The Penticton Vees and Salmon Arm Silverbacks won’t be on each other’s “nice list” any time soon. The two teams combined for over 70 penalty-minutes and 34 penalties, as the Silverbacks thumped the Vees 5-2 to close out the pre-Christmas Schedule. Emotions certainly boiled over, as the two teams combined for seven fighting majors and both teams had several players handed game misconducts. 11 players in total didn’t finish the game in which they started, including five Vees. Ryley Risling and Chris Klack scored in a losing effort and Nolan Hildebrand suffered his first loss in eight games, stopping 36 of 41 shots. Connor Sundquist scored a pair of goals and Ryley Booth, Mitch Skapski and Justin Wilson also tallied for the ‘Backs, who snapped a three-game winless skid. Nic Tallarico picked up his second win against the Vees, stopping 26 of 28 shots. It was a much tamer start, as the Vees opening the scoring less than three-minutes into the game, when Risling scored on his own rebound at 2:50. The lead was short lived, as Salmon Arm used its power-play to tie things up. From the middle of the blue-line Ryley Booth had his point-shot trickle through Hildebrand’s arm and just across the goal-line at 4:57; Salmon Arm scoring just over 30-seconds into their first power-play. After both teams traded goals inside the first five-minutes, there wasn’t any more scoring in the final 15-minutes of the first period. The second period however, was one the Vees would like to soon forget. Salmon Arm stung the Vees for three goals in the middle stanza, en route to building up a 4-1 lead after 40-minutes. It all started less than two-minutes in, when Sundquist got the ‘Backs their first lead of the game less than two-minutes into the period; he got a piece of a shot from the slot with his stick right on top of the Vees’ crease. Salmon Arm’s power-play flexed its muscles again midway through the period when Skapski scored on a one-timer from between the circles at 10:02 to make it 3-1. Then just after a Vees’ power-play expired, Wilson got out of the penalty-box and won a footrace to the puck, before sliding the puck around Hildebrand on a partial breakaway at 15:05. Tempers flared late in the frame, as the two teams combined for five fighting majors in less than three-minutes. Risling dropped the mitts with Marcus Mitchell with just over three-minutes left in the second. Then Captain Nicholas Jones tangled with Spencer Hora with just 16-seconds left in the period. Then as time was running out in the period, Turner Ripplinger got mixed up with Carter Cochrane. Penticton was down two nine forwards to start the third period. The bad blood carried over in the third, as Kenny Johnson was assessed a five-minute blow-to-head major penalty two and a half minutes in, after he threw a hot on Elijiah Barriga just inside the Vees’ zone. Carson Bolduc went after Johnson in response, and the two were given five-minute fighting majors. Johnson was also assessed an aggressor penalty and Bolduc was tagged with an instigator. When the dust settled, the Silverbacks ended up with a five-on-three power-play and they didn’t squander the opportunity. Connor Sundquist scored his second of the game when he had his shot go off a Vee out front and past Hildebrand at 3:16. Penticton got a goal back on a power-play of their own, as Jonny Tychonick’s point-shot caught a piece of Chris Klack out front at 12:47; Klack’s 10th of the season.

Penticton Western News