By winning four of their final five games – all of which were on the road and three of them in come-from-behind fashion, the Salmon Arm SilverBacks have won the right to face the defending RBC Cup national champion Penticton Vees.
The ’Backs most recent results were a 5-4 overtime win in Trail where they again were behind by as many as three goals and a 5-3 win in Prince George where, for a change, they actually got out to a 3-0 lead on their way to victory.
Friday’s victory in Merritt gave Salmon Arm the requisite points they needed to eliminate Trail from playoff contention. After falling behind 3-0 early in the second, Alex Jewell and Steven Iacobellis started a rally and Harlan Orr’s tying marker with seven minutes left was the one that ensured the crucial point.
“It was kind of a strange thing, to see a team going crazy on the bench when it’s a tie,” conceded SilverBacks head coach Scott Robinson. “Our bench was certainly aware; this team has been pointed at a goal for so long… to realize that goal with a tie was strange.”
They didn’t have to settle for a draw though as Carter Lukenda popped the winner 30 seconds into the first overtime.
Closing out the regular season against the Spruce Kings, Salmon Arm got first-period goals from Iacobellis, Josh Bowes and Orr on their way to the win. Jordan Levesque’s third-period tally proved to be the winner.
“It was the exact opposite,” said Robinson of his team building a lead instead of clawing back from behind. “We played well throughout that game in what was a mean-nothing game to both teams.”
There won’t be any more of those with the playoffs beginning Friday in Penticton. The Vees won the season series 5-2 but five of the games were decided by one goal. Penticton did shut out the SilverBacks twice however.
“They’re the defending national champions and all that comes with beating a team like that, we’re looking forward to the challenge,” said Robinson. “You can’t let them run all over you skill-wise… and not let them outnumber us on rushes. We need to keep them off the ice on the power play.”
Beginning the playoffs on the road is no big deal, says Robinson, as his team hasn’t played at Shaw Centre since Feb. 22 anyway.
“We haven’t been at home for a couple of weeks, that’s fine,” he said. “Our next home game is going to be a good one. A couple more on the road won’t hurt us; we like it on the road.”
Adam Clark will start in net Friday in Penticton (7 p.m. faceoff) though Robinson is supremely confident in backup Angus Redmond should the need arise. The midseason pickup has a 2.59 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in nine games.
Salmon Arm will host Penticton Monday, March 18 and Tuesday March 19 for Games 3 and 4. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
SilverBacks captain Brandon Mistal won the Bob Fenton Trophy as the Interior Conference’s Most Sportsmanlike Player. The last ’Backs player to win it was Conor Morrison in 2009.
