The Silverbacks host the Merritt Centennials tonight at 7 pm at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm as the two teams get back to regular season action after opening the BCHL season last weekend at the League's Showcase in Chilliwack.
The Centennials opened 2014-15 with a 5-3 win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Saturday and lost 2-1 to the Chilliwack Chiefs on Sunday at the Prospera Centre. The Silverbacks are coming off of a 4-3 double overtime victory over the Surrey Eagles on Sunday afternoon at the Showcase after doubling the Langley Rivermen 4-2 on Friday to open the season. Returning veteran defenseman Andrew Farny and rookie forward Taro Hirose, who scored the OT winner each earned four points in the two games. New to the Cents roster, is 20-year-old John Schiavo of East Patchogue, NY who lead the way with two goals and an assist. Merritt has 11 returnees from last season's team which finished fourth in the Interior division (31-22-4-1), eight points ahead of the fifth place Silverbacks.
The Centennials have lost five of their top six scorers from 2013-14, with leading scorer Diego Cuglietta returning. The Silverbacks won the 2013-14 season series 3-1-1-2, outscoring the Centennials 27-23. The Backs won three of the four games at home at the Shaw Centre, and lost in double overtime in Merritt in December and dropped an OT decision in Salmon Arm in February. The Silverbacks had a 16-10-0-3 record at home at the Shaw Centre last season, while the Centennials went 14-15-0-0 on the road.
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Silverbacks regular season and playoff games will be webcast live via http://www.fasthockey.com as well as http://mixlr.com/sasilverbacks/
All Silverbacks road games will also be broadcast live on CKVS-FM 93.7 ‘The Voice of the Shuswap’ in and around Salmon Arm and online http://www.voiceoftheshuswap.ca/ continuing with tonight’s 7 pm. face-off, 6:45 pm. re-game show.
