After four tilts against West Kelowna in their first 16 games, Salmon Arm hasn’t seen the Warriors since October 26th 2018.
Each team has been strong at home this season winning with the fans at their back. West Kelowna started the season series winning 5-3 in Royal LePage place and the last meeting between the two ended in the Warriors pulling out a 4-1 victory.
In the Shaw Centre, Salmon Arm has bested the Warriors by scores of 4-1 and 5-2. On 11 combined power plays in the Shaw Centre, neither team has scored on the power play. The Silverbacks have raced up in that category in the last three weeks. On January 10th they sat 16th in the league, but the return of Matthew Verboon has rocketed the unit to sixth in the league. The home team is coming off a three for three performance against the Trail Smoke Eaters where they also scored a goal with the goalie pulled during a delayed penalty.
West Kelowna’s unit has had the fourth least power plays to work with this season, but have been highly efficient operating at 23.6% which is good for second in the league. Against Salmon Arm, the Warriors are one for 20 while the Silverbacks power play is two for 14. On Wednesday against the Surrey Eagles, West Kelowna was two for three on the PP.
This game kicks off a busy span for Salmon Arm that sees them play 11 games in the span of just 23 days. The two sides both play in West Kelowna Saturday, and the Silverbacks next home game is Tuesday against the Coquitlam Express who are currently third in the Mainland division and made a big splash at the trade deadline acquiring Ty Westgard from the Surrey Eagles.
A key to this game, and this month in general will be secondary scoring. In the month of Janaury (11 games) the team had one goal from a defenceman, and four goals from forwards not in the top seven for forward scoring. Still missing Hudson Schandor and Noah Wakeford to injury, the top line has been clicking for the team, but they need help.
In the Standings:
This is why it’s such a huge weekend for both teams. West Kelowna currently has home ice advantage in the playoffs holding onto the number four spot in the Interior Division. After a win Wednesday night against the Surrey Eagles, West Kelowna sits four points ahead of Salmon Arm with one extra game played. A sweep for Salmon Arm this weekend would tie the two teams up, while a West K sweep would put Salmon Arm eight points back. With no more head to head matchups this season, this is Salmon Arm’s best chance to catch up in what is essentially an eight point weekend.
Players to Watch:
Silverbacks: In two games at home against the Warriors, Tyson Gayfer paces the Salmon Arm Silverbacks with two goals and two assists in two games. The first time these two teams met, Gayfer scored shorthanded for the first Silverbacks goal of the game, and in the second period scored on what would stand as the game winner. He hasn’t played in West Kelowna, so he is averaging two points per game against the Warriors. Starters haven’t been announced yet, but if the team continues to rotate goalies, it should be Ethan Langenegger in goal. Against West Kelowna in the Shaw Centre, the rookie netminder has only allowed three goals in two games played stopping 46 of 49 shots faced.
Warriors: Over a point per game player this season, Chase Dubois hasn’t found the same success against Salmon Arm with just one assist in four games. A ten game point streak that ended in early January saw Dubois score 20 points in 10 games. He has eight points in the last six games, but that’s s somewhat deceiving stat as he has only picked up points in three of those games. Wednesday against the Eagles he had four assists. He leads the league in power play assists this season with 21. Leading West Kelowna in points against the Silverbacks is Air Force commit Willie Reim. The future teammate of Trevor Adams started the season with a hat-trick for his team, but cooled off in the next three games putting up a combined two assists. Max Bulawka has five points as well for the Warriors all coming in the form of assists.
TUNE IN
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