The Silverbacks (10-3-2-0) and Vernon Vipers (8-8-0-1) face-off tonight (Wednesday) at 7p.m. in Vernon in the first meeting of the regular season involving the Interior Division rivals, and the lone game in the Interior tonight among the three games around the BCHL. The ‘Backs have won their last four games, outscoring their opponents 20-11 and are 6-2-1-0 in October, while the Vipers have lost their last two games and are 5-5-0-0 in October.
The Vipers were shutout 2-0 at home by the Victoria Grizzlies this past Saturday, October 24th and fell 3-2 at home to the West Kelowna Warriors on Friday, October 23rd. Vernon is 5-4-0-1 in it’s first 10 games at home.
The Silverbacks have five wins and just one loss in six road games, after getting past the Merritt Centennials 5-4 on Sunday, October 25th in the Nicola Valley. The ‘Backs killed off all six of the Centennials power-plays and finished three-for-six with the man-advantage. The Silverbacks penalty-kill is now ranked third in the BCHL at 85.71%, while their power-play is fifth at 20.78%. The Vipers PP is 11th at 17.86%, with their penalty-kill ranked seventh at 83.13%. The Silverbacks have scored 16 power-play markers, and the Vipers have 15 with the man-advantage while the ‘Backs have allowed 13 power-play goals, and the Vipers have allowed 14 short-handed. The Silverbacks lead the BCHL with five short-handed goals, and the Vipers have scored twice short-handed.
Ross Heidt scored twice in Merritt on Sunday and is still atop the team in goals scored with 11. Taro Hirose finished with three assists versus the Cents, and Josh Blanchard had two helpers. Blanchard is now second in team scoring, with six goals and 12 assists in 15 games. Nick Hutchison leads with seven goals and 12 assists in his first 15, as the 20-year-old second season Silverback of Hicksville, New York announced on Sunday his commitment to the NCAA Div 1 Canisius College Golden Griffins of the Atlantic Hockey Conference. Hirose leads the team in assists with 15 and two goals for 17 points in 15 games.
18-year-old and import Odeen Tufto leads the Vipers with seven goals and 13 assists in his first 17 BCHL games. Liam Finlay has six goals and 10 assists, as well as Steven Jandric has six goals and eight assists in his first full season in the BCHL.
The Silverbacks have scored 66 goals in 17 games, just one goal behind the Vees for the most in the BCHL. The ‘Backs have allowed 41 goals, the third fewest behind Penticton and Powell River. Vernon has scored 57 goals and is ranked seventh, along with the Vipers 47 goals against tying for seventh.
The Silverbacks are 6-1-0-0 versus the division and have outscored their rivals 33-21 in seven games, while the Vipers are 4-3-0-0 in their first seven division games and have outscored the Interior 25-17.
The Silverbacks have 22 points in 15 games and atop the Interior Division, eight points behind the first place Penticton Vees (15-1) who still lead the division and the BCHL with 30 points in 16 games. The West Kelowna Warriors trail the ‘Backs by two, while the Vipers are in fourth and five behind the Silverbacks. The Centennials sit fifth and nine behind with the Silverbacks. The Trail Smoke Eaters (6-9) are in sixth, just two points behind the Cents.
The Silverbacks next action is coming up this weekend with a home-and-home set versus the Warriors beginning on Friday, October 30th at 7p.m. at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm and finishing on Saturday, October 31st at 7p.m. in West Kelowna. The Vipers next action will be their only game of the weekend, at home to the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday.
The ‘Backs and Vipers won’t meet again until a back-to-back, home-and-home set which begins on Friday, November 27th at the Shaw Centre at 7p.m. The Silverbacks and Vees second and third meetings of the season are not until December 11th and 12th, beginning on the Friday at the Shaw Centre at 7p.m. The ‘Backs are the only team to have beaten the Vees to date, a 4-2 victory to open the season on Friday, September 11th in Salmon Arm.
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.
