SALMON ARM, BC: Zakery Anderson scored his first BCHL goal in the second period, and Owen Say stopped 24/25 to pick up his 16th win of the season, as the Salmon Arm Silverbacks defeated the Vernon Vipers for the second time in as many days.
It was a very special afternoon inside the shaw Centre with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks honouring the Garry Davidson before the game, the man that made BCHL hockey possible in Salmon Arm. The Silverbacks debuted their retro jerseys for the first time, a replica of the first-year uniforms from the early 2000s. The offence got started early when Nathan Mackie jammed home his 4th of the season, Nathan Morin, and Nic Leggett picked up the assists. The offence added to their lead just past the midway point of the opening frame. Nic Leggett chipped the puck up to captain Daniel Panetta who went on a two-on-one with Brandon Santa Juana and kept it himself, roofing it short side over the blocker of Roan Clarke to double the lead. That’s a goal in three straight for Panetta and 13 on the campaign. Each team had a powerplay in the first period, the Silverbacks killed off theirs, and they had 1:27 of powerplay time carry over into the second period. The Vipers outshot the Backs 9-7 in the opening twenty minutes.
In the middle frame, the Silverbacks added to their lead defenceman Mike Ladyman carried the puck into the offensive zone and fed Zakery Anderson. He ripped home his first BCHL goal in his second BCHL game, making it 3-0 Silverbacks. The second period was filled with penalties. The Silverbacks had six powerplays, and the Vipers had three. The Backs had three separate five on three opportunities and were able to cash in on the third opportunity. After Head Coach Tyler Shattock called a timeout, the Silverbacks immediately cashed in. they needed just 20 seconds to strike as Tassy fed Serdachny, who proceeded to one-timer it past Clarke to give the Backs a four-goal lead. The Silverbacks outshot the Vipers 11-6 in the second period.
In the third period, the shots were ten apiece. The Vipers finally solved Owen Say around the five-minute mark as Luke Pakulak beat him short side off the post and in to make it 4-1. The Silverbacks took a pair of penalties in the third period and killed them both off, and they were a perfect 5/5 on the kill this afternoon. With the win, the Silverbacks improve to 22-4-1 on the season and push their winning streak to six straight. They will be back in action next weekend when Trail and Penticton visit the Shaw Centre.
