Salmon Arm, B.C. – The Salmon Arm Silverbacks took on the Penticton Vees in Game 4 of the Interior Conference Finals at the Shaw Centre.
Neither team found the back of the net during a back-and-forth first period. Both the Silverbacks and the Vees ran into a bit of penalty troubles as there were two separate four-on-four opportunities, with the Vees also getting the lone powerplay when Ryan Philbrick was called for hooking. Shots on goal after the opening frame was 10-9 in favour of Salmon Arm.
The Silverbacks were able to grab the lead in the second period. At the eight-minute mark, Nathan Mackie battles at the end boards and forces the turnover, which leads to him back-handing the puck past the blocker for the 1-0 lead. 13 seconds later, JJ Monteiro was handed a four minute, double minor for high-sticking. It was a massive penalty kill for the Silverbacks to help keep the momentum. Coming out of the BCHL media timeout, it was another four-on-four chance for both teams.
The Vees were able to score a late desperation goal to tie up the game in the third period. In the final seven minutes, Nathaniel Davis gets taken to the box for a holding call, which once again leads to another huge penalty kill for the Silverbacks to keep the 1-0 lead. In the final two and a half minutes, the Vees pull their goalie to push for the tie. At the 1:20 mark, Larry Keenan sneaks into the slot and wires one past to tie up the game, 1-1 and send it to overtime.
It took nearly the entire overtime period but the Silverbacks find twine and win the game. With two minutes left, Marcus Broberg and Ryan Gillespie set up a beautiful give and go in front of the net, with Gillespie finishing it off for the 2-1 overtime win.
Eli Pulver notched his 10th win this playoffs while making 39/40 saves to tie up the Conference Finals 2-2.
