Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks (30-23-5) kick off their 2020 playoff run on Friday night at the Shaw Centre when they host the Victoria Grizzlies (24-33-1).
The two clubs only met twice in the regular season, with each team winning once. Salmon Arm prevailed on Sept. 21 by a score of 5-3, while the Grizzlies took the game in their own barn by a 6-2 score on Jan. 25.
The Backs finished in third place in the Interior Division with 65 points, while the Grizzlies were last in the Island Division with 49 points.
Tonight’s game has a 7 p.m. puck drop. For tickets, click here.
Playoff Schedule – Round 1
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 28 – 7 p.m. at the Shaw Centre, Salmon Arm.
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 29 – 7 p.m. at the Shaw Centre, Salmon Arm.
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
Heading Into the Playoffs
The Silverbacks went 6-3-1 in their last 10 games of the season — 3-1-0 on home ice and 3-2-1 on the road. During those games they had a +5 goal differential (34 goals for, 29 against).
Earlier this week, captain Akito Hirose was named the BCHL’s top defenceman of the 2019-20 season, an award voted on by the 17 coaches in the BCHL. He finished his final year of junior hockey with 51 points (9G, 42A), 32 even-strength points, three game-winning-goals (all in overtime) and had the second-longest point streak of any skater this season at 14 games.
Among the Backs who heated up as the season came to a close were: William Poirier (8G, 1A final 10 GP), Daniel Rybarik (5G, 4A final 10 GP), Nick Unruh (4G, 12A final 13 GP), Luke Mylymok (4G, 4A final 8 GP), Simon Tassy (5G, 3A in final 9 GP) and Drew Bennett (1G, 6A final 10 GP).
In goal, Ethan Langenegger and Grant Adams essentially split starts down the final stretch, with Langenegger starting six and Adams’ starting five of the team’s final 11 games. Langenegger finished the year with a 23-15-3 record and was named team MVP this past Sunday. He played the third-most minutes of any goaltender in the league, finished top-5 in saves and sixth in wins.
Salmon Arm’s special teams have been an area of focus over the last few weeks, with the power play going 3-for-22 in their final six games (13.6%, but just over three opportunities per game) and the penalty kill going 19-for-29 (65.6%).
Just four of the Silverbacks’ final 15 games of the year were played on home ice. They went 3-1 in those four home games and finished the season with a 19-10-0 record at the Shaw Centre.
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)
The Opposition
Despite finishing in last in the Island Division, the Grizzlies enter the post-season as one of the hottest teams in the BCHL, going 8-2-1 from Jan. 18-Feb. 16 before dropping their last two games of the season to Powell River.
Victoria has relied heavily on starting goaltender Liam Souliere down the stretch, who played in 15 of the teams’ final 18 games. Those 15 games were also all he started all season due to injury. He posted a 9-6 record, .917 SV% and 3.37 G.A.A. in those games.
The Grizzlies are led up front by rookie Cody Monds, who had 14 more points than any other Grizzlie this season with 59 (22 goals, 37 assists). He was named to the all-rookie team earlier this week. Schreifels finished the season with 13 points (9G, 4A) in his final 13 games.
Victoria also got solid contributions out of Alex DiPaolo and Vincent Nardone after each was acquired mid-season. DiPaolo posted 28 points (10G, 18A) in 27 games for Victoria after a trade from Penticton, while Nardone had 21 points (7G, 14A) in 31 games since being traded, also from Penticton.
The Grizzlies road record this season was 10-17-1.
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)
Notable Versus Victoria
Despite only two games between the teams this season, each has a player with five points in those H2H games: Noah Wakeford has five assists for the Backs, while Henri Schreifels has five goals for the Grizzlies.
Players to Watch
SILVERBACKS: WILLIAM POIRIER
As mentioned, Poirier had eight goals in his final 10 games of the season and finished the year with 23 tallies in 51 games. Two of the eight in the final stretch were game-winners while two others were game-tying-goals.
The veteran produced in all sorts of ways this year, with eight power play goals, two shorthanded goals, five game-winning-goals, six ‘first goals’, two insurance goals and one overtime winner.
GRIZZLIES: HENRI SCHREIFELS
Schreifels led the Grizzlies in goals with 24 this year and had five in just two games against the Backs this season, including a hat-trick in his team’s 6-2 win on Jan. 25.
Nine of his 24 goals came in the final 13 games of the year. Twenty-eight of his 45 points this season came at even-strength, while he finished tied for first on Victoria with four game-winning-goals.
Tune In
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.
