Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks lost 4-2 to the Vernon Vipers on Sunday afternoon at the Shaw Centre, despite outshooting the opposition 45-35.
Their record now stands at 21-15-2, two points up on both Wenatchee and Vernon for third place in the Interior Division.
GAME SUMMARY
Salmon Arm came out flying in this one, throwing everything at the net and out-shooting the Vipes 10-3 in the first several minutes.
Unlike Saturday, this time it was the Vipers who opened the scoring, after Cameron MacDonald was the first one to a loose puck in the crease area on a power play and deposited it to the back of the net for his 11th of the year.
The Silverbacks responded just 30 seconds later, when Akito Hirose wired one past James Porter Jr. to even things up.
Just 1:35 after the captain’s goal, the visitors would re-take the lead on yet another goal from MacDonald. This time, the 17-year-old ripped a shot top corner right from the slot after a great feed from Jo-Jo Tanaka-Campbell.
After one period, the Silverbacks trailed 2-1, but led in shots on goal 18-12.
Just 1:01 into the middle frame, the Vipers converted on a power play for the second time, after defenceman Trey Taylor’s point shot changed direction in front and ended up going over the glove of Ethan Langenegger.
Mid-way through the period, the Silverbacks cut the deficit to one right after a power play expired, as Hirose fed a cross-ice pass to Rybarik, who banged home the puck for his 20th goal of the season.
After 40 minutes of play, the Backs were once again down by a goal, and had a 34-24 edge in shots on goal.
The chances were hard to come by in the first half of the third period, but eventually the Silverbacks got their mojo back. They controlled the play for almost the entire final six minutes, getting chance after chance, but unfortunately Porter Jr. stood tall.
Vernon added an empty-netter with 3.7 seconds to go to make it a 4-2 final.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
Akito Hirose, Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Hirose had another multi-point outing, picking up his 40th point of the season. He now has three goals and five assists for eight points during a four-game point streak.
James Porter Jr., Vernon Vipers: Porter Jr. finished the night with 43 saves on 45 shots, including stopping 17 of 18 in the first period. Even though it was just his third win in eight games, he now carries a .925 SV% on the season.
Daniel Rybarik, Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Rybarik picked up his 20th tally of the season and now has four goals and six points in his last four games. He is the fifth player in the BCHL to hit 20 goals this season.
For the full boxscore, click here.
STAT OF THE GAME
Vipers PP 2-for-3: After the Backs power play was a key in Saturday’s win, the Vipers power play came up big on Sunday, going 2-for-3.
THEY SAID IT
Post-game quote from skills coach Carter Cochrane: “We were really happy with the effort we gave from our entire group for the entire 60 minutes. I think the shot totals were representative of that. Five-on-five, we felt like we carried the play and they didn’t really have much of an answer for us at even-strength.”
WHAT’S NEXT
The Silverbacks are at home for the next five games, starting Friday, Jan. 3 against the Penticton Vees. They also host the Coquitlam Express next weekend, with that contest set for 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 5.
All games can be heard on 91.5 EZ Rock with the pre-game show starting half an hour before puck drop. Fans can also stream the games on HockeyTV.
