Salmon Arm, B.C. – The Salmon Arm Silverbacks hit the road to Vernon looking for a bounce-back game against the Vipers.
The Silverbacks found themselves trailing after the first period. Six and a half minutes in, a defensive zone turnover leads to an easy backdoor tap-in goal by Payton Struck for the Vipers 1-0 lead. A minute later, Aidan Souligny takes the lone penalty of the period for cross-checking, which the Silverbacks were able to kill off.
Both teams find the back of the net in a back-and-forth second period. Coming right out of intermission, a minute in, Noah Dorey grabs the puck at center ice and streaks into the offensive zone and sneaks it under the pad for a 2- 0 Vipers lead. Looking to stem a comeback, Marcus Broberg jumps up in the offensive territory and finishes off a beautiful centering pass to cut the lead, 2-1. The Silverbacks had a pair of powerplays to end the period with Owen Kim getting a tripping call and then another goalie interference call.
The Vipers would take control of the game in the third period. A couple minutes into the final frame, Adam Csabi gets a step behind the defenseman and tucks in by on a breakaway. Three minutes later, the Vipers extend their lead to 4-1 with George Stavrianeas ripping a shot top shelf in the high slot. The Silverbacks would get a golden opportunity for a potential comeback when they get a powerplay with Hank Cleaves in the box for a cross-check. 40 seconds into the man advantage, JJ Monteiro collects the puck during a scramble in the crease and flips it over the pad to cut the lead back down to two. Just when the momentum of the change shifted and the Silverbacks were trying to continue their comeback efforts, Tristan Allen gets hauled to the box for a hook. Within the span of 10 seconds, both teams exchange penalties and it quickly turns into the a four-on-three Vipers powerplay, which was killed off. With a minute left and an empty net chance, Julian Facchinelli ices the game away to make it 5-2.
Eli Pulver was able to stop 30/34.
