Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks will look to take a 2-0 series lead in their opening round playoff series against the Victoria Grizzlies on Saturday night at the Shaw Centre.
The Backs currently lead the best-of-7 series 1-0 after a 2-1 win on Friday night.
Tonight’s game has a 7 p.m. puck drop. For tickets, click here.
Playoff Schedule – Round 1
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 28 – 2-1 WIN (Click for boxscore).
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
Game 1 Recap
Despite the 2-1 score, game one had plenty of excitement.
The Backs had the majority of the chances, but goaltender Ethan Langenegger also had to come up big on several occasions. He stopped Connor Eddy on a breakaway in the first period to keep things scoreless just moments after Noah Wakeford had a chance cleared off the goal line.
With Salmon Arm down 1-0 in the second, they kept pushing hard for the equalizer.
Nick Martino in particular had a couple glorious opportunities, especially when Akito Hirose set him up at the side of the net early in the second.
The Silverbacks stuck with it and eventually broke through with 7:04 remaining in the second, after defenceman Jeremy Gervais made a confident move from below the goal line by taking the puck from his backhand to his forward and out front in one smooth motion, before lifting a shot over the glove of Souliere and into the top corner. Jarrod Semchuk had the primary assist on the goal, his first career BCHL playoff point.
In the third, each team had a power play opportunity to take the lead, but neither could.
Then, during some 4-on-4 action, Luke Mylymok came rushing down the left wing side and ripped a shot right to the top corner to give Salmon Arm a 2-1 lead.
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 2
1) Power Play Opportunities: Each team had five opportunities on the man advantage in game one and neither looked particularly strong. Early on, Salmon Arm generated some good looks but in the second and third periods, the power play wasn’t very effective. On the flip side, both penalty kills were strong, especially for Salmon Arm, with multiple blocked shots from throughout their lineup.
2) The Goaltending Battle: Langenegger and Liam Souliere were the number one story on Friday and that could very well be the case again on Saturday. Both were calm in the net and strong with their positioning. Whichever team can create more havoc in the crease in game two may have the edge.
3) Neutral Zone Play: Salmon Arm was very effective at preventing easy zone entries at their own blue line and that was a big key to them preventing chances for the Grizzlies. Victoria finished the game with just seven scoring chances, which is a very digestible number for the Backs.
Players to Watch
SILVERBACKS: JEREMY GERVAIS
Gervais stood out in a big way on Friday with the game-tying-goal and the primary assist on Mylymok’s game-winner late in the third. He blocked shots as well and was often calm, cool and collected in his own zone with the puck. The veteran poise displayed by the Prince George native will be relied upon as this series goes on.
GRIZZLIES: CONNOR EDDY
Eddy had more than one high quality chance on Friday, including a breakaway in the first, which he created with his speed. The 17-year-old Victoria native is also relied upon the penalty kill.
Tune In To Game 2
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.
