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Silverbacks Set For Weekend Series in Cranbrook

Cranbrook, BC: The Salmon Arm Silverbacks are in Cranbrook to battle the Bucks for a pair of games. These two teams haven’t met since the middle of November, and it was the Bucks handing the Backs their first two regulation losses of the season, outscoring Salmon Arm 6-1. It was the Evan Gartner show that weekend; the Bucks goaltender stopped 65/66 in the two wins. The Backs are coming off a dominant victory on home ice Wednesday night against the Merritt Centennials. Six different Silverbacks found the back of the net as they routed the Centennials 7-3. It was the first time the Silverbacks played in front of their home fans since January 2nd. The Silverbacks have been riding high as of late. They sit atop the BCHL with a 25-4-2 record, and have won nine of their last ten games, and have outscored their opponents 45-22 over that ten game stretch.

Players to Watch:
Brandon Santa Juana/Simon Tassy: Both players hold the longest point streak in the BCHL at nine games each. Tassy has been on a tear as of late, with 19 points during this streak. Santa Juana has been just as good with 16 points. These two players, who play on separate lines, give the Silverbacks a nice balanced attack in the top six.

Will Lavigne: Scored his first BCHL goal this past Saturday in Merritt and followed it up with another Wednesday night. Lavigne, known for his role with Jake Lammens in a bit of a shutdown role, has shown some of his offensive ability the last couple of games and has done a good job at getting pucks through from the point.

Owen Say: He will be looking to bounce back after a tough overtime loss last weekend to the Vernon Vipers, that loss snapped a personal five-game winning streak. He will also look to get revenge on the Cranbrook Bucks. The last time he faced them, the Bucks put three past him on 31 shots. Say leads the BCHL in wins with 17 and is near the top of the leaderboard in Save Percentage and Goals Against Average. He holds a 17-3-2 record on the season. The Mercyhurst commit has been excellent in his first full season as a Silverback.

A Look At The Opposition: The Bucks dropped a pair of games on the road to Wenatchee but rebounded nicely with a road win in West Kelowna 5-3. The Bucks have won six of their last ten games and sit 6th in the Interior division with a 18-13-2 record. Tyson Dyck is driving the bus offensively for the Bucks this season. He is tied for second in league scoring with Matthew Wood with 46 points. It’s quite a drop-off upfront for the Bucks. The next closest in scoring is Noah Quinn, with 29 points. This season, Nathan Airey has been a horse for the Bucks, starting 24 of 35 games. Looking ahead for Cranbrook, after this weekend series with the Backs, they travel to Wenatchee for one, then have four games in a row against the Vernon Vipers.