The Salmon Arm Silverbacks comeback from 3-0 down to defeat the West Kelowna Warriors 6-3 Saturday night.
The Warriors needed to get that first goal to start the game and they got that and more after a dominant first period. First it was the Silverbacks taking a penalty sending out the top unit powerplay which allowed Mike Hardman and Wyatt Head to go to work and find Parm Dhaliwal wide open on the left side circle who made no mistake to make it 1-0 less than 4 minutes into the game.
Halfway through the period the second best power play in the BCHL went back to work but this time it was the second unit getting on the board. After some great puck movement from Lucas Bahn keeping the puck in the attacking zone, Max Bulawka and Willie Reim were able to feed Anthony Bishop who fired a wrist shot past Ethan Langenegger to make it 2-0 heading into the dressing room.
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The second period started well for the Warriors with the reunited second line of Bulawka, Hardman and Reim going to work. It was Anthony Bishop who found Reim in the neutral zone who turned on the jets skating past the Silverbacks defender and launched a wrist shot which would go off the blocker of Langenegger and in to make it 3-0. Things would change during the rest of the period with the Warriors taking their foot off the gas pedal and the Silverbacks switching gears. The Connor Hopkins shut out ended with a simple deflection from a John Little pass which went off a Warriors player to make it 3-1. Then, only two and a half minutes later, the Warriors would get caught in their own zone again with the Silverbacks veteran forwards going to work. It would be Nick Unruh who would rifle shot top corner past Connor Hopkins to cut the lead to one after the second frame.
The Warriors started with third with pressure in the Silverbacks zone, but only for a couple minutes. The wheels would come off for the Warriors at the 17 minute mark of the period with Trevor Adams scoring his 16th of the season tying the game up at three. At this point all momentum was on the side of the Silverbacks the rest of the period. With under 10 minutes to go Matthew Verboon would put one past Connor Hopkins to complete the comeback and take the lead 4-3. The Warriors would need something drastic to get back into the game, icing the puck to create odd man rushes, or just simply throwing the puck towards Ethan Langenegger hoping for a rebound but they couldn’t answer. The Silverbacks would score two more empty net goals to make it 6-3 ending the hockey game.
Shots on goal 41-39 in favor of the Warriors.
The Warriors next game is Friday night versus the Chilliwack Chiefs. Puck drop at 7 p.m. from Prospera Centre.
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