BLAKE FRIARS
SALMON ARM SILVERBACKS
Defenceman Mike Ladyman scored the shootout winner in the eighth round, as the Salmon Arm Silverbacks defeated the Prince George Spruce Kings 3-2 on the road in B.C. Hockey League action Saturday, Feb. 26.
The Silverbacks ended up taking both games in PG, winning 4-3 on Friday.
There were big hits, two penalties, and nine shots apiece in the opening 20 minutes Saturday. The Silverbacks got the first powerplay opportunity of the game when forward Nathan Morin was upended behind the Spruce Kings goal. The Silverbacks did not score on that man advantage, but they spent the entire two minutes in the offensive zone, and it seemed to give the ‘Backs some momentum.
At one point, the shots were 8-2 in favour of Salmon Arm.
The bench then erupted after forward Brandon Santa Juana hammered Spruce Kings defenceman Amran Bhabra in the left corner. Santa Juana has had multiple huge hits this weekend. The Spruce Kings got a powerplay of their own after defenceman Jake Lammens went off for tripping. The Spruce Kings had three shots on the powerplay but could not solve Silverbacks netminder Owen Say.
Say and Jordan Fairlie was perfect in the opening frame stopping all nine shots they faced.
In the second period, with Owen Desilets in the penalty box for hooking, Simon Labelle split the defence and beat Say glove side to open the scoring. The Spruce Kings would have another opportunity on the man advantage late in the period when Simon Tassy went off for hooking, but Say and the penalty kill stood tall, thanks to some key blocks by rookie forward Nathan Mackie. The Spruce Kings outshot the Backs 12-8 in the middle frame and took a 1-0 lead into the third.
With the Silverbacks down a goal, they needed somebody to step up. It was the top line that got them on the board. After some good work by Tassy and Zack Smith to hold the puck in the zone, Smith found Santa Juana behind the defenders, and he beat Fairlie blocker side to tie the game at one with 11:44 left in the hockey game.
The tie game didn’t last very long, though. Just 29 seconds later, Rowan Miller collected a loose puck and beat Say blocker side to restore the Spruce Kings’ lead. The teams went back and forth for a while with no results. Then with six minutes left in the third period, the Silverbacks tied the game.
Tucker Hartmann let a point shot go, and it was tipped at the side of the net by none other than Tassy. The goal was historic for Tassy as he passed Mark Zengerle for the most goals in franchise history. The rest of regulation solved nothing, so overtime was needed.
In the extra period, the Silverbacks controlled most of the possession and outshot the Spruce Kings 2-1, but nothing was solved as the game headed to a shootout.
The penalty shot competition went eight rounds. Tassy opened the scoring in sudden death, but Simon Labelle extended the shootout in round three to keep the game on. The Silverbacks had four chances to win the game but could not convert. Say stopped five Spruce Kings in a row to keep giving the Silverbacks a chance to win.
Finally, in round eight, the Silverbacks tabbed Mike Ladyman for the fifth opportunity to win; Ladyman came in very slow and backhanded it over the glove of Fairlie to win the game for the ‘Backs.
Salmon Arm will be back in action Wednesday and Thursday on the road in Cranbrook and Trail. With the win, the ‘Backs improve to 32-8-4 on the season and remain in second place in the Interior Conference, four points behind the Penticton Vees.
READ MORE: Penticton Vees shut down Salmon Arm Silverbacks, hold on for 1-0 victory
READ MORE: IOC urges sports bodies to cancel events in Russia, Belarus
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Want to support local journalism? Make a donation here.