Salmon Arm’s peewee Silverbacks took first place in a home tourney which saw teams from across the Interior compete.
The 12 team competition, held Jan. 25-26 at the Shaw Centre, included teams from Williams Lake, Vernon, Penticton, Kelowna, Prince George, Trail, Kamloops, Spokane and North Vancouver.
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Starting the play was a contest between the Silverbacks and the Timberwolves from Williams Lake. The home team won with a 3-2 tally.
The next two games for the Silverbacks were against league rivals Kamloops and the Vernon Bantam Girls’ squad. The ‘Backs came out on top in both games with scores of 5-2 and 9-3.
Despite a 3-0 record within their pool, the Silverbacks finished in third place and would face the West Kelowna Warriors in the semi-finals.
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No goals were scored in the first period against the Warriors but the Silverbacks found their offensive touch and scored three straight goals in the second. In response, the Warriors put the pressure on in the final period and came up with a pair of goals but did not manage to tie the game. When the final horn sounded, the Silverbacks had captured a 3-2 win and found themselves set for finals.
The other semi-final featured the Penticton Vees against the Timberwolves. The aggressive Timberwolves proved to be too much for the Vees and earned a 5-4 victory, meaning a rematch against ‘Backs for the championship.
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In the championship match, the Salmon Arm and Williams Lake teams traded goals until the teams were tied 2-2. Soon after, the Silverbacks found their second wind, going on to score five more goals to the Timberwolves’ one for a final score of 9-5.
The Silverbacks will now turn their focus toward their final handful of league games as they prepare for playoffs.
@CameronJHT
Cameron.thomson@saobserver.net
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