A month ago things got wild between the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and Powell River Kings. Salmon Arm played a strong first 40 minutes heading to the third with a 3-0 lead. The home side would claw back though, and score two late goals to give Salmon Arm a fright, but the Silverbacks were able to buckle down for the two points. That kicked off a long travel weekend for Salmon Arm that saw them collect four out of a possible six points.
Last night saw Salmon Arm fall 4-1 to Vernon marking the first loss to the Vipers this season. Powell River kept things close with the Penticton Vees, but wound up falling 5-3 in the South Okanagan Events Centre. An Interior roadtrip hits it’s halfway mark for Powell River tonight while the Silverbacks had a quick ride home from Vernon.
Tonight marks the debut of Darren Rizzolo who will make his Shaw Centre debut as a member of the Silverbacks. It is also the first home game back for Matthew Verboon after he played on Team Switzerland at the 2019 World Juniors.
In the Standings:
Salmon Arm currently sits fifth in the Interior Division. With the loss to Vernon last night, the Vipers are tied with the Silverbacks in points, but Salmon Arm has played two fewer games and has more wins so they have the current tie breaker. West Kelowna winning in Merritt last night gives them a five point cushion on both teams for fourth, but Salmon Arm does have three games in hand. Langley helped Powell River last night beating the Victoria Grizzlies, but losing to Penticton kept the Kings three points back of first in the Island Division.
Players to Watch:
Silverbacks: He didn’t have the game winner last meeting, but Noah Wakeford did have a pair of goals against the Kings. That kicked off a stretch of five games where he had four goals. He has been held off the scoresheet for two straight games marking the first time that’s happened since the middle of November. Playing on a line with Justin Wilson and Trevor Adams, John Little has three points in the last three games marking his longest point streak of the season!
Kings: Four games without a point is the longest stretch Mitchell Williams has gone since the middle of November. In the first meeting with Salmon Arm, Williams had two assists which was also the last game he had a multi-point game. Currently on a 16 game point streak, Ryan Brushett has rocketed to second in league scoring with 60 points in 39 games. Last night in Penticton, he had one goal and one assist.
TUNE IN
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