Salmon Arm, B.C. – The Salmon Arm Silverbacks wrapped up their weekend road trip to the Coast with a matchup against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
A back-and-forth first period saw both teams grab a lead. The period started with the Silverbacks killing off a 5-on-3 disadvantage, with both Eli Pulver and Cole Longacre getting penalties. Just over six minutes in, Cole Longacre finished off a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play to give the Silverbacks the early 1-0 lead. Just under ten minutes later, former Silverback, Hayden Stavroff tied things up by making a move towards the slot and ripping one top corner. With a couple of minutes left in the opening frame, Mason Croucher threw one towards the net from the point, which got through traffic to give the Bulldogs the 2-1 lead heading into the second period.
The Silverbacks were able to tie things up late in the second period. With a minute and a half to go, Nathan Mackie drives the puck from the corner and finds a little window under the blocker for his fifth goal of the season.
The offensive floodgate opened in the third period for the Silverbacks. Seven minutes in, Cole Cooksey walks the blue line with the puck before firing it towards the net, Riley Ashe gets his stick in the perfect position for the tip-in goal. Looking to ice off the game with two and a half minutes left, it’s Cooksey’s turn to score when he hammers home a rebound to extend the lead, 4-2. With an empty net, the Bulldogs don’t show any quit when Hayden Stavroff launches one from the point that gets through traffic for his second of the game. The comeback bid falls short as Maddux Martin pots an empty net goal to seal the deal.
Eli Pulver made 40/43 saves in the win.
