The first two games of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks’ three-game road trip to the coast were very close, but neither resulted in a win for the ‘Backs.
Regulation time and two overtime periods were not enough to decide a winner when the Silverbacks played the Powell River Kings on Jan. 12.
In an opening period that saw the Silverbacks pelt Kings’ goaltender Mitch Adamyk with 20 shots, while Kyle Dumba faced only nine, each team came away with a goal. Rhett Kingston scored for the Silverbacks early in the period while Neal Samanski tied the game in the final minute with a power play goal.
Tanner Campbell restored the Silverbacks’ lead early in the second period, but it was a tie game once again by the period’s halfway point. Campbell went on to be named the game’s first star.
Campbell swung the game back in the Silverbacks’ favour with another snipe assisted by Akito Hirose and Julian Timba.
The Silverbacks protected their one-goal lead deep into the third period. The win was only seconds away when Powell River’s Ben Berard scored to tie the game up and send it into overtime.
Neither team could find a hole in the opposing defence and score an over-time goal so the game ended in a tie after 70 minutes of play.
The Silverbacks crossed the Straight of Georgia to take on the Alberni Valley Bulldogs the following night.
The Bulldogs kicked off the game with a goal from Paul Selleck at 6:55 of the first period.
Alberni Valley added to their lead with a power-play goal from Mitchell Oliver early in the second frame. Selleck tallied up his second marker of the game three minutes later.
Down three goals but not out of the game the Silverbacks fought back with a goal from Hudson Schandor assisted by Sol Seibel.
Selleck rounded out a hat trick before the end of the period.
Joseph Leahy scored on a second goal for the Silverbacks as Carter Harris was dealt a five-minute major and ejected from the game for cross-checking.
Kingston kept up the Silverbacks’ momentum, scoring early in the third to make it a one-goal game.
Michael Sacco chipped in the Bulldogs’ fifth goal of the game 4:19 into the third.
A goal from Justin Wilson with just over six minutes left to play put the game within reach for the Silverbacks.
A scuffle at 14:19 sent Hudson Schandor to the box for roughing and saw Austin Chorney as well as Keaton Mastrodonato and Michael Sacco from the Bulldogs given misconduct penalties.
The Silverbacks opted to pull Reid Cooper from the net with 36 seconds left to play in a last minute struggle to tie the game, but to no avail. The end result was a 5-4 defeat for the Silverbacks.
The ‘Backs remain on Vancouver Island to face the Nanaimo Clippers this afternoon.
