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’Backs notch pair of wins

The Salmon Arm SilverBacks’ bus was forced to take a major detour as the Coquihalla highway was closed.
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Digging in: Salmon Arm SilverBacks player Brayden Sherbinin checks Nanaimo Clippers opponent Trevor Fitzgerald during Sunday’s B.C. Hockey League game at Nanaimo’s Frank Crane Arena. The SilverBacks won 4-3 in double overtime.

Heading back to the Shuswap after a three-game Vancouver Island road swing, the Salmon Arm SilverBacks’ bus was forced to take a major detour as the Coquihalla highway was closed. Fortunately, the team and staff were in a good mood after winning their previous two games.

“It always makes for a better bus ride,” said ’Backs head coach Scott Robinson. “We had to backtrack and go through the (Fraser) Canyon – that would have been much harder to take had we not won a couple.”

Victories of 4-2 Saturday over the Cowichan Valley Capitals and 4-3 in overtime on Sunday over the Nanaimo Clippers came after an opening 3-1 loss to the Victoria Grizzlies on Friday. After a lengthy journey by bus and ferry, Robinson said the players had trouble finding their skating legs against the Grizzlies but felt the game in Cowichan was the best of the season.

“It was just a matter of us getting our legs under us the first night,” said Robinson. “(against the Capitals) was probably our best effort of the year.”

It started on the right note as well as they were the beneficiaries of a lucky bounce early on as Brock Balson hustled in on the forecheck and his centring pass deflected into the net past goalie Alex Orth. Shane Hanna followed with a power-play goal on a blast to the top corner.

Jason Trott scored his first of two in the first minute of the second, and his empty-net goal with 44 seconds remaining sealed the win.

Against Nanaimo, the Gorillas also scored the first goal as Carter Lukenda notched a power-play tally. But they went to sleep in the second and actually fell behind 2-1 going into the third before Alex Gillies came to life with a goal and an assist in the final frame, and then the winning goal in double-overtime.

Robinson hammered home the point to his players in the second intermission that they can’t collectively hit the snooze button like they did against the Clippers. They responded in the third.

“We decided to take a period off and just let our goalie play,” said Robinson of the middle frame in Nanaimo. “Colin Dzijacky was outstanding in that period… and we came back to playing how we have to play to give ourselves a chance.”

For Dzijacky, the win was his first in a SilverBacks uniform and the first time his teammates had supplied him with more than two goals in support. Another positive was some production on the man advantage as the team went 2-for-3.

“We all know how important (the power play) is to winning,” said Robinson. “It was nice to see the power play come to life… so we’re happy in that area but we’ve got to keep improving.”

This week in practice, the team’s penalty killing – which has been decent and sits sixth in the BCHL – will get some extra attention.

Salmon Arm plays host for two games this weekend as the Vernon Vipers come to Shaw Centre on Friday and the Coquitlam Express visit on Saturday. Both games are 7 p.m. starts.