Salmon Arm, B.C. – The Salmon Arm Silverbacks hit the road for the first time this month, to take on the Chilliwack Chiefs.
The first period was back-and-forth action, with both teams looking to jump on the scoreboard. Throughout the opening frame, neither team was able to find the back of the net, even though both hit posts. Maddux Martin was sent to the penalty box for tripping at the 6:15 mark for the only penalty of the opening period, which the Silverbacks were able to kill off.
The second period is when the action started coming fast and furious. Within the first minute of the middle frame, Chiefs defenseman Brian Morse takes the puck at the point, walks around two Silverbacks, and finishes the rush with a backhand over the shoulder of Ryan Grout. Nearly three minutes later it was a clean wrist shot from the point off the stick of Cole Longacre that got through traffic and into the back of the net to tie up the game. It was the first career BCHL goal for Longacre. Both teams ran into a bit of penalty trouble with Ryan Gillespie being sent off for tripping, followed by a two-minute hooking call and a ten-minute misconduct going to Chiefs Matt Argentina. After the powerplay expired, Gillespie and Paisley entered the zone two-on-one with Paisley finishing off the rush with a shot over the glove of Austin McNicholas, to give the Silverbacks the 2-1 lead. With three minutes left in the frame, JJ Monteiro led an odd-man rush opportunity into the Chilliwack territory. Monteiro’s backdoor pass gets blocked but he grabs his own rebound and puts it into the back of the net, expanding the Silverbacks lead to two goals.
The Silverbacks were able to ice the game in the final period. Seven minutes in, Jonah Aegerter finds Jacob Bonkowski backdoor, who settles the puck and snipes it top corner to expand the lead further to 4-1. It was Aegerter’s first career BCHL point in his first career BCHL game. That’s where the goal-scoring stopped with both teams continuing to take penalties in the game. Gillespie is sent back to the box for the second time in the game, this time for roughing. In the same play, Oliver Beaulieu would be sent off for a hook.
Ryan Grout picks up his fourth win of the season, making 26/27 saves.
(Photo credit: Darren Francis)
