PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (11-1-0-0) make their first trip to the Shuswap this season for a big Interior Division clash against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (10-2-1-0) on Wednesday night at the Shaw Centre.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. SALMON ARM
Wednesday, October 16th @ Shaw Centre (7:00 PM)
Wednesday, November 13th @ Shaw Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, November 15th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, January 3rd @ Shaw Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, January 18th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
Friday, February 7th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
The Vees come into Wednesday night’s contest after suffering their first loss of the 2019/20 season, falling by a 4-0 score against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Saturday night at the Weyerhaeuser Arena. Derek Krall started the game for the Vees, making 6 saves on 8 shots in his 1st loss of the season before Yaniv Perets came on in relief, turning aside 18 of the 19 shots thrown his way.
Penticton earned four wins in six tries against Salmon Arm last season and collected points in five of their six meetings. The Vees won twice on the road at the Shaw Centre, including earning a point in a shootout defeat, while defeating the Silverbacks twice at the South Okanagan Events Centre and capping off the 2018/19 season with a 4-0 victory over the ‘Backs on home ice.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (7-14-21)
Danny Weight (7-9-16)
Lukas Sillinger (4-10-14)
Colton Kalezic (5-6-11)
David Silye (4-7-11)
Yaniv Perets will man the crease for his 7th start of the season in goal tonight for the Vees and the 19-year-old has been exceptional to begin the season. The Quinnipiac University commit boasts a 1.03 goals against average and a .957 save percentage, each of which are tops in the BCHL. The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec native has also registered three shutouts this season, which paces all netminders in the league.
Penticton continues to remain at the top of the league when it comes to goal scoring and defending, surrendering a BCHL-best 23 goals against in 12 games this season. On the offensive end, the Vees are 2nd in the league with 54 goals scored on the year and lead the BCHL in goal differential with a +31 rating.
The Vees wrap up their current three-game stand away from home and have been the BCHL’s best road team this season. Penticton comes into Wednesday night’s contest having playing 10 road games (including a game at the BCHL Showcase Festival) and hold a 9-1-0-0 record away from home while scoring 50 goals, which leads the league in that regard.
The Salmon Arm Silverbacks enter Wednesday night’s contest after a 1-0 victory on Saturday night against the Prince George Spruce Kings at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. Hunter Sansbury scored the lone goal of the game on the power play, which stood up as the game winning marker. Ethan Langenegger turned aside all of the 20 shots he faced for his 8th win of the season and his first career BCHL shutout.
Silverbacks Leading Scorers:
Noah Wakeford (7-10-17)
William Poirier (8-8-16)
Akito Hirose (2-11-13)
Daniel Rybarik (6-6-12)
Nick Unruh (4-6-10)
It’s a new look team for the Silverbacks in 2019 with just five returnees coming back from the team that was eliminated in five games to the Vernon Vipers in the playoffs a season ago. Captain Akito Hirose is joined by forwards Nick Unruh, Logan Shaw and Noah Wakeford while Hirose is the lone player on the back end who returns from a season ago. Goaltender Ethan Langenegger is also back between the pipes for the ‘Backs.
Just as Yaniv Perets has been strong in the Vees goal, Ethan Langenegger has been the same for the Silverbacks. The Kamloops, BC native recently earned a commitment to Lake Superior University and has been terrific in the blue paint, sporting a 2.00 GAA and a .930 SV% while earning his first career BCHL shutout on Saturday night in a 1-0 victory over the Spruce Kings. Those solid numbers have spanned over the career of the 19-year-old in the BCHL as Langenegger holds a 2.96 GAA and a .912 SV% in 48 career games.
Into his third season in the BCHL, veteran forward Noah Wakeford is off to his best start offensively to begin the season, leading the Silverbacks with 17 points in 13 games. The Salmon Arm, BC native is one goal shy of his career high, with 7 netted already this season, while his 10 assists rank him second on the team in that regard. Wakeford currently sits tied for 6th in the league in terms of points.
The first of six regular season meetings between the Vees and Silverbacks is set to drop the puck at 7:00 PM from the Shaw Centre. The game will be broadcast on EZ Rock AM 800 as well as HockeyTV.com with the pre-game show kicking off at 6:40 PM with the Voice of the Vees, Trevor Miller.
