Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks (19-10-2) take on the Nanaimo Clippers (21-8-2) on Friday night at Frank Crane Arena, the first of three straight road games on Vancouver Island.
This is the second and final head-to-head meeting this season. The Silverbacks won the first meeting 2-0 on home ice on Oct. 20.
Tonight’s game has a 7 p.m. puck drop.
Last Time Out
The Backs are coming off a 2-0 loss to the Vernon Vipers on home six days ago— the very first time they had been shut out this season.
Before Saturday’s defeat, the Backs were edged 4-2 by the Langley Rivermen on Friday.
A Closer Look
Salmon Arm had a tough November, finishing up the month with a 4-7-1 record. They have scored six goals in the their last five games.
Noah Wakeford and Akito Hirose are tied for the team lead with 32 points apiece, each ranking just outside the top-10 in the BCHL. The Silverbacks will be without the services of forward Luke Mylymok because he is in Dawson Creek, B.C. suiting up for Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge
On the road, the Backs are 6-5-2 this season.
The Opposition
The Clippers are coming of a 4-3 regulation loss to the Coquitlam Express on Sunday. They also played on the road last weekend in Wenatchee and West Kelowna, beating the Wild 7-1 on Friday and topping the Warriors 4-3 in overtime on Saturday.
Ethan Scardina leads the team in goals (14) and points (30), but will not be available because he is also on Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge. Kyler Kovich, who ranks fourth with 21 points, will also be playing for Canada West this weekend. Brandon Dent, just acquired from the West Kelowna Warriors, also has 21 points this season.
Nanaimo is 12-3-1 on home ice this season. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games.
Notable Versus Nanaimo
The Backs have only met the Clippers once this season, in which Ethan Langenegger recorded a 33-save shutout and Daniel Rybarik had the game-winning-goal.
Over the last five years, the Backs are a combined 8-0-1 against the Clippers in the regular season.
Players to Watch
SILVERBACKS: LUCAS BREAULT
Breault was just acquired from the St. Michael’s Buzzers and will make his debut on Friday, after suiting up in 31 games for Union College in the NCAA for the last season and a half.
CLIPPERS: JOSHUA BOURNE
Bourne ranks second on the team with 26 points, including three goals and four points in his last three games.
Upcoming Milestones
Nick Unruh: 4 points from 100 career BCHL points
Noah Wakeford: 2 games from 125 career BCHL games
Tune In
Pre-game coverage on EZ Rock starts at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will also be streamed live on HockeyTV.
