Last time was fun.
In the final game of the 2017-2018 regular season, the Salmon Arm Silverbacks defeated the Penticton Vees 5-4 in overtime at the South Okanagan Centre. Of the five goals scored, four players on the current roster were involved. Nick Unruh, Noah Wakeford, and Justin Wilson all had a single assist while Akito Hirose had two helpers.
Last weekend the Silverbacks picked up three of four points in their home doubleheader. A 5-2 win over West Kelowna was followed by a 3-2 overtime loss to Victoria. Leading the home side in scoring was Aiden Jenner who scored his first BCHL goal on Friday against West Kelowna, and had one assist in each game. John Little also scored his first BCHL goal Friday night.
10 games into this season, the Silverbacks have five wins, four losses, and one loss in overtime. Last season it took the team 12 games to hit that mark.
This is set to be a tough weekend for the Silverbacks as they take on last year’s Interior regular season champions tonight and then head north tomorrow where they will take on Prince George who is hovering right around the top of the league early this season. The Spruce Kings have 13 returning players from the group that went to the BCHL finals last year.
Last year the season series swayed in favour of the Vees who won five of the six games.
Both teams have played ten games this season and are neck and neck in the standings. Salmon Arm is 5-4-0-1 for 11 points while Penticton is 6-4-0-0 for 12 points. The Vees are tied with the West Kelowna Warrios for 3rd in the division while the Silverbacks are in 5th.
Players to Watch:
Silverbacks: With Justin Wilson’s absence, more pressure will be on rookie Matthew Verboon. He is currently tied with Wilson for the team lead in goals (5), assists (7), and points (12). Verboon is currently on a five game points streak for the Silverbacks with one goal and six assists in that stretch. In eight of the ten games this season, Verboon has recorded at least a point. It will be a team effort to keep the offence rolling without Wilson, and Verboon is one of the Silverbacks to watch:
Vees: Leading the Vees in points is David Silye. The former Clipper spent two seasons in Nanaimo before coming to the Vees this offseason. Penticton is sure to be happy with his arrival watching him score 18 points in just ten games. He has scored at least a point in all ten games he has played, and has six multi-point games to his name.
TUNE IN
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