Salmon Arm, B.C. – The Salmon Arm Silverbacks traveled up north for a pair of games against the Prince George Spruce Kings.
The Silverbacks were able to jump out to an early lead in game one of the weekend series. Just over three minutes into the game, Tristan Allen finds Maddux Martin back door with a beautiful pass for the tap-in goal. Both teams would have a 5-on-3 advantage in the first period with neither being able to take advantage.
The offensive floodgates opened up for the Silverbacks in a much needed way in the second period. Five minutes in, Cole Cooksey sneaks his way to the slot and receives a centering pass from Marcus Broberg to extend the lead, 2-0. Just past halfway through the middle frame, with Cooksey now in the box for an interference call, Kazumo Sasaki launches a shot from the point that gets through traffic and gets the Spruce Kings on the board. A quick answer from the Silverbacks sees Isaac Lambert collect a rebound in the crease and use his patience to flip it over the pad to make it a two-goal lead again. With three minutes left in the period, Skogen Schrott gets hauled to the box for interference, giving the Silverbacks another chance on the man-advantage. Right off the opening faceoff, Lambert gets in front of the net and tips in the point shot for his second of the game.
The Spruce Kings started the comeback effort. Four minutes into the third period, once again on the powerplay, Max Ranström sends a shot from distance that once again sneaks through traffic to cut the lead, 4-2. With six minutes left, the comeback effort continues for the Spruce Kings. Lucas Veilleux takes a centering feed off a turnover and slides it through the legs of Eli Pulver to make it a 4-3 game. With two minutes left and an empty net, Isaac Lambert completes the hat-trick and ices the game away.
Eli Pulver made 30/33 saves for his 50th career BCHL win.
(Photo Credit: Vicki Brown)
