The Penticton Vees |(32-9-0-1) are right back at it Sunday, as they travel to the North Okanagan to face the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (16-24-2-2) at the Shaw Centre in a matinee contest; puck drop is 3 pm.
The Vees are coming off a physical and emotional 4-2 victory over the West Kelowna Warriors and are looking for their third straight win. The Silverbacks dropped a 5-1 decision on the road last night to the Merritt Centennials, and have lost three straight.
Nicholas Jones, Owen Sillinger (Power-Play), Grant Cruikshank and Chris Klack (Power-Play) scored in the Vees’ win Saturday. Mat Robson stopped 26 of 28 shots for his 27th win and the power-play scored twice on four opportunities.
After West Kelowna grabbed an early lead in the second, Jones and Sillinger responded with goals to give the Vees a 2-1 lead after 40-minutes. The Warriors tied it up early in the third but Cruikshank and Klack scored 94-seconds part to give the Vees a 4-2 and they never looked back; it was their fifth straight win against the Warriors this season.
It was a chippy affair as the two teams combined for 144 penalty-minutes and there were a total of eight players that were punted from the game early. Ryley Risling did pick up a five-minute blow-to-the-head major and will be suspended for this afternoon’s tilt against the ‘Backs.
Today is the fifth of six meetings between the two teams and despite the Vees sitting in first and the ‘Backs in sixth, it has been a very close season series. The two divisional rivals have split the first four meetings, with each team winning both at home and on the road. The Vees will be looking to avenge a 5-2 loss to the Apes back on December 17th, when they split a weekend home-and-home right before the Christmas break. Speaking of chippy, that game featured eight major penalties, including a handful of fights and a season high 41 penalty-minutes for the Vees.
The Vees have stumbled somewhat on the road of late, losing their last three away from the SOEC; they’re 14-5-0-0 on the road. Their last road win was back on November 22nd in West Kelowna but have had a home-heavy schedule since, as 13 of their last 16 games have been at the SOEC.
Nolan Hildebrand will get his first start since the Vees’ last game against the Silverbacks, and comes into today’s game with a 5-1 record, owning a 2.82 goals-against average and sports a .898 save percentage. Hildebrand did make a relief appearance last Friday in Merritt, playing 19-minutes of the third period in that 3-2 loss to the Cents’.
Penticton will still be missing defencemen Gabe Bast, Greg Brydon and James Miller, to go along with forward Ryley Risling. Bast and Miller are close to returning from injury and Risling starts serving his four-game suspension today. The Vees have called up 18-year-old Konsta Jaske from the Summerland Steam to fill the void on the blue-line. Turner Ripplinger will dress up front for the Vees, replacing Risling.
Salmon Arm has gone under a roster makeover, as they have a significantly different look. Gone are Mitch Skapski, Josh Blanchard, Haydn Hopkins, Landon Fuller and Carter Cochrane. Added is defencemen Austin Chorney from the Chilliwack Chiefs and Brendon Kennedy, formerly of the Powell River Kings, and forwards Trevor Ayre and Ryan Hogg from the Cowichan Valley Capitals. The Silverbacks were the most active team on the January 10th roster deadline.
Though they’re winless in five games, the Silverbacks are still in a playoff position, batting the Surrey Eagles for that cross-over playoff berth. Coming into today’s action, the Silverbacks are three points up on the Eagles in the playoff race; Surrey host Chilliwack this afternoon. A new wrinkle this year has the possibility of the fifth place Mainland Division team crossing over into the Interior playoffs, if they have more points than the sixth place Interior team.
Season Series
November 4th Penticton 4 at Salmon Arm 1
December 2nd Salmon Arm 4 at Penticton 3 (OT)
December 16th Salmon Arm 2 at Penticton 3 (OT)
December 17th Penticton 2 at Salmon Arm 5
Jan 22nd Penticton at Salmon Arm
February 18th Salmon Arm at Penticton
Vees Scoring vs. Salmon Arm
Owen Sillinger 2-2-4
Duncan Campbell 3-0-3
Grant Cruikshank 1-2-3
Chris Klack 1-2-3
Taylor Ward 1-2-3
Silverbacks Scoring vs. Penticton
Connor Sundquist 2-4-6
Ryley Booth 1-3-4
Carson Bolduc 0-4-4
Elijiah Barriga 2-1-3
Trevor Ayre 1-2-3
Fans can listen to tonight’s game on EZ Rock AM 800 locally, or on the iHeartRadio Canada app for their iPhone, iPad, smartphone or tablet. If you’re streaming through your web browser, go to the EZ Rock AM 800 website. The game is also available via the BCHL webcast at www.HockeyTV.com
