Who: Silverbacks vs Vees
When: 6pm
Where: SOEC
Radio: EZ ROCK AM 800
Watch: Fasthockey Pay-Per-View
The Penticton Vees (27-11-2-3) are right back at it, as they host another Interior Division foe in the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (20-17-1-5) at the SOEC; face-off is 6pm. It’s a quick turnaround, as face-off will be less than 24 hours after the Vees dropped the puck in Merritt against the Centennials on Friday.
Last night the Vees suffered their second straight loss, again by just one goal and again by a 2-1 score. Merritt’s Daniel Nachbaur pounced on a rolling puck and scored on a partial breakaway midway through the third period, as the Vees were held to just one goal for the second consecutive game.
Erik Benoit scored the Vees only goal, seconds into the third period, leveling the game at one with his power-play marker. Off the opening face-off, Brad McClure was first to the puck behind the Merritt net and found Benoit open in front for the one-timer; the Vees first power-play goal in three games.
Diego Cuglietta scored the only other goal, that coming midway through the second period. After a scoreless first period, Cuglietta kept the puck on a two-on-one rush and put a dart underneath Hunter Miska’s blocker 10 minutes into the middle frame; earlier Miska stopped Cuglietta on a penalty-shot in the sandwich stanza.
This is the first game against Salmon since October 26th, a game in which the Vees were doubled-up 4-2 by the Silverbacks; the Vees were missing three defensemen for that game. Salmon Arm so far has won the first two meetings in this eight-game season series. They also took the first meeting of the season between these two, that a 5-2 score on October 4th; both of their wins coming in Salmon Arm.
Its sum 26 games between meetings but these two will play six more times in the Vees finall 15 games of the regular season; they’ll be sick of each other by the end of it.
Salmon Arm lost at home 4-2 to the visiting Alberni Valley Bulldogs Friday. With that loss and Merritt’s win over Penticton, the ‘Backs enter tonight two points out of the fourth and final playoff spot in the Interior Division.
Tonight features the two top scorers in the BCHL going head-to-head, as Landon Smith has a three point lead (36-29-65) over Brad McClure (33-29-62) in the scoring race.
