Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks (19-14-2) play their final game before the winter break this afternoon when they host the Trail Smoke Eaters (21-12-4) at the Shaw Centre in the annual Teddy Bear Toss game.
This is the fifth of six head-to-head meetings this season. The Backs have gone 3-1 against the Smoke Eaters so far, winning 4-2 on Sept. 13, 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 14 and 2-1 in a shootout on Nov. 2. Their lone defeat was on Nov. 1 at the Shaw Centre, when the Smoke Eaters won 5-4 in regulation.
The final meeting between the clubs will be on Feb. 21 in Trail.
This afternoon’s game has a 3 p.m. puck drop.
Last Time Out
The Backs are coming off a heartbreaking 6-5 loss to the Wenatchee Wild on Friday night.
The Silverbacks erased a 3-0 deficit and took a 4-3 lead into the third period, but the Wild scored three goals in a span of 2:05 late in the game to take the win.
The Silverbacks are now 0-8-1 in their last nine games.
A Closer Look
Salmon Arm exploded for five goals on Friday, the first time they had scored five or more goals in a game since Nov. 9 against Merritt. The Silverbacks power play also converted on Friday and is now 2-for-10 in the last three games after going 0-for-16 in the previous five games.
Forward Lucas Breault scored again on Friday and now has six points in four games as a Silverback, after making his debut last Friday. Noah Wakeford tallied two goals on Friday and now leads the team with 34 points, a new career high for him.
The Backs are 13-5 on home ice this season, the best in the Interior Division.
The Opposition
The Smoke Eaters are coming of a 4-3 win over the West Kelowna Warriors on Friday night. The Smoke Eaters saw Philippe Lapointe, Kent Johnson, Owen Ozar and Powell Connor all return to the lineup after suiting up for Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge. Johnson and Lapointe each recorded two points on Friday, while Connor and Ozar had one assist each.
Johnson continues to lead the BCHL in points by a significant margin, now with 61 points in 33 games. Michael Collella is third in the league with 44 points and Ozar is tied for fourth with 40 points.
Trail is 11-7-2 on the road this season. They are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games.
Notable Versus Trail
The Backs and Smoke Eaters last met for back-to-back games on Nov. 1 and 2 at the Shaw Centre in two of the most entertaining games of the season. The first game finished 5-4 for the Smoke Eaters and the second was a 2-1 shootout victory for the Silverbacks where both Nick Unruh and William Poirier scored in the shootout.
Noah Wakeford has seven points in the four head-to-head games so far this season, leading all skaters on both sides. Daniel Rybarik has four points in four games, as does Poirier (injured).
Players to Watch
SILVERBACKS: NOAH WAKEFORD
As mentioned, Wakeford leads all skaters in head-to-head scoring this season with seven points in four games, but he’s also coming off a two-goal game on Friday.
SMOKE EATERS: TYLER GHIRADOSI
Ghiradosi scored twice in Friday’s 4-3 win over the Warriors and twice in Wednesday’s win over the Wenatchee Wild. He now has 24 points in his last 19 games and 32 on the season as a whole.
Upcoming Milestones
Nick Unruh: 4 points from 100 career BCHL points
Tune In
Pre-game coverage on EZ Rock starts at 2:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 3 p.m. The game will also be streamed live on HockeyTV.
