PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (34-11-1-1) conclude their weekend on home ice with another Interior Division battle as they welcome the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (23-18-1-1) to the South Okanagan Events Centre on Saturday night.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE vs. SALMON ARM
Wednesday, October 16th @ Shaw Centre (5-2 Silverbacks) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, November 13th @ Shaw Centre (4-3 Silverbacks) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, November 15th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6-3 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, January 3rd @ Shaw Centre (5-2 Vees) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, January 18th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
Friday, February 7th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Penticton will look to keep the offense rolling after their largest goal output of the season on Friday night in a 9-1 victory over the Merritt Centennials at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Jay O’Brien found the back of the net twice while Danny Weight, David Silye, Jackson Niedermayer, Tristan Amonte, Jack Barnes, Liam Malmquist and Darwin Lakoduk each added singles in the victory. Carl Stankowski made 28 saves on 29 shots in earning his 10th win of the season between the pipes.
The Vees and Silverbacks play the second of three games at the South Okanagan Events Centre and the fifth of their six-game season series with Penticton evening the set after a 5-2 victory at the Shaw Centre in the teams’ last meeting. Jackson Niedermayer and Jack Barnes each scored twice in the hockey game while David Silye added a single marker in the win. Yaniv Perets was outstanding in goal for the Vees, pushing away 40 of the 42 shots thrown his way for the win in between the pipes.
Vees Leading Scorers:
David Silye (19-33-52)
Jay O’Brien (17-33-50)
Lukas Sillinger (16-32-48)
Danny Weight (20-27-47)
Jackson Niedermayer (18-17-35)
Saturday night marks a milestone for a Vees defenseman as Nico Somerville will suit up for his 200th career regular season game. The American International College (AIC) commit has scored 16 goals and added 62 assists for 78 points during his tenure in the BCHL. The Port Alberni, BC native has played in 17 games with the Vees since being acquired from the Victoria Grizzlies, notching a pair of goals and seven assists for nine points during that span, including Wednesday night’s overtime winning marker in Vernon.
Two goals from forward Jay O’Brien helped the Vees to their largest margin of victory of the season on Friday night and also combined to give the Philadelphia Flyers 1st round selection from the 2018 NHL Draft a six-game point streak. The Boston University commit has tallied 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points over his last six games, making his way back from an injury on Wednesday night in Vernon. The Hingham, Massachusetts native registered his 13th multi-point game of the season with his two goals in the Vees 34th win of the season on Friday.
Adding offense from the back end has been something the Vees have been quite effective at this season and part of that has come in the form of second-year defender Carson Kosobud, who owns a three-game point streak into Saturday night’s action. The Arizona State University has four assists during his stretch of three consecutive games with a point including two assists in Friday night’s triumph.
The Salmon Arm Silverbacks come into Saturday night’s action with a 23-18-1-1 record after a 6-2 victory over the Prince George Spruce Kings on Wednesday night at the Shaw Centre. Luke Mylymok found the back of the net twice while Coalson Wolford, William Poirier, Daniel Rybarik and Nick Unruh each scored singles in the contest. Grant Adams turned aside 28 of the 30 shots he faced in his 1st win of the season in between the pipes for the Silverbacks.
Silverbacks Leading Scorers:
Noah Wakeford (16-27-43)
Akito Hirose (9-34-43)
Daniel Rybarik (24-13-37)
William Poirier (12-17-29)
Nick Unruh (9-18-27)
Daniel Rybarik ranks in a tie for 2nd amongst goal scorers in the BCHL with 24 markers on the season and comes into Saturday night carrying a three-game point streak, scoring in each of those three contests. The Calgary, Alberta native recently committed to the University of Alaska-Anchorage and has posted 24 goals this season to go along with 13 assists for 37 points. Rybarik has scored three goals and added one assist for four points during his three consecutive games with a point and has tallied at least a point in eight of his last nine games.
The Silverbacks used special teams, in a large manner, to help propel them to their four-goal victory over the Spruce Kings on Wednesday night. Salmon Arm scored five times on the power play, going 5-for-5 on the night with the extra man, including tallying twice on a five-minute major power play in the 3rd period. Salmon Arm has tallied a power play goal in two of their last three games and sit 10th in power play percentage at 18.3%.
After completing a six-game home stand, the Silverbacks will start a string of five games away from home beginning tonight in Penticton. Salmon Arm posted two wins during that six-game stretch at the Shaw Centre and come into Saturday night’s game being tied with the Langley Rivermen for playing the least amount of road games amongst all BCHL teams. The Silverbacks have played 18 games away from home this season, posting a 7-9-1-1 record while scoring 53 goals and surrendering 66.
The Vees and Silverbacks drop the puck on the fifth of their six-game season series tonight at the South Okanagan Events Centre at 6:00 PM. Tickets are available for purchase at the Valley First Box Office as well as online at ValleyFirstTix.com.
