Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks (12-3-1) will look to build on Sunday’s shutout win when they host the Surrey Eagles (5-10-1) on Wednesday night at the Shaw Centre.
After their three-game winning steak was snapped this past Friday by the West Kelowna Warriors, the Backs rebounded to beat the Nanaimo Clippers 2-0 on Sunday. They outshot their opponent for the 13th time this season.
This is the first of two head-to-head meetings between Surrey and Salmon Arm and the only meeting at the Shaw Centre this year. The second matchup will take place in Surrey on Jan. 26 at the tail end of a three-in-three.
The Eagles are coming off a 1-1 weekend where they beat Powell River 5-3 on Friday but then lost 5-3 to the Langley Rivermen on Saturday.
Today’s game has the usual 7 p.m. puck drop.
3 Storylines
1) Eagles Struggling
The Surrey Eagles have been inconsistent this season, which is why they’re currently in the basement of the Mainland Division. They began the year with two wins, then dropped three straight, then went 2-1 and are now in the middle of a 1-6-1 slide. While they may only have one win in their last eight, seven of those contests have been decided by two goals or less, so they’ve definitely been able to stick around in games.
Goal scoring dried up in the midst of a six-game losing streak from Sept. 29 to Oct. 13 (11 goals in six games), but they do appear to be turning it around with eight goals in their last two games.
2) Backs Need Consistency
The last time the Silverbacks played a team significantly lower in the standings, the effort wasn’t there for a full 60 minutes and the result was a regulation loss to West Kelowna. That just can’t happen again.
Penticton is just two points behind the Backs and Trail is just five points behind in the standings (two teams who go head-to-head Wednesday), so these two points up for grabs are very important, especially with Salmon Arm heading down to Wenatchee for a double-header this weekend.
3) Rybarik Doing Wonders at Even Strength…Again
Silverbacks winger Daniel Rybarik has three goals and one assist in his last three games. What really stands out is that his power play goal on Sunday — his ninth tally of the year — was the first of the season for him with the man advantage. Rybarik was signed this off-season mostly due to his stellar 5-on-5 goal scoring the past two seasons with the Calgary Mustangs in the AJHL, where he potted 25 goals at even-strength in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.
So far with the Backs it’s been no different, as his eight even-strength goals lead the entire BCHL. His five game-winning-goals also rank first in the league.
Players to Watch
SILVERBACKS: NOAH WAKEFORD
Wakeford picked up a couple more assists on Sunday to give him 20 points this season in just 16 games. The line of him, Drew Bennett and Daniel Rybarik was once again very strong at both ends of the ice and produced both goals (one was on the power play).
It won’t be long before Wakeford surpasses his goal total from all of last season (currently at seven; had eight last year in 32 games).
EAGLES: HUDSON SCHANDOR
Schandor played 91 regular season games (25G, 28A) for the Silverbacks over two seasons before being traded to Surrey this off-season in a multi-player transaction. The Vancouver native has had a strong start to the year for the Eagles, with eight goals and six assists for 14 points in 16 games, including his first career BCHL hat-trick last Friday.
Upcoming Milestones
William Porier: 1 point from 100 career junior points (including CHL)
Daniel Rybarik: 5 points from 125 career CJHL points (including AJHL)
Nick Unruh: 5 assists from 50 career BCHL assists
Noah Wakeford: 3 goals from 25 career BCHL goals
Tune In
Tonight’s game will be on EZ Rock as usual and will also be streamed live on HockeyTV.
Visit tickets.sasilverbacks.com for tickets or purchase them at the Shaw Centre box office.
