Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks look to continue their strong play on Monday night when they take on the Victoria Grizzlies in game three of their opening round playoff series.
The Backs currently lead the best-of-7 series 2-0 after a 2-1 win on Friday night and a 4-0 win on Saturday night, both on home ice.
Tonight’s game has a 7 p.m. puck drop.
Playoff Schedule – Round 1
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 28 – 2-1 WIN (Click for boxscore).
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 29 – 4-0 WIN (Click for boxscore).
Game 3: Monday, March 2 – 7 p.m. at the Q Centre, Victoria.
Game 4: Tuesday, March 3 – 7 p.m. at the Q Centre, Victoria.
*Game 5: Thursday, March 5 – 7 p.m. at the Shaw Centre, Salmon Arm.
*Game 6: Saturday, March 7 – 7 p.m. at the Q Centre, Victoria.
*Game 7: Monday, March 9 – 7 p.m. at the Shaw Centre, Salmon Arm.
*If necessary
Game 2 Recap
The Silverbacks and Grizzlies had a fairly even first period of play in game two on Saturday, but after that, Salmon Arm took control of the game.
Second period goals from Luke Mylymok, Daniel Rybarik and Drew Bennett gave the Backs a commanding 3-0 lead after 40 minutes of play. The Backs out-shot the Grizzlies 18-7 in the second period of play.
Salmon Arm put the game to bed by converting on the power play for the second time just over seven minutes into the third. Bennett finished off a pretty play on the backhand for his second on the game, after Simon Tassy spun off a check and fed a pass in front.
When the lead went to four, the Grizzlies in turn stepped up their effort and got some chances, but each and every time they had an opportunity, Backs netminder Ethan Langenegger was right there to shut the door. In the end, he made 14 third period saves and 31 overall for his first career playoff shutout.
Salmon Arm Leading Scorers (reg. season):
Akito Hirose (9-42-51)
Noah Wakeford (18-32-50)
Daniel Rybarik (31-18-49)
William Poirier (23-18-41)
Nick Unruh (12-27-39)
Victoria Leading Scorers (reg. season):
Cody Monds (22-37-59)
Henri Schreifels (24-21-45)
Marty Westhaver (18-26-44)
Alex DiPaolo (14-24-38)
Vincent Nardone (11-18-29)
Things to Watch For in Game 3
1) New surroundings: The Silverbacks will obviously no longer be in the friendly confines of the Shaw Centre. The one previous time they played at the Q Centre, they didn’t have a great start — going down 2-0 after one period of play and eventually falling 6-2. How they come out of the gate on Monday will have a huge impact on the game.
2) Backs Penalty Kill: The Silverbacks penalty kill has been superb so far in this series, going 9-for-9 in games one and two combined. It will once again be a key moving forward, especially considering it finished the season at under 70% in the final six games.
3) Nastiness? : Towards the end of Saturday’s game, things heated up between the teams, with a couple off-setting minors called. This is expected in a seven-game playoff series and the question is how much more hate will be on display in game three.
Players to Watch
SILVERBACKS: DREW BENNETT
Bennett was a standout player on Saturday with two goals and an assist. He led all Silverbacks rookies in scoring in the regular season with 28 points and will look to keep things going on Monday.
While nobody found the scoresheet for Victoria on Saturday, rookie Cody Monds had a few solid chances. He led the Grizzlies in the regular season with 59 points (22 goals, 37 assists), including 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in his final 13 games.
Tune In To Game 3
Pre-game coverage on EZ Rock starts at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will also be streamed live on HockeyTV.
