MERRITT, BC: The Salmon Arm Silverbacks scored four unanswered goals in the third period to erase a 3-2 deficit and propel them to a 6-3 victory on the road in Merritt.
In the first period, the Silverbacks got on the board early. Will Lavigne let go a point shot, and it found its way into the net for his first BCHL goal. Daniel Panetta picked up the lone assist on the play, Merritt answered right back with a goal of their own. Jackson Krill beat Liam Vanderkooi under the arm short side to tie it at one. The Centennials got another one when Ryan Mulrenin picked up a loose puck in front of Vanderkooi, and he out-waited the goaltender and backhanded it over the pad to give the Cents the lead. Each team had a powerplay, and they both failed to convert. The Silverbacks outshot the Centennials 17-11 in the opening frame.
The middle frame was filled with penalties—thirteen penalties alone in the middle frame. The Silverbacks got the first powerplay opportunity of the period, and they immediately took advantage just 17 seconds into the powerplay, Daniel Panetta was able to jam home his 14th of the year past Hicks to tie the game at two. However, just 16 seconds after the Silverbacks tied the game, the Centennials counted when Ashton Taylor let go a shot from the boards, and it found a way past Vanderkooi for a 3-2 lead. Then the Silverbacks got into penalty trouble. After a scrum in front of the net that resulted in Vanderkooi getting mowed over, the Silverbacks came to the defence of their puck-stopper. Tassy was given ten-minute misconduct, while Lavigne was given a cross-checking penalty, then shortly after that, the Silverbacks were caught with too many men on the ice, putting them on a 5 on 3 penalty kill. Twice in the second period, they were down two men for lengthy periods, and both times they were able to kill them off. One for 1:56, and the other:56. The Silverbacks were a perfect 7/7 on the penalty kill through two periods. The Silverbacks outshot the Cents 15-10 in the middle frame but trailed a goal heading into the final frame.
In the third period, the penalties continued to pile up on both sides. Almost 20 total through the game. Putting that all aside, the Silverbacks had a task at hand, mount a third-period comeback. The youngster led the charge as Owen Beckner cut into the offensive zone and ripped a shot bar-down far side past Hicks to tie the game. It was his 3rd of the season, and the Silverbacks were just getting started. Not even a minute late, they struck again. This time it was Serdachny popping home a loose puck to make it 4-3. It was his 16th of the season. Moments later, Bourgault found the back of the net after an excellent feed in front by Tassy. Tassy added his own goal to make it 6-3 after he tipped a Ladyman point shot for his league-leading 27th of the year. The Silverbacks outshot the Cents 20-9 in the third period and 52-29 overall. These two teams will meet inside the Shaw Centre Wednesday night for a 7:00 PM puck drop.
