Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks (19-11-2) travel to Alberni Valley to take on the Bulldogs (15-12-2) on Saturday night at Wayerhaeuser Arena.
This is the first of two head-to-head meetings this season. The two clubs will also meet on Jan. 10 in Salmon Arm. Tonight’s game has a 7 p.m. puck drop.
Last Time Out
The Backs are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Nanaimo Clippers on Friday night, a game where they out-shot the Clippers 38-29.
Lucas Breault tallied the only goal in the game for the Backs, striking just over nine minutes into his first game as a Silverback, with Jayden Price drawing the lone assist.
A Closer Look
Salmon Arm had their best effort in quite some time on Friday, so they’ll be looking to build off that on Saturday. Despite just seven goals in their last six games overall, the Backs generated plenty of scoring chances on Friday.
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.
On the road, the Backs are 6-6-2 this season.
The Opposition
The Bulldogs are coming of a 4-3 regulation win over the Victoria Grizzlies on Friday night. They also beat Merritt 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday, after erasing a three-goal deficit.
Mitch Deelstra leads the team in goals (16) and points (30), while Ryan Doolin ranks second in points with 28. The Bulldogs leading defensive scorer is Tim Gould with 16 points.
Alberni Valley is 11-3-1 on home ice this season. They are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.
Notable Versus Alberni Valley
The Backs haven’t met the Bulldogs yet this season, but went 2-1 against them last season.
Over the last five years, the Backs are a combined 8-2 against the Bulldogs in the regular season.
Players to Watch
SILVERBACKS: JAYDEN PRICE
Price assisted on the lone goal on Friday and now has 14 points this season, good for sixth on the Backs.
BULLDOGS: JACOB BOSSE
Bosse has nine points (4G, 5A) in his last nine games and 17 on the season as a whole.
Upcoming Milestones
Nick Unruh: 4 points from 100 career BCHL points
Noah Wakeford: Will be playing in his 125th career BCHL game
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.
