The Salmon Arm Silverbacks pulled off a pair of playoff wins on the road to finish off a sweep of their series against the Victoria Grizzlies. They will be moving on to round two of the BCHL playoffs.
After winning games one and two in Salmon Arm the ‘Backs travelled to Victoria for game 3 on March 2. The visiting Silverbacks came out strong in the opening period piling up three goals but allowing the Grizzlies to get one as well. The home team put up a second goal in the middle frame but a scoreless third period left the ‘Backs up 3-2 at the final buzzer and one game away from pulling off a clean sweep.
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The following night the ‘Backs faced off again with the Victoria squad, who were fighting for their playoff lives. The home team put the first goal up on the board but Silverbacks forward Luke Mylymok tied the game up with three seconds left in the first frame. Logan Shaw wasted no time giving the Silverbacks the lead scoring less than three minutes into the second frame assisted by Sam Schofield and Jeremy Gervais. The Silverbacks’ slim lead held on into the third period.
The Silverbacks’ next goal came from an unlikely source. Towering 6’6” D-man Kieran Ruscheinski beat Victoria’s goaltender Liam Soulière for his first goal of the season putting the ‘Backs up 3-1. Shortly afterwards, Ruscheinski was sent to the box on a goaltender interference penalty and the Grizzlies scored on the power-play leaving a close game for the final eight minutes. The Grizzlies battled hard and the game’s final 10 second were especially tense as Hunter Sansbury was sent to the box for hooking giving the home team a manpower advantage. The Silverbacks held on for another 3-2 win to put their series against the Grizzlies to bed.
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In the second round, the ‘Backs will be taking on the winner of the series between the Vernon Vipers and Wenatchee Wild. The Vipers currently lead that series 2-1 after a 4-2 win over the Wild on March 3. The series will continue with a March 4 game in Vernon before heading back to Wenatchee on March 6.
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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