It was a high altitude weekend literally and figuratively speaking as the Tier 3 Pee Wee Silvertips ventured to Merritt Nov. 5 and 6. The spirits of these hockey players were lifted enormously with a very competitive display over two games. On Saturday, they played an afternoon match that found them with their first win this season and a final score of 4-3. On Sunday morning they had another run at the Merritt team, and held strong all the way to the last five minutes of the game with a score of 5-5 however the last blast from Merritt proved too much for the Silvertips, sponsored by A & W, and they lost 7-5 . It was an amazing effort that everyone was ecstatic about. Josh Odermatt was the hard-hat recipient and Ryan Sadorsky showed some powerful defensive skill. Ben Karran got his first goal of the season and Jordan Fournier wore his heart on his sleeve. The metamorphosis continues.
Tier 1 females stay strong
All in all it was a great weekend of competition for the Salmon Arm Female Midget Tier 1 who won one and tied another.
Saturday, the girls went head to head against Kamloops at the Wesbild Centre in Vernon. With no goals in the first, Salmon Arm’s first goal came from Sarah Botter at 6:27 of the second, with an assist from Maddison Turner. Just five minutes later, Turner herself scored, with assists from Hailey Haskell and Summer Jespersen.
Kamloops was scoreless until the third when they made two, one at 5:27 and another at 2:53, to tie it up.
Sunday, it was off to the Capital News Centre in Kelowna for another well-fought game. Although Kelowna scored first at 18:14 of the first period, Salmon Arm tied it up with an unassisted goal from Lisa Campeau at 11:25. Taking a 2-1 lead with a goal from Maddison Turner at 17:00 of the second, assists from Jespersen and Sarah Botter, Kelowna tied it up in the third with a goal at the 17:35 mark. Then, with only 3:35 left in the third, Salmon Arm took the lead with a goal from Botter and an assist from Jespersen, making the final score 3-2.
This Sunday, the girls play Kelowna at the Sunwave Centre, 11:30 a.m.
Saints in Revy semis
Finishing third out of eight teams overall, the Salmon Arm Fix Auto Atom Saints showed heart and determinations at the Revelstoke Atom Recreational Tournament held over the weekend.
Winning two of three games to make it to the semi-finals, the Saints kicked off the tourney with a 9-5 win over the Kelowna Whalers. Scoring for the Saints were Dominic Barbossa, Ty Bailey and Zander Stewart.
Falling to the host Revelstoke Jr Grizzly’s 6-4 in their second game; scoring came from Stewart and Matt Campbell with support from Caden Sherman and Austin Torbohm.
In their third game up against the Kelowna Spitfire, it was another victory, a close 4-3 finish marked by strong defensive play.
Stewart, Bailey, Barbossa and Campbell all hit the back of the net for the Saints, while Rhys Middleton was awarded MVP.
In the semi-final, the Saints met the Penticton Jr Vee’s where Connor Kociuba, Dawson Perry, Brayden Costa and Matt Campbell all showed incredible defensive display, while Evan Smith picked up MVP for stopping 32 of 39 shots.
Silvertips successful
It was one win and one loss for the Salmon Arm Atom Silvertips who fared well in play over the weekend.
Their first game took them to the Rutland East Arena where they faced Kelowna #2. With a slow start to the game, Kelowna was up 3-0 after two periods of play, but Salmon Arm came back strong in the third, tying the game within the first 10 minutes of the final period.
In the end Kelowna got lucky and, with just four seconds remaining in the game, scored to take the win.
In Enderby Sunday, it was another story with a solid 3-1 victory for the team who played the Vernon Pee Wee Rep girls.
This coming weekend, the team travels to Kamloops for a tournament.