WENATCHEE, WA- The Salmon Arm Silverbacks scored four second-period goals, and Liam Vanderkooi stopped 36 of 38 in between the pipes, as the Silverbacks downed the Wenatchee Wild 6-2 on the road.
In the opening period, it was the Wild that came out flying. They tested Silverbacks goaltender Liam Vanderkooi six times in the first seven minutes, forcing Vanderkooi to be busy early. The Wild struck first tonight, nine minutes into the period. It was the first time Wenatchee scored first all weekend and was also their first lead in the last three games. Owen Bohn ripped a shot off the left pad of Vanderkooi, and he followed up the rebound and beat the outstretched Vanderkooi to make it 1-0 Wild. Like last night in the third period, the Silverbacks answered quickly. Daniel Panetta controlled the puck down low and found a wide-open Brandon Santa Juana in the slot, and he made a deke on Vlaha and slid it five-hole to tie the game at one. The Wild outshot the Silverbacks 13-9 in the opening twenty minutes.
In the middle frame, the Silverbacks began to take over the hockey game. Three minutes into the period, Danny Ciccarello dashed down the left-wing side, then cut into the slot and ripped a shot under the blocker of Vlaha to give the Silverbacks a 2-1 lead. That made it goals in back-to-back games for Ciccarello and was his fourth of the season. The Silverbacks offence was just getting started. Three minutes after Ciccarello’s marker, it was defenceman Mike Ladyman’s turn. He made a spin-o-Rama deke around Hudson Blue, and he skated towards the goal and ripped a shot under the bar glove side past Vlaha, knocking the water bottle off in the process. It was Ladyman’s third of the season, and that goal ended Vlaha’s night after allowing three goals on 14 shots. Mathieu Bourgault jammed a loose puck home late in that second period for his second of the season. The Silverbacks dominated in the shot department in the middle frame, outshooting the Wild 17-7.
In the final frame, the Silverbacks added two more. First, it was Lambert toe dragging around the wild forward and roofing it over the blocker of Shea for his fifth of the campaign. Then on a Silverbacks powerplay, it was the top unit going to work again. They teamed up for a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal that saw Serdachny pot his 8th of the season home. Santa Juana and Simon Tassy picked up the assists. Liam Vanderkooi was excellent in goal for the Silverbacks, stopping 36 of 38 to improve to 4-1 on the season. It was a very successful road trip for the Silverbacks as they swept the weekend series and extended their winning streak to four in a row. They also tie a franchise record with this 15-3-1 record.
