It’s been a dry couple weeks, but the Salmon Arm Silverbacks quenched their thirst for victory with two wins on the road over the weekend.
On Friday night in Powell River, the Silverbacks dethroned the Kings with a 3-2 victory where Noah Wakeford shined with two goals.
After a great save from goaltender Ethan Langenegger, Salmon Arm set themselves up for the first goal of the game. Andy Stevens took a shot out front, with Noah Wakeford swooping in to pick up the rebound and neatly tuck it in past the Kings’ goalie.
In the second, the Kings were put into a really awkward spot, having to contend with a five-on-three power play for almost a full 90 seconds. Wakeford made a double-or-nothing play during this huge offensive advantage, picking up another rebound that he promptly shot over the goal-line.
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Around the 13-minute mark, Silverbacks forward Justin Wilson added another to his scoring streak, picking up Salmon Arm’s third goal of the game with a great long-distance snipe of a shot on the Kings’ goal.
Up 3-0 going into the third, it was looking like a walk in the park for Salmon Arm, but the Powell River bench made it a close game. Josh Coblenz of the Kings made a shot that put Powell River up on the board with just six minutes left and a goal from Neal Samanski in the last minute made it 3-2.
Salmon Arm would successfully quell the Kings’ royal attempt at a comeback, however, clamping down with a tough defence to secure the win over one of the top offensive lines in the BCHL.
Saturday, Dec. 8 saw the Silverbacks in Victoria to face off with the Grizzlies in a game that was decided in the first period.
Things tipped in Victoria’s favour early on, with Ryan Nolan of the Grizzlies scoring the first goal around the six minute mark, assisted by Brady MacDonald and Nico Somerville.
This was followed up at twelve minutes by the Grizzlies’ Edward Yan, assisted by Charlie Campbell and Marty Westhaver to make it 2-0 for Victoria.
Salmon Arm took a pair of penalties late in the period, quelling their offensive chances in the first, and the rest of the game was a quiet one on both sides of the ice. No further goals were scored and it ended as a 2-0 win for the Grizzlies.
The action heated up a bit on Sunday, however, with the Silverbacks locking down a win in overtime against the Surrey Eagles.
Surrey opened the scoring early in the first, and the period would be a bit of a rough-and-tumble one with several penalties being slapped on each side. Despite seven power plays over 20 minutes, there was only one goal in the first.
Surrey picked up a second goal early in the second, but the Silverbacks put a quick damper on the Eagles’ 2-0 lead. Tyson Gayfer homed in on the Surrey goal and made two goals in the last five minutes. Aiden Jenner and Olson Werenka assisted on the first; Sol Seibel and Jenner assisted on the second.
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Sitting at a 2-2 stalemate, things would swing both ways in the third period. Hudson Schandor of the Silverbacks put Salmon Arm ahead in the early stages of the period, assisted by Seibel. Ten minutes later, Surrey returned the favour and locked things up again at 3-3, which would send the game into overtime.
However, the extra frame would be a short and sweet one for the Silverbacks, with hometown skater Cole Nisse ending the game just 14 seconds into overtime off the assist from Andy Stevens. Nisse not only made the victory goal, it was his first goal in the BCHL.
On the homefront this week, the Salmon Arm Silverbacks sent some players out to the South Shuswap branch of the Okanagan Regional Library Dec. 5 to help kids out with some Christmas craft-making.
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