The Salmon Arm Silverbacks served up an evening of disappointment for Merritt Centennials fans.
On Tuesday, April 9, the two teams faced off at Nicola Valley Memorial Arena for Game 3 of their playoff series. The Silverbacks took Game 1 with a 3-2 overtime win, while the Cents secured a 3-2 win in Game 2.
Tuesday night’s game would belong to the ‘Backs.
Merritt’s Michael Stenberg was first to light up the board with an early marker in first period. The Silverbacks’ Cole Longacre would get the last word of the frame with a goal at 18:02, assisted by Jonah Aegerter and Patrick Rafferty.
The Silverbacks’ Ty Paisley potted a tie-breaker at 10:31 in the second period, assisted by Liam Gayfer and Ryan Philbrick. The team would go on to dominate the frame, with additional goals coming from Isaac Lambert, assisted by Philbrick and Marcus Broberg, and from Cole Cooksey, assisted by Ryan Gillespie.
Back-and-forth action in the third period saw an increase in penalties, particularly for the home team, but no goals, leaving the Silverbacks with a 4-1 win.
Total shots on net were about the same, with the Silverbacks’ Eli Pulver stopping 24, and Merritt’s Andrew Ballantyne 25.
Game 4 of the series takes place tonight (Wednesday, April 10) at Nicola Valley Memorial Arena. Game 5 will be back in Salmon Arm on April 12.
Read more: Salmon Arm Silverbacks stumble in Game 2 of playoff series versus Merritt