The first meeting of the season between the Smoke Eaters and Silverbacks didn’t disappoint, however the result went against the Smoke Eaters who fall 2-1 to the leagues 1st placed team.
It’s not unfair to say the Smoke Eaters were the better team despite the score line. It was a fairly open game with rushes either way. The Silverbacks opened the scoring late in the first period as Ladyman found Noah Serdacny off the rush on the left side of the Smoke Eaters zone, where he wasted no time letting his shot go. Serdacny’s shot beat Owen Albers, who was making his BCHL debut, to open the scoring for Salmon Arm.
In the second the teams traded powerplay chances including a contentious five minute major penalty that went against the Smoke Eaters. Both Albers and Liam Vanderkooi made fantastic saves in the middle frame to keep the opposing team off the board. Cunningham hit the inside of the post, the Smoke Eaters best chance of the period. The Silverbacks also had a goal waved off for goaltender interference on Albers.
In the third, after a short 24 seconds of 4-on-4 to start the period, the Silverbacks went back to the man advantage with time remaining on the major penalty that was called late in the second. The Silverbacks capitalized as Simon Tassy, who was parked in front of the net, found the puck in tight and beat Albers to give the Backs a 2-0 lead. That lead would be short lived as Brady Hunter finally cracked Vanderkooi, picking up his 18th of the year.
That unfortunately would be as close as the Smoke Eaters would get, as the Silverbacks held firm to see out a 2-1 victory.
The Smoke Eaters will have a quick turnaround, as they head to Penticton for a 6pm game to take on the Vees on Saturday.
