Salmon Arm, B.C. – The Salmon Arm Silverbacks kicked off their second half of the season, coming out of the Christmas break on the road against the Vernon Vipers.
The Vipers didn’t need long to shake off the rust. Just under four minutes into the opening period, Anthony Cliche gets a centering pass and snaps one from the high slot to give the Vipers the early 1-0 lead. An opportunity came to the Silverbacks to tie things up on the powerplay when Hank Cleaves was sent off for hooking. Unable to capitalize was the Silverbacks. The teams ended the first-period four-on-four when both Isaac Lambert and Adam Csabi were sent to the box during some rough stuff after the whistle.
Eager to tie up the game, the offense for the Silverbacks came flying out of the gate. In the first 50 seconds of the second period, Maddux Martin takes a shot and the rebound goes right to Cole Cooksey who finishes it off. Not happy with the tie, less than a minute later, Payton Struck sneaks the puck through the legs to regain the lead for the Vipers 2-1. Just before the BCHL media timeout, the Vipers were pressuring again with a centering feed hitting off a body in front and into the back of the net. Erik Pastro got credit for the goal. At the 14:50 mark, Hank Cleaves collects a loose puck to the side of the net and finds the top corner, extending the lead to 4-1.
Needing a big comeback, the Silverbacks were able to show some signs of life. With seven minutes to go, Cole Longacre gets called on a trip, sending the Silverbacks to their first penalty kill of the game. Down a man, Nathan Mackie causes a neutral zone turnover and slides it over to Jonah Aegerter who finishes off the chance shorthanded, making it a 4-2 game. The final three minutes saw the Silverbacks with the net empty on the man advantage. With heavy time on attack, the Silverbacks wouldn’t snap one by with Owen Kim launching one down the length of the ice for an empty net goal.
Eli Pulver stopped 24/28 in the losing effort.
