Salmon Arm B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks lost 2-1 to the West Kelowna Warriors on Friday night at Royal LePage Place to fall to 11-3-1 this season.
GAME SUMMARY
It was a very uneventful first period of play, as the shots on goal were just 3-2 for West Kelowna at the 8:49 mark of the period. Shortly after the media timeout, the Warriors would get a power play, however, and capitalize, after John Evans backhanded a cross-crease pass to new addition Andrew Viggars, who made no mistake to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
After one period, the Backs trailed 1-0 on the scoreboard and 9-6 in the shot department.
The second period had some flashes of good play from the Backs, but it was coupled with some mental lapses and sloppy breakouts. Salmon Arm successfully killed off two penalties in the period, but when they got a man advantage of their own, they couldn’t generate any good looks.
After two periods, the Backs were still down 1-0, but had evened the shots 20 apiece.
A defensive zone turnover early in the third led to an insurance marker for the Warriors, as Brandon Dent dropped a pass for Max Bulawka, who beat Dylan Kruss to the blocker side to make it 2-0. Just two minutes later, Backs forward Holden Knights chipped a puck off the right boards for Dom Garozzo who flew down the wing, put the puck between the defenders legs and backhanded a shot short side past Brock Baier to cut the lead in half. It was Garozzo’s first career goal.
That goal seemed to spark the Backs, as they went on to dominant possession, chances and shots on goal for the remainder of the third. Unfortunately, no one could find the equalizer, and the Silverbacks fell 2-1, despite outshooting the Warriors 18-4 in the third.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
Brock Baier, West Kelowna Warriors: Baier didn’t have too much work in the first 40 minutes, but he was stellar in the third with 17 saves. He made an unbelievable glove save on Simon Tassy on a 2-on-1 too, a chance that easily could have tied the game.
Holden Knights, Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Knights recorded an assist on the lone goal of the evening and was making things happen with his speed yet again. When the lines were juggled in the third, he was moved up to play with Garozzo and Martino.
Max Bulawka, West Kelowna Warriors: Bulawka netted the game-winner and had a few chances on the night.
For the full boxscore, click here.
STAT OF THE GAME
Baier 37 saves on 38 shots: Even though it took far too long for the Backs to get things going offensively, Baier still impressed mightily in the third, particularly the glove save on Tassy.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Silverbacks host the Nanaimo Clippers for the only time this season at the Shaw Centre on Sunday at 3 p.m.
The game can be heard on 91.5 EZ Rock with the pre-game show starting at 2:30 p.m., while fans can also stream the game on HockeyTV.
