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It’s a double header in Wenatchee for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

After winning six of eight games, the team looks to bounce back after losing two straight. Saturday night it was at the hands of the Trail Smoke Eaters, and Wednesday night the league leading Chilliwack Chiefs came to the Shaw Centre and won their ninth game in a row.

The Wild have been playing a lot of extended games lately. Of their last twelve contests, six of those have gone beyond regulation. Of the last ten games, Wenatchee has won just three games. That stretch included a season long four game losing streak which isn’t a common trend since the team entered the BCHL.

In head to head games this season, the Silverbacks are 0-2-1 against the Wenatchee Wild. The Americans ran the first two games outscoring Salmon Arm 15-4, but the last meeting in the Town Toyota Center was much closer as the Salmon Arm went to overtime, with the Wild winning for the extra point. These two teams will get familiar with one another, as they play each other three times in a row. Tomorrow is a rematch in Wenatchee, and then the two sides will return to Salmon Arm for a Tuesday night clash in the Shaw Centre.

Normally dominant at home, Wenatchee has lost five in a row in the Town Toyota Center. Three of those have been in the shootout. Two games in a row the team allowed six goals, but have locked things down lately allowing just one per game in the last two games where they would lose in a shootout. Salmon Arm has won two of their last three games on the road, but are also just 2-4 in the last six. The last road game was less than ideal with the team losing 10-3 in Trail after beating the Smoke Eaters the night before.

 

In the Standings: 

Wenatchee has 64 points in 54 games while Salmon Arm has 57 in 53 games, but has also played one less game. If Salmon Arm is able to win these next three games against Wenatchee, they’ll be one point behind for third in the division, and hold a game in hand. On the other hand, if Wenatchee wins at least two of these games, they’ll guarantee Salmon Arm being unable to catch them in the standings. Right behind Salmon Arm in the standings are the Vernon Vipers and West Kelowna Warriors. The Vipers are one point back in the same amount of games, while the Warriors are two points back, and after losing Thursday to Prince George have one extra game played.

 

Players to Watch: 

Silverbacks: Making his first start in the States since being acquired by the Silverbacks, it will be interesting to see what Jack Sampson can do on the ice for Salmon Arm. After sitting out last weekend with a sickness, the forward returned Wednesday against Chilliwack and looked good drawing a penalty, and then setting up Justin Wilson on that very power play. The big forward had just one point in his first five games, but now has five in the last four. Wednesday marked the first time since January 4th that John Little didn’t hit the scoresheet. The young forward recorded points in 15 straight games which was the second longest streak this season. Back in December, Little scored what his sixth point of the season … he has 18 in the two months since then.

Wild: In his third season with the team, Chad Saskai‘s goal and assist in the last game surpassed his offensive totals from last season in three fewer games. The Colorado College commit is a veteran presence on the back end, and is fourth in team scoring with 37 points through 54 games. He leads the team defence in points. He has missed quite a bit of time this season with injury (playing just 38 games) but Wenatchee local Matt Dorsey has been one of the best players for the Wild offensively. He missed the last meeting against Salmon Arm, but had one assist in each of the first matchups in the Shaw Centre.

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