It’s taken two and a half months, but the Silverbacks and Wenatchee Wild are finally setup to faceoff.
Last year in six meetings the two sides split the series with three wins each. Both were 2-1 on home ice. In the three games played at the Shaw Centre, Salmon Arm outscored the Wild 7-6.
Both sides are coming off losses Friday night. Salmon Arm dropped just their second game in regulation at the Shaw Centre this season falling 3-2 to the Merritt Centennials. Four of the five goals were scored on a five minute power play for Salmon Arm in the second period with the Silverbacks getting two power play goals and the Cents getting two shorthanded markers. Trevor Adams scored his tenth goal of the season making him the first Silverback to hit double digits in goals. Returning to the lineup for the first time in nearly a month, Tyson Gayfer scored the other goal for the home side. It was the rookie’s fifth goal in just 13 games.
Last night Salmon Arm hit a new season high for attendance with 1177 fans coming in the building. That number just beat out the record they set last Saturday when the Vernon Vipers came to the Shaw Centre and played with 1169 fans.
Wenatchee has been been busy the last four days playing in Merritt Wednesday and Trail last night. The Wild overcame a two goal deficit Wednesday to win 3-2 in Merritt, but lost by the same score line last night to the Smoke Eaters. Salmon Arm will look to take advantage of some likely tired legs as the Wild have put a lot of miles on their bus in the past few days, and tonight will be the third game in just four nights. PJ Fletcher and Lucas Sowder both scored for the Wild last night. Wenatchee was unable to score on four power play opportunities but did kill off the four penalties they took.
Players to Watch:
Silverbacks: One would think the plan for Tyson Gayfer last night would be to ease into the lineup for the first time playing in nearly a month. Instead he played so well he forced the coaches to give him more and more ice time. Coming back from injury, Gayfer didn’t appear to play with any fear in his game and was right in the thick of a few corner puck battles. With the goalies flipping games this season, expect Ethan Langenegger to get the start for Salmon Arm against the Wild. Wenatchee is a team famous for taking lots of shots and not allowing many so there’s a good chance the young netminder will be tested tonight. It will also be the first time Langenegger has played in a game against the Wild.
Wild: The Wild have two new peas in a pod this season. Christophe Tellier and Christophe Fillion are both nearly point per game players from Sherbrooke, Quebec. They both got off to hot starts with nine points in their first five points but have since cooled off to just under a point per game. Tellier is more the setup man with seven goals and 11 assists while Fillion is the trigger man scoring 11 goals and assisting on eight goals. Both are with Wenatchee this year and next, then will take their talents to Quinnipiac.
TUNE IN
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