PHOTO: Cherie Morgan/Cherie Morgan Photography
The Penticton Vees (28-10-1-1) look for back-to-back wins to open up the New Year as they make their final trip of the regular season to the Shuswap to take on the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (21-15-1-1) on Friday night at the Shaw Centre.
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 (7:00 PM)
Saturday, January 18th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (6:00 PM)
Friday, February 7th @ South Okanagan Events Centre (7:00 PM)
Penticton comes into Friday night’s matchup after opening up the 2020 portion of their schedule with a New Year’s Day victory over the Vernon Vipers by a 3-1 score on Wednesday afternoon at Kal Tire Place. Tristan Amonte opened the scoring before 2nd period goals from Liam Malmquist and Evan McIntyre helped the Vees to the two-goal victory. Carl Stankowski stood tall in the Vees net, turning aside 20 of the 21 shots thrown his way in his 6th win of the season.
The Vees and the Silverbacks are set to play the fourth of their six-game season series tonight with Penticton coming away with the most recent victory, a 6-3 triumph in mid-November at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Six different goal scorers in the way of Danny Weight, David Silye, Evan McIntyre, Jay O’Brien, Steve Holtz and Lukas Sillinger each tallied for the Vees while Yaniv Perets turned aside 20 of the 23 shots he faced for the win in between the pipes.
Vees Leading Scorers:
Jay O’Brien (15-32-47)
Lukas Sillinger (15-28-43)
Danny Weight (17-25-42)
David Silye (13-25-38)
Colton Kalezic (11-16-27)
The Vees will have a boost on the back end as defenseman Steve Holtz returns to the lineup for the first time since December 4th in Wenatchee. The University of Michigan commit has missed the last seven games with an injury and returns to the Vees lineup with 4 goals and 14 assists for 18 points this season. The White Lake, Michigan native has tallied a point in each of the three games played against the Silverbacks this season, posting a goal and two assists for three points in that span.
The strong stretch of play for forward Lukas Sillinger continued on New Year’s Day as he earned an assist in the Vees 3-1 victory and extended his point streak to four games in the process. The University of Nebraska-Omaha commit has scored three goals and added five assists for eight points over that span while moving into second in team scoring with his 43 points. The Regina, Saskatchewan native has registered a point in eight of his last ten games, dating back to late November.
Defenseman Conner Hutchison has added plenty of scoring from the back end this season for Penticton as he leads all Vees defenders in points with 26. The University of Vermont commit brings a four-game point streak of his own into Friday night’s affair in Salmon Arm, scoring a goal and adding four assists for five points over that span. The Hicksville, New York native ranks 8th in the BC Hockey League in scoring from blue liners with 4 goals and 22 assists.
The Salmon Arm Silverbacks enter play on Friday night after splitting a weekend home-and-home set against the Vernon Vipers, earning a win last Saturday night in Vernon before falling by a 4-2 score to the Vipers at the Shaw Centre on Sunday afternoon. Akito Hirose and Daniel Rybarik tallied the lone goals for the ‘Backs while Ethan Langenegger turned away 31 of the 34 shots he faced in the loss in goal.
Silverbacks Leading Scorers:
Akito Hirose (8-33-41)
Noah Wakeford (15-24-39)
Daniel Rybarik (20-11-31)
William Poirier (11-15-26)
Nick Unruh (8-15-23)
Leading the Silverbacks in scoring in his fourth BCHL season, Akito Hirose has been the centerpiece of the offensive attack of the team. The University of Minnesota-Mankato commit is riding a four-game point streak into action tonight where he has tallied three goals and five assists for eight points over that span. The Calgary, AB native is the top scoring defenseman in the league heading into tonight’s game with 41 points and ranks 2nd in assists with 33.
One of four 20-goal scorers in the BCHL comes in the form of Silverbacks forward Daniel Rybarik, who tallied his 20th marker of the season on Sunday afternoon. The Calgary, AB native has points in each of his last four games and has scored in each of the last three contests, posting four goals and two assists for six points in that stretch. Rybarik has scored in bunches this season as he has registered four multi-goal games over the campaign.
Despite the defeat on home ice on Sunday afternoon, the Silverbacks have been at their strongest when playing at the Shaw Centre. Salmon Arm has posted a record of 14-6-0-0 on home ice this season, collecting the most points at home amongst teams in the Interior Division. The Silverbacks have scored 66 goals while surrendering 48 at home, ranking in a tie for 3rd in the league in home goal differential.
The Vees and Silverbacks will play in the fourth of their six-game season series tonight at the Shaw Centre. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with the game being broadcasted live on EZ Rock AM 800 as well as HockeyTV.com beginning with the pre-game show at 6:40 PM with the Voice of the Vees, Trevor Miller.
