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Silverbacks Take Game 1 Over Grizzlies

Salmon Arm, B.C. — Luke Mylymok’s late third period goal propelled the Salmon Arm Silverbacks to a 2-1 victory in game one of their opening round playoff series against Victoria on Friday night at the Shaw Centre.

The Backs out-shot the Grizzlies 37-24 and came from behind in the game. They now lead the best-of-7 series 1-0.

GAME SUMMARY

The Backs came out flying off the top, out-shooting Victoria 7-1 early on and drawing a penalty. They weren’t able to capitalize on two power plays in the first period, much in part thanks to goaltender Liam Souliere. With under five minutes remaining in the opening frame, his team rewarded him with the game’s first goal. Captain Marty Westhaver came down the right wing side with speed and fired a shot that hit Ethan Langenegger’s blocker and landed right on the stick of Alex DiPaolo, who deposited the puck to the back of the net with 4:48 remaining in the first.

After one period, the Backs were down 1-0, but led in shots on goal 15-10.

Both teams couldn’t generate much to start the second period, but eventually Salmon Arm re-took control of the game, generating a number of high quality chances in the midway part of the period. They stuck with it and eventually broke through with 7:04 remaining in the second, after defenceman Jeremy Gervais made a confident move from below the goal line by taking the puck from his backhand to his forward and out front in one smooth motion, before lifting a shot over the glove of Souliere and into the top corner.

After 40 minutes of play, the Backs and Grizzlies were even 1-1, but Salmon Arm had a 28-19 lead in shots on goal.

Each team had a power play in the first half of the third period, but once again both teams penalty kills stood strong. The Silverbacks drew their fifth power play of the game at the 13:54 mark of the third but were called for high sticking just 30 seconds into the power play, resulting in some 4-on-4 hockey. Just 36 seconds into the 4-on-4, Mylymok came rushing down the left wing side and ripped a shot right to the top corner to give Salmon Arm a 2-1 lead.

The Backs did an excellent job of preventing any opportunities from the Grizzlies in the final five minutes, as they couldn’t even set up with the goalie pulled.

For the full boxscore, click here.

TOP PERFORMERS

Jeremy Gervais, Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Not only did Gervais register a goal and an assist in the victory, but he blocked shots and was poised in his own zone all night long.

Luke Mylymok, Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Mylymok came up clutch with the game-winning-goal, which was an absolute snipe past Souliere. Earlier in the game, he almost scored on a similar play, but was stopped by the shoulder of Souliere. The Wilcox, Sask. native now has 12 goals as a Silverback in 27 games combined between the regular season and playoffs.

Ethan Langenegger, Salmon Arm Silverbacks: Langenegger didn’t get the workload of Souliere, but he did make some incredible stops and looked poised doing it. Early in the game, he stopped Connor Eddy on a breakaway twice with his right pad and late in the game, he robbed Eddy with the glove to keep the score at 1-1. Those were just a couple of his 23 saves on the night.

Liam Souliere, Victoria Grizzlies: Even with the loss, there’s no denying Souliere was in a zone on Friday. He often was able to make saves through traffic and pounce on loose pucks before the Backs. He’s also a very good puck handler. If not for him, the score could have been quite lopsided.

STATE OF THE GAME

Both PPs 0-for-5: Each club had quite a few chances to cash in on the power play and turn the tide at various points in the game, but neither one could capitalize on the man advantage.

WHAT’S NEXT

Game two at the Shaw Centre goes tomorrow night at 7 p.m, with games three and four set for Monday and Tuesday night in Victoria. For the full first round playoff schedule, click here.

All playoff games of course can be heard on 91.5 EZ Rock with the pre-game shows starting half an hour before puck drop. Fans can also stream games on HockeyTV.