Beginning hockey games the right way has been elusive for the Salmon Arm SilverBacks at times this season and last weekend they exhibited both good and bad examples.
In a home-and-home set with the Trail Smoke Eaters, the ’Backs won Friday’s opener in Trail 5-3 despite falling behind early in the first and again in the second. Coming home Saturday, they used a pair of quick goals early on and skated to a 3-1 victory.
At Trail’s Cominco Arena Friday, Jake Kauppila put the Smokies up just 1:09 in and though Salmon Arm had responses to the Trail goals, it was not until late in the third when Evan Anderson scored on the power play that they finally took a lead. Landon Smith had a late empty-netter to seal the deal.
“The approach with Trail has been to give them respect,” said ’Backs veteran defenceman Brendan Kennedy. “They work really hard (but) we felt if we put out our best effort, we’d get the four points.
“I think we’ve struggled with our starts. Our first period is our worst period by a long shot. But if we work hard, we win.”
Addressing the issue of slow starts would be a challenge coming home Saturday but the SilverBacks rose to it. After driving all night and getting back to Salmon Arm at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, drowsiness would be understandable, but it didn’t show as Anderson and Alex Gillies scored 15 seconds apart early in the first.
“It’s definitely a tough trip,” said Kennedy of the journey back from the Kootenays. “The further we get into winter, the worse the roads get. On that Saturday, you spend a lot of time sleeping and it’s definitely different than any other game day.
“But it doesn’t matter what time it is or what happened before, you have to be mature enough to deal with it.”
It’s a lesson the team seems to be grasping now. But even after the pair of quick goals, it was a struggle to put the pesky Smoke Eaters away for the night. Trail got within one in the second on a goal by Colby Livingstone and it was not until another empty-netter by Smith that the outcome was certain.
“It wasn’t out of reach for them by any means,” said Kennedy. “After we scored two goals, the tendency is to say, ‘This is alright.’ Pretty much until that empty-netter, it was game on.”
Salmon Arm outshot Trail 17-6 in the third, but Dustin Nikkel made a number of key saves against his former team to give Trail a chance to tie it.
“We know we have to make him work,” said Kennedy. “We did have a few chances we should have beared down on.”
Salmon Arm hosts Langley on Saturday in a 7 p.m. face off and then West Kelowna comes to town on Sunday for a 3 p.m. start. The ’Backs visit Trail again on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Kennedy says a good start remains an important theme.
“I think that as of late, we’ve been better. When you’re playing from behind, it’s not a good spot to be because any team can win on any given night.”
Trades
The Salmon Arm SilverBacks made two roster adjustments ahead of the Dec. 1 CJHL carding deadline, acquiring forward Michael Roberts from the Trail Smoke Eaters in exchange for future considerations.
The team also re-assigned forward Riley Hunt to a yet-to-be determined KIJHL franchise where he will be a ’Backs affiliate player for the remainder of the season.
Roberts is an 18-year-old from Vernon, who spent 53 games with the Vernon Vipers last season, posting 10 points and four goals, before a trade that sent him to the Surrey Eagles, where he began this season, before a subsequent trade to the Smoke Eaters that eventually led to his arrival in Salmon Arm.
As for Riley Hunt, Mick says he hopes the opportunity for added ice-time in the KIJHL will benefit his game.