Missing a number of bodies in their lineup, the Silverbacks couldn’t find their offense losing in West Kelowna 4-1.
The Warriors got their fans on their feet early with Lucas Cullen scoring just over five minutes in. Coming out from the left, a collison in front of the goal left Ethan Langenegger with a teammate on top of him, and Cullen was able to slide the puck in. Three minutes later on a power play it looked as if West Kelowna had doubled their lead, but a tip in front of the net from Parm Dhaliwal was called back for the puck not crossing the line. Seconds later Chase Dubois was robbed on the doorstep from Langenegger who got his pad over.
Trevor Adams came out of the box, and made West K pay for not taking advantage of the power play. Streaking up the right wing, the team’s leading goal scorer snapped a shot that was kicked away by the pads of Brock Baier playing in his sixth game. The rebound went right to Yewta Plamondon, and coming off an injury that kept him out for a few weeks, the Quesnel native knocked the rebound in for his first BCHL goal.
A late goal for West Kelowna put the home side ahead with 1:24 to go in the power play. Two of the most dangerous Warriors came down on a two on one. A Willie Reim pass made its way over to Mike Hardman who scored to make it 2-1 Warriors.
Another early goal from West Kelowna extended their lead to 3-1 as Captain Cavin Tilsley scored on a breakaway for his first goal of the year. The Warriors would earn a two man power play for 1:35, but the Silverbacks penalty came up huge stopping the home power play, and not allowing any great chances. Akito Hirose and Andy Stevens spent the entire time on the backend, while Aiden Jenner and Hudson Schandor split the time up front.
The third period would see Salmon Arm draw a five-on-three of their own but were denied by a great showing from Brock Baier in goal. An empty net goal from Bennett Norlin on his 20th birthday completed the scoring with West Kelowna pulling out the final score.
Fast Facts:
- In the last five road games, Salmon Arm has scored a combined five goals, and in the last three they have one.
- All four games this season between the Warriors and Silverbacks have seen the home side win.
- Salmon Arm’s penalty is now 19 for 20 on the season against the Warriors power play which came into the game at 21.6%.
Key Performer:
It was a tough night overall for Salmon Arm, but Yewta Plamondon was one player that stood out, and you could tell as the night went along the coaches trusted him with more and more ice time. Friday marked the first time in nearly three weeks that Plamondon played, but he looked in great form using his speed to create a number of chances.
