For the second year in a row, the Langley Rivermen come to the Shaw Centre for a mid-week game.
Last season there were goals galore as the Silverbacks won 7-6 in overtime. Nick Unruh scored his first career hat-trick picking up his third goal in overtime to win the game. Akito Hirose had two assists while Justin Wilson had a goal and assist. Salmon Arm swept the season series last year also picking up a 5-2 win in George Preston Arena.
Salmon Arm is coming off a strong weekend on the road that saw them pickup three of a possible four points. They shutout the Vernon Vipers Friday night to end a two game losing streak. Matthew Armitage stopped all 31 shots he faced to give Salmon Arm their first shutout of the season. The next night in Merritt the team went down 3-0 in the first, but battled back to tie the game at three in the third. Merritt would eventually score the winner with just over a minute left in the extra frame.
Langley is in the later half of a back to back having played in West Kelowna last night where they lost 4-3. The didn’t play at all on the weekend, but had a four game winning streak snapped last Wednesday falling 2-1 to the Chilliwack Chiefs. This is a busy stretch for the Rivermen having played last night in West Kelowna, and then the team will have games in Prince George on Friday and Saturday.
In the Interior Division, Salmon Arm sits fifth with at least two games in hand over every other team. What looked to be a three team race for first in the Mainland Division now seems to be down to two as the Coquitlam Express have fallen off of late and now sit just four points ahead of Langley for third in the division.
Players to Watch:
Silverbacks: In two games against the Rivermen last year, Nick Unruh lit up the mainland squad. He had the hat-trick including OT winner in Salmon Arm, and in Langley he had a goal and assist to give him four goals and one assist in the two games. Last weekend he scored in each of his games and was named the first star in his team’s 2-0 shutout win over the Vernon Vipers.
Rivermen: Held to a single goal against Salmon Arm last year, Ethan Leyh will be on the hunt for more in Salmon Arm this time around. The draft eligible forward leads the Rivermen in scoring this season with 28 points in 27 games. Not hitting the scoresheet last night ended a five game point streak for the Wisconsin commit where he picked up 10 points in that stretch.
TUNE IN
Watch on HockeyTV…. HERE
Listen on 91.5 EZ Rock…. HERE
