Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks (13-3-1) go for their fourth straight victory on Saturday night when they take on the Wenatchee Wild (9-6-2) at Town Toyota Center for the second night in a row.
Last night, the Silverbacks got the ‘W’ by an 8-5 score, but it wasn’t pretty at times.
This is the third of seven head-to-head meetings between Wenatchee and Salmon Arm. In addition to last night, the Backs also beat the Wild 3-2 on Oct. 4 at the BCHL Showcase. The Interior Division rivals will also battle on Nov. 17 and 21 in Salmon Arm, on Dec. 13 back in Wenatchee and on Feb. 16 back at the Shaw Centre.
Tonight’s game has a 7:05 p.m. puck drop.
3 Storylines
1) Special Teams
Both power plays were given ample opportunity last night and both executed, with each team scoring three times on the man advantage. The difference in the game, however, was arguably the Backs’ PK going 4-for-4 in the third period, much in part thanks to some unbelievable saves from Ethan Langenegger.
If the Wild get eight power play opportunities again tonight, the Backs will be playing with fire.
2) Depth
The Silverbacks got eight goals from seven different players last night and they also now have four players in the top-10 in league scoring (Noah Wakeford, Akito Hirose, William Poirier, Daniel Rybarik).
While the Wild don’t have as much high-end talent, their bottom-six played very well last night, particularly the Hunter Hastings, Nicholas Chmelevski and Quinn Emerson line.
If the score does get high once again tonight, depth could very well win the day.
3) Get the Crowd Out of the Game
The Silverbacks were unable to set the tone right off the bat last night, as the Wild took control and outshot the Backs 10-2 in the first 12 minutes and got out to a 1-0 lead. With tonight’s crowd at Town Toyota expected to be even greater than last night’s 1,888, it will be crucial for Salmon Arm not to get behind the eight ball this time.
Players to Watch
SILVERBACKS: JAYDEN PRICE
Price had a pair of assists last night, both of which came on the power play. His ability to play both forward and defence have proven to be invaluable to the Backs.
His 10 points this season rank in the top-20 in the league among rookies.
WILD: LUKE ORMSBY
After scoring twice an adding an assist in Wednesday’s 6-0 win over the West Kelowna, Scottsdale, AZ native Ormsby scored again last night, giving him six goals in nine games this season.
The former Everett Silvertip, Seattle Thunderbird and Moose Jaw Warrior has two shorthanded goals this season, two power play goals and two even-strength goals.
Upcoming Milestones
Daniel Rybarik: 2 points from 125 career CJHL points (including AJHL)
Nick Unruh: 4 assists from 50 career BCHL assists
Noah Wakeford: 1 goal from 25 career BCHL goals
Current Point Streaks
Akito Hirose: 6 games (9 assists)
Daniel Rybarik: 3 games (3 goals, 2 assists)
Noah Wakeford: 3 games (2 goals, 2 assists)
Tune In
Tonight’s game will be on EZ Rock as usual and will also be streamed live on HockeyTV.
