Salmon Arm, B.C. – Coming off an 11-goal outing, the Salmon Arm Silverbacks took on the Merritt Centennials for the first time this season.
The offensive firepower of the Silverbacks stays red hot early in the first period. Five minutes in, the Silverbacks get their first powerplay as Easton Ryan is in the box two minutes for tripping. With the man advantage, JJ Monteiro finishes off a beautiful passing play to get the Silverbacks on the board early. Just past 13 minutes into the game, Casy Laylin fires a shot on net which causes the puck to sit loose in the crease where Ryan Gillespie swoops in and taps it by for a 2-0 lead.
The Silverbacks double up their lead in the second. Once again on the powerplay, past halfway through the frame, Reid Varkonyi rifles a one-timer from the slot just underneath he harm of the goalie to extend the lead, 3-0. Back-to-back goals has Cole Cooksey perched in front of the net to collect the rebound and slide it through the legs to make it a 4-0 game.
The third period sees more goals while tempers start to flare. Three minutes into the final frame, Casy Laylin pots his fourth goal in two games when he tips in a slot shot from Jonah Aegerter. The Centennials get on the board for their only time this game three minutes later when Michael Stenberg pushes his way towards the net with the puck. During the goal, both Sawyer Prokopetz and Cole Longacre get into a shoving match which they both get handed two for roughing. Off the next faceoff, 10 seconds later, Marcus Broberg and former Silverback Aidan Lindblad drop the gloves and get five minutes each for fighting and a game misconduct. Just past half-way through the third, JJ Monteiro gets a centering feed in tight and makes no mistake, tucking it by for his second of the game. With six minutes left, Lian Gayfer puts a cherry on top of this game when he roofs one top corner in the slot to make it a 7-1 game.
The Silverbacks score 18 goals over two home games with Eli Pulver getting the win, stopping 27/28.
