A night of royal heroics was cut just short.
Leading 3-0 heading to the third, Salmon Arm would surrender two goals in the final seven minutes but held on to win 3-2. Noah Wakeford had a pair for the Silverbacks while Justin Wilson scored the game winner on the power play.
The opening period saw two goals waved off, but Salmon Arm came out with a 1-0 lead. Three and a half minutes in Justin Wilson setup Trevor Adams for an easy tap in from the slot. As Wilson drove down the left side, he went behind the net and in the process caught a piece of Matteo Paler-Chow’s pad. The goal was immediately waved off and the refs discussed at centre but stuck to the original call.
Just past the halfway mark of the period Neal Samanski was robbed from alone in the slot with a great glove save from Ethan Langenegger. A little more than a minute later and it was Salmon Arm scoring the first good goal of the game. A point shot from Andy Stevens the former King rebounded out and Noah Wakeford jammed in his fourth of the season.
Powell River looked as if they had tied the game just 27 seconds later, but a Josh Coblenz wrap around was called back for goalie interference as a Kings forward had his stick tied up in Langenegger’s pads.
Wakeford scored his second of the game in the middle frame as he squeaked another rebound just over the goal line for the 2-0 Silverbacks lead. The goal came on a five-on-three power play that saw the Silverbacks have 1:26 up two men. Thirteen minutes in Justin Wilson scored Salmon Arm’s third goal of the game. Receiving the puck at the top of the right circle he walked up and sniped a shot into the top right corner. On the power play, it was the Silverback’s second of the game on the man advantage and they finished the night two for five.
Former Trail Smoke Eater Levi Glasman nearly broke the shutout bid for Langenegger in the last minute of the second, but coming down on a two-on-one the Kings forward shot was foiled by a glove save.
Powell River would eventually breakthrough in the third. With six minutes left in the game a point shot from Jack Long was tipped in front of the goal from Coblenz to give the home side some life. They killed off the first four Kings power plays, but the Salmon Arm penalty would finally surrender a goal to the top ranked unit with less than a minute left and the Kings net empty. The league leader in goals Ryan Brushett went cross ice to Samanski who beat a screened Langenegger with 35.6 seconds remaining.
The Kings continued to push, but Salmon Arm would not allow the game tying goal coming away with the 3-2 win. Ethan Langenegger stopped 33 of 35 of shots for the win and was named the second star of the game. Two goals for Wakeford gave him the first star of the game.
Key Performers:
He had a four game streak of sub .900 save percentages, but Ethan Langenegger shut the door on a top scoring Kings offence. With odd man rushes and chances alone in front it was not an easy night, especially facing 27 shots in the final two periods. Salmon Arm has leaned on their goaltending a lot this season, and Langer showed exactly why they can. Known as more of a setup man, Noah Wakeford certainly deserved the two goals he got against Powell River. The tallies ended a 16 game scoring drought. A hound on the puck below the goal line, Wakeford has setup his teammates on countless occasions and it was nice to see him on the scoring end of things.
