The Salmon Arm Silverbacks rebounded from a loss to the West Kelowna Warriors with a 2-0 victory versus the Nanaimo Clippers in Junior A action over the weekend.
On Friday, Oct. 18, the ‘Backs weren’t at their best when battling the Warriors at Royal LePage Place. West Kelowna’s Andrew Viggars lit up the board around the halfway mark; the power-play conversion would end up being the only goal of the period.
Second frame saw a few penalties for both teams, similar to first period, but neither team was able to ripple the mesh before the period’s end.
Early on in the third, a Max Bulawka-marker gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead. Minutes later, however, the Silverbacks’ Domenic Garozzo responded with a goal off of Holden Knights, giving the Salmon Arm team a notable morale boost. While they would outshoot the home team, the Silverbacks couldn’t to find the back of the net again before the period’s end.
Garozzo was named the game’s third star.
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On Sunday, Oct. 20, the Nanaimo Clippers would leave Salmon Arm with nothing to show for their efforts versus the Silverbacks.
More than 800 people were in the stands at Shaw Centre to see the ‘Backs shutout their Nanaimo guests with a 2-0 win.
Goaltenders on both ends of the ice – Ethan Langenegger for the Silverbacks and Zachary Bennett for the Clippers – were kept equally busy throughout the first frame, both performing admirably between the pipes. A cross-checking call for the Clipper’s Tyler Williams gave Salmon Arm the man advantage, and Daniel Rybarik capitalized on it to score the sole goal of the frame, assisted by Akito Hirose and Noah Wakeford.
Neither team scored in the second frame.
Salmon Arm’s Drew Bennet potted a single 19 second into the third period, assisted by Wakeford and Rybarik. The ‘Backs would hold onto that lead until the final buzzer.
Some of our favourite photos from yesterday's big win, courtesy of the great @cjaksfowler!#ALLin2020 #BCHL pic.twitter.com/xhyffytfMd
— Salmon Arm Silverbacks (@SASilverbacks) October 21, 2019
A Clippers goal in the third was disqualified due to interference in the Salmon Arm crease.
Langenegger was named game’s first star, while Bennett received third-star honours.
From the Silverbacks’ website: “Langenegger continues to impress because of his calm demeanour. It’s one thing to make big saves at big times, and it’s another to do so and make them seem easy.
“The Kamloops native got his second shutout of the season and now sits tied for first in the league with 10 wins (10-1 record). His .939 SV per cent is tied for the third-best in the league amongst goalies that have played at least seven games.”
The Silverbacks are back on home ice on Wednesday, Oct. 23, when they host the Surrey Eagles.
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