It’s been a dry couple weeks, but the Salmon Arm Silverbacks quenched their thirst for a win after beating the Powell River Kings last night in a 3-2 victory.
In the first period, two shots that looked like they had ‘goal’ written all over them were called off by the referees, putting a bit of a damper on what could have been a higher-scoring game for the Salmon Arm squad. After a great save from goaltender Ethan Langenegger, Salmon Arm set themselves up for the first actual 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.
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.
Related: Silverbacks fall to Wenatchee Wild in fast-paced game
Up 3-0 going into the third, it was looking like a walk in the park for Salmon Arm, but the Powell River bench had something else to say about that. After a hard-fought period and with six minutes left in the game, Josh Coblenz of the Kings made a shot that put Powell River up on the board. They rode the momentum from that goal and pushed hard at Salmon Arm’s zone on the power-play and with an empty net for a two-man advantage and a goal from Neal Samanski with a minute left.
Salmon Arm would successfully quelled the Kings’ royal attempt at a comeback though, clamping down with a tough defence to hold off the remainder of the game and secure a win over one of the top offensive lines in the BCHL.
Tonight the Silverbacks are in Victoria, facing off against the Grizzlies before a trip to Surrey on Sunday for their third road game in three days against the Eagles.
On the home front this week, the Salmon Arm Silverbacks sent some players out to the South Shuswap branch of the Okanagan Regional Library to help some kids out with some Christmas craft-making. Check out a few photos of the team in action below.
