The L. Turner Contracting Atom Dev A Silverbacks hosted a very successful tournament this past weekend.
Twelve teams from the Okanagan, Lower Mainland, Prince George and even as far away as Whitehorse descended on Shaw Centre for some high-paced hockey.
In the end, it was Prince George defeating Chilliwack 8-4 in the championship game.
The Silverbacks lost all three of their round-robin games before winning their final consolation game.
Being undefeated in their tier 2 league this season, head coach Daron Mayes felt it important to put the Silverbacks in a difficult pool of tier 1 teams for round- robin play to challenge them.
Playing against more skilled teams resulted in three losses, but provided the Silverbacks with valuable experience against some of the toughest competition in the province.
Overall, the team played well, and Mayes was pleased with his side’s effort despite losing 10-3 to Whitehorse, 6-2 to Coquitlam and 9-2 to eventual champion Prince George.
Following the round-robin games, Salmon Arm took on their league rival Penticton, defeating them 8-1.
Despite the lopsided scores in the round-robin games, the Silverbacks had no problem keeping pace with such tough competition.
A highlight for the Silverbacks was hosting Whitehorse in a joint team event of bowling and pizza. This gave the players a great opportunity to connect and make friends with fellow hockey players from the North, who had travelled a great distance to find some high-level competition.