade and roster deadline is set for this Sunday, January 10th.
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.
