SALMON ARM, BC- The Salmon Arm Silverbacks erupted for four goals in the third period, and Simon Tassy recorded a hat-trick as the Silverbacks defeated the West Kelowna Warriors 6-3 at home.
The Silverbacks got off to a quick start on a Friday night inside the Shaw Centre against the West Kelowna Warriors. Just 1:10 into the hockey game, defenceman Jake Lammens sprung Santa Juana, and he roofed it over the glove of Johnny Derrick to make it 1-0 Silverbacks on the first shot of the hockey game. The Warriors thought they had a tying goal, but the goal was waved off after the referee determined that Owen Say was interfered with. The Warriors, to their credit, stuck with it and tied the game for real as moments later when Elan Bar-Lev-Wise shot one through the five-hole of Say for his 9th of the season. The Silverbacks outshot the Warriors 13-9 in the opening twenty minutes.
There were no penalties in the middle frame, and three goals were scored, two for the road team and one for the home side. First, it was defenceman Pat Lawn letting one go from the point, and it found a way through Say to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead. But the top line answered quickly for the Backs. Lammens threw a puck at the net, and it went right to Simon Tassy on the doorstep, and he beat Derrick over the pad to tie it at two. The Warriors regained the lead just 1:30 later when Riley Sharun beat Say over the glove to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead. And that’s where it ended, at the end of forty minutes. The Backs outshot the Warriors 24-17.
In the final frame, the Silverbacks hit the ground running. Five minutes into the period and on a powerplay, Mike Ladyman went coast to coast and beat Derrick glove side to sending the Silverbacks fans into a frenzy. The goal was Ladyman’s second of the season, and it more importantly tied the game at three. Then things got feisty. Danny Ciccarello and Riely Shaun dropped the gloves in front of the Warriors bench, with Ciccarello getting the takedown, and it seemed to give the Silverbacks bench a burst of energy. Just eleven seconds after the tussle, Tassy was the recipient of a dreadful turnover at the Warriors line, and he danced around Derrick for his second of the night and his 15th on the season. Then late in the period, Tassy set up Serdachny for his 6th of the campaign giving the Silverbacks a huge insurance goal and a 5-3 lead. Tassy completed the hat-trick in the game’s final minute and gave the Silverbacks a 6-3 victory. Tassy now has 17 goals in the last 11 meetings vs the Warriors.
With the win, the Silverbacks leapfrog the Warriors in the standings and improve to 11-2-1 on the season. These two teams will meet again tomorrow in Salmon Arm for a 6:00 puck drop.
