Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks (29-23-5) host the Merritt Centennials (14-39-4) in the 2019-20 regular season finale on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m at the Shaw Centre.
This is the sixth and final head-to-head meeting of the season. The season series is currently 3-2 for the Backs, after they defeated the Cents in back-to-back games just over three weeks ago, by scores of 6-2 and 5-3, plus a 4-3 overtime victory back on Nov. 8. Merritt’s two victories both came on home ice: Nov. 9 by a 6-5 score and most recently a 4-2 win on Feb. 15.
The Backs are currently in fifth place in the Interior Division at 63 points, two points back of the Wenatchee Wild and one point back of Vernon, but both those clubs have finished their regular seasons. What that means is a win from the Backs will hop them into the third place.
Today’s game has a 3 p.m. puck drop.
Last Time Out
The Backs are coming off a disappointing 5-1 loss on Friday night to the Trail Smoke Eaters.
Scoring the lone goal in the loss was Luke Mylymok, a one-time bomb on a 4-on-3 power play from the top of the right circle.
Grant Adams made some incredible stops and did all he could to keep the game close, finishing with 31 saves.
A Closer Look
The race for third in the Interior Division has been tight for nearly a month, so it’s fitting that it comes down to the final game of the regular season to decide things. For the Silverbacks it’s simple: win and you get third.
Starts have been an area of focus as of late, with Salmon Arm surrendering the first goal in three straight games. They stormed back from a 2-0 deficit on Wednesday against Chilliwack but couldn’t get out of a 3-0 hole Friday in Trail.
The penalty kill will need to step up on Sunday, as it has allowed nine goals against in the last four games.
The Silverbacks are 18-10 on home ice this season. They are 4-5 at home since the Christmas Break.
Leading Scorers
Akito Hirose (9-42-50)
Noah Wakeford (18-32-50)
Daniel Rybarik (30-18-48)
William Poirier (22-17-39)
Nick Unruh (11-27-38)
The Opposition
Despite being the only team to miss the playoffs, the Cents won’t be an easy out, as they took down Trail 7-5 last night. They snapped a 15-game losing streak on Feb. 7 with a big 5-2 road win over the Prince George Spruce Kings, and have gone 4-2 since then.
Merritt has allowed 113 goals in their last 21 games, an average of 5.38 goals against per game. They’ve also scored a lot as of late, with 26 goals for in their last six games (4.33 goals per game).
The Cents are led up front by Payton Matsui, who has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his last 12 games.
Merritt is 6-19-1 on home ice this season, but their last home win was on Nov. 23 against Wenatchee (0-11-1 at home since then).
Leading Scorers
Payton Matsui (18-25-43)
Christian Buono (10-27-37)
Thomas Manty (12-21-33)
Daniel Tkac (11-21-32)
Talon Zakall (6-24-30)
Notable Versus Merritt
Backs forward Luke Mylymok has had a ton of success against the Cents this season in limited action, tied for the lead in H2H scoring with six points in just three games. Drew Bennett and Nick Unruh also each have six points.
Defenceman Talon Zakall leads the Cents in H2H scoring with six points, while Payton Matsui has four goals.
Upcoming Milestones
Noah Wakeford: Will be playing in his 150th career BCHL game.
Nick Unruh: 4 goals from 50 career BCHL goals.
Tune In
Pre-game coverage on EZ Rock starts at 2:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 3 p.m. The game will also be streamed live on HockeyTV.
