Salmon Arm, B.C. – The Salmon Arm Silverbacks continued their Alberta road trip with a game against the Spruce Grove Saints.
For the second game in a row, the Silverbacks find themselves trailing after the first period. Three minutes in, Grayson Niehaus slides on under the pads to take the early 1-0 Saints lead. Three minutes later, Sawyer Prokopetz ties up the game when he sends a perfectly placed shot to the top corner, his second of the season, 1-1. The lead didn’t last long when Colin Doherty gets the rebound into the back of the net, 2-1. In the final two minutes, Liam Beamish takes a tripping penalty, sending the Saints to the powerplay. In the final four seconds, the Silverbacks fall into some bad luck when they go to clear the puck down ice but it hits off the body of Josh Polak and into the net for the last second 3-1 lead.
Storming back in the second period, the Silverbacks tie up the game. A minute into the period, a two-on-one into the offensive zone is finished off by Riley Ashe, his fifth of the season. Continuing the momentum, two minutes later, Payton Nelson finishes off the rebound to tie the game up, 3-3. Getting their first lead of the game, Maddux Martin rips a one-timer on the powerplay for the 4-3 game. Back on the powerplay goes the Saints and for the second straight time they are successful when Austin Peters gets a back door tap in, 4-4.
The third period is high scoring and back-and-forth, but the Silverbacks come out on top. Another hot start, 30 seconds in, Liam Beamish slides to the high slot and tips in a point shot for his third of the season, giving the Silverbacks the lead, 5-4. A minute later, once again on the powerplay, Teo Pisani puts one home to tie this game up, 5-5. The Saints would go 3/3 on the powerplay in this game. Three minutes later, regaining the advantage was Roenick Jodoin and the Silverbacks when he scores his ninth of the season, picking the top corner in tight. Not going down without a fight, only thirty seconds later, James Richards sends one on net from the point through traffic that gets his first career BCHL goal, back to a tie game, 6-6. The Silverbacks would get a powerplay goal back with Roenick Jodoin finishing off a breakaway with a crossbar down to the net goal, 7-6. Still before the 10 minute mark of the period, a scramble in front finds the tape of Ben MacBeath where the young defenseman fires it home for his first career BCHL goal.
Ryan Grout held on for the win, stopping 33/39.
(Photo credit: Aaron Grimaldo/Absent Light Photography)
