Salmon Arm B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks trounced the West Kelowna Warriors 6-1 on Tuesday night at the Shaw Centre.
The win improves the Backs record to 7-1-1, while the Warriors dropped their seventh straight game and fall to 1-8-2.
GAME SUMMARY
While there are no perfect games in hockey, this one wasn’t far off, as the Backs dominated on the scoresheet, the shot clock and had stellar special teams.
In the first period, Coalson Wolford got the monkey off the back with his first career BCHL goal, which came off a rebound on the power play just over seven minutes in. The Silverbacks kept their momentum going all period, firing 18 shots on goal in the opening frame. With just under four minutes to go, Simon Tassy whacked home a rebound to make it 2-0. Right before the intermission, the Warriors did get on the board to get some momentum backed, making it a 2-1 game off the stick of Max Bulawka.
Any momentum the Warriors had didn’t last too long. They did start out the second a little bit better after getting out-shot 18-5 in the first, but they also allowed 19 shots on goal in the middle frame. The only goal of the period came late, when BCHL leading scorer Noah Wakeford sniped one with 5.7 seconds to go. Akito Hirose barely held the puck in at the blueline with his glove, which resulted in some controversy, as the refs had to discuss the play briefly at centre, but Wakeford’s sixth goal of the year ended up counting.
The Silverbacks put the game to rest in the third, mostly thanks to two goals scored 21 seconds apart. First, Josh Zinger stuffed one in from the side of the goal after driving wide on an odd-man rush, and then Hirose scored right off of an offensive zone face-off. Wakeford would add his second goal of the evening five minutes later to make it a 6-1 final.
Making 28 saves for his fifth win of the season was Ethan Langenegger, who wasn’t overly busy, but still made a few key saves at key times. Langenegger is now 5-1 this season with a 2.14 GAA and .930 SV%.
Defenceman Kieran Ruscheinski also picked up his first career BCHL point after assisting on Tassy’s goal.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
Akito Hirose, Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Hirose was a monster tonight. His assist on Wakeford’s first goal below (though controversial), was a perfect display of his skill. He holds the puck in the zone, smoothly slips a check and then makes a pristine pass to Wakeford in the slot.
The captain also assisted on the first power play goal from Wolford and scored the 5-1 goal to really put the game out of reach. Hirose now has 11 points on the season in just nine games, which is tied for the BCHL lead amongst defencemen. Ten of his 11 points have come at even-strength, which is phenomenal (and leads the league).
Coalson Wolford, Salmon Arm Silverbacks: After getting plenty of chances in his first eight games, Wolford tallied his first career goal to open the scoring.
He also assisted on Tassy’s game-winning-goal 10 minutes later and created plenty of other opportunities through Tuesday’s game.
Josh Zinger, Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Zinger notched his second career goal, which was created because of his speed coming down the wing and his tenacity, as he didn’t give up on a play at the side of the net. Both of Zinger’s goals this season have come against West Kelowna.
STAT OF THE GAME
Silverbacks 50 shots on goal: The Silverbacks absolutely peppered Warriors goaltender Brock Baier, totalling 50 shots on the night, including 37 in the first two periods alone. After the fifth goal, Baier was pulled, but it wasn’t due to his play.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Silverbacks head down to Penticton for the BCHL Showcase presented by Bauer this weekend, as they’ll play on Friday afternoon against the Wenatchee Wild at 1 p.m. and then take on the Coquitlam Express on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
Unfortunately, these two games will not be broadcast on 91.5 EZ Rock, but fans can still stream the games on HockeyTV.
The next home game is Friday, Oct. 11 when the Chilliwack Chiefs come to town. For tickets to the game, click here.
