Merritt, BC – For the first time this season, the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (12-8-0-1) travelled into Merritt to take on the Centennials (5-13-3-0). The two teams met twice in the pre-season, and will meet a total of five times over the course of the regular season. The Silverbacks are coming off a shutout victory last night over the Cranbrook Bucks, while the Centennials had the evening off following their Friday night loss to the Rivermen. With last nights win, the Silverbacks leapfrogged back into fourth in the interior conference standings.
Carter Richardson (3-1-0-0, 2.94 GAA, .896 S%) got back into the crease for the Silverbacks, while it was Johnny Hicks (4-3-3-0, 3.44 GAA, 833 S%) getting the start for the Centennials.
The Centennials opened up the game in their home arena with a lot of pace as they opened the scoring just over a minute and a half into the game. It was Diego Johnson (5) getting the Centennials on the board to get the Centennials out in front. Just over 3 minutes later it was Walker Erickson (9) getting on the board to double Centennials lead. The Silverbacks fought back in quick order as Aidan Lindblad (3) was able to get one past Hicks to get the Silverbacks on the board. As the period rolled along both teams found themselves in penalty trouble as there was a combined eight minutes of penalty time in quick succession. The Silverbacks were able to strike on their third man advantage as Isaac Lambert (6) was able to get on the board to get the time tied up. Both teams ended the period with three powerplay attempts, as the penalties continued to come throughout the later stages of the opening frame. Shots in the first were 15-13 in favor of Merritt.
The trips to the penalty box did not slow down as the second period moved along. It started off early in the middle frame as Aidan Lindblad went off for a hitting from behind penalty which also resulted in a game misconduct. With that call, the Silverbacks would be down to ten forwards for the remainder of the hockey game. That powerplay was short lived for the Centennials as Tristan Allen went to the box midway through the powerplay which brought a long four on four sequence. Neither team was able to get anything going for the remainder of the period, as both goalies looked solid. The Silverbacks outshot the Centennials 10-8 in the middle frame.
Merritt looked to restore their lead in the opening moments of the final frame but Carter Richardson was up the challenge to keep the game knotted at twos. Just over five minutes into the period, Cj Foley (3) was able to beat Johnny Hicks with a deflected shot from the blueline to give the Silverbacks their first lead of the game. The Centennials were resilient in their comeback efforts as their captain, Davide Patella (5) was able to tie it up late to force overtime. In the extra frame it was Jackson Krill (12) netting the game winner as the Centennials took down the Silverbacks in overtime.
Next up for the Silverbacks will be a three game west coast trip. The will start the road trip on Friday night when they take on the Surrey Eagles. Puck drop will be at 7:00PM.
