The West Kelowna Warriors open the second round of the BCHL playoffs tonight (April 15) against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
West Kelowna took care of the Vernon Vipers in five games in the first round while Salmon Arm was forced to go the distance, beating the Wenatchee Wild in seven games. It was the only series in the Interior Conference to go seven games.
Salmon Arm finished the regular season second in the Interior with a record of 36-12-4-2 while the Warriors finished third with a record of 37-16-1-0. Because of that, Salmon Arm has home-ice advantage in the series.
West Kelowna went 2-3-1 against Salmon Arm this season. The Silverbacks outscored the Warriors 22-15.
Warriors forward John Evans is the team’s leading scorer as he collected nine points (three goals, six assists) in the five games. Forward Christophe Farmer, who had seven points in the opening round, is coming off being named the third star of the week in the BCHL.
The focus for the Warriors is going to be on Silverbacks forward Noah Schdachny and Simon Tassy, who sit first and second in the league in scoring after the first round. Schdachny collected 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in the seven-game series while Tassy had 10 points. Tassy finished the regular season third in BCHL scoring.
Tonight’s puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm.
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