The Salmon Arm Silverbacks dropped some big news about a pair of their forwards this week, with Nick Unruh committing to university hockey and Matthew Verboon getting a nod from the BCHL for his performance.
Nick Unruh, who was named rookie of the year in the BCHL last season, has signed on to attend school at Dartmouth College and play as a part of their NCAA Division One team.
This year with the Silverbacks, Unruh is third in goals with 14 scored and sixth on the team when his 10 assists are factored in. He has consistently racked up assists game after game and contributed to points on the scoreboard throughout the season. In 95 career games with the Silverbacks, Unruh has 26 goals and 30 assists for 56 points.
“We are very pleased to announce that second year Silverbacks forward Nick Unruh has committed to attend Dartmouth College. The “Big Green” are getting a very skilled forward who sees the game well and has exceptional shooting ability. Nick is also an exceptional student so Dartmouth is a good academic fit for him. This marks the fifth NCAA scholarship commitment to a Silverback player this season,” said Silverbacks Head Coach and GM Scott Atkinson.
Located in New Hampshire, Dartmouth plays in the ECAC Conference which also contains Colgate University, where Unruh’s teammate Matthew Verboon has committed.
Related: Silverbacks take a win, loss and falter in shootout during weekend games
Verboon’s name also came up again this week, as in his first run of games back on the ice after attending the World Juniors as part of Team Switzerland, he was named as an honourable mention for the BCHL Player of the Week.
It was quite a return to the BCHL for Verboon. In three games with the Silverbacks this weekend, the forward had three goals and two assists, scoring in all three games. Friday against the Vipers Verboon scored the lone Silverbacks goal of the game, Saturday he assisted on the opening goal, and Sunday was his biggest output with one goal and two assists in the win over Powell River.
Verboon is the third Silverback to receive an honourable mention for Player of the Week this season. Unruh and goaltender Ethan Langenegger also earned the nod earlier in the season.
Salmon Arm is on the road this weekend for an outing to the Island. The team starts Friday in Alberni Valley, going to Nanaimo Saturday night, and wrapping things up Sunday in Cowichan Valley. The Silverbacks are back at home on Jan. 25-26, taking on the Trail Smoke Eaters in the Shaw Centre.
