The Rona tier three Silvertips hockey team travelled to Osoyoos over the weekend for tournament competition.
Friday afternoon the ’Tips faced off against the Wenatchee Wild.
The contest was a heated one right off the opening faceoff, and contained every bit of Canada vs USA rivalry that we’ve come to expect from an IIHF event.
Big hits, fast paced and relentless forechecking put the Wild on their heels and looking over their shoulders. Harley Bootsma led the scoring with two goals, while Dallas Stewart, Jordan Salewski, and Cam Watson would add singles for the 5-3 win.
Unfortunately, the team lost leading scorer, Pete Grimm to a broken ankle, and Dylan McBeth to a broken arm. Return dates for both players are unknown at this time.
Saturday, the ’Tips were back at it bright and early for a 7 a.m. contest vs the Creston Bruins.
Despite an incredibly short bench, the ’Tips would go on to win 6-1. Assistant captain and game MVP, Colby Sherlock and Bootsma each scored two, while Stewart scored a beauty on a short-handed breakaway, and team captain Kailen Kerr added one from the blueline.
In the ’Tips third game, they dug deep and beat the hosts, South Okanagan in a 4-3 victory.
In the gold medal game, the Silvertips would find themselves down 3-0 entering the third period.
Game MVP Dallas Stewart would open the scoring for Salmon Arm.
Bootsma and Salewski would each pot goals to tie it up, only to have Kelowna capitalize on a lucky bounce to go ahead once more.
With 45 seconds left, and Anderson on the bench for the extra attacker, Cam Watson released a rocket from the blue line, deflecting off of a defenders stick and into the net tying the game at four, forcing overtime.
The Kelowna Rockets would eventually win the game, taking home the gold with a 5-4 overtime victory.