PHOTO: Julie Pringle/Snap Photography
The West Kelowna Warriors start a three-game stretch away from home with a quick turnaround against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Sunday afternoon at the Shaw Centre.
Warriors vs. Silverbacks 2017/18 Schedule:
Saturday, October 7th @ Royal LePage Place (4-1 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, October 22nd @ Shaw Centre (3-1 Silverbacks) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, November 8th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Saturday, January 20th @ Royal LePage Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, February 2nd @ Shaw Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, February 24th @ Shaw Centre (7:00 PM)
The Warriors and Silverbacks have met twice this season, once in each city, with each team winning on home ice. The most recent meeting came a few weeks ago on Sunday, October 22nd where the ‘Backs came away with the 3-1 victory. Mike Lombardi scored he first goal as a member of the Warriors but it would be the only marker to get past AP netminder Ethan Langenegger, who made 36 saves for the win. Nik Amundrud was solid in the Warriors crease, turning aside 33 of the 36 shots he faced.
West Kelowna comes into the night after a win and a loss last weekend in their two games. On Friday night, the Warriors defeated the Penticton Vees by a 4-3 score at Royal LePage Place before dropping a 5-3 decision to the Vernon Vipers at Kal Tire Place on Saturday. Parm Dhaliwal scored twice and Stephen Kleysen added a goal but it wouldn’t be enough for the win. Cole Demers stopped 21 of the 25 shots thrown his way in his 2nd loss of the season.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jared Marino (6-9-15)
Michael Ryan (1-12-13)
Chase Dubois (6-6-12)
Cavin Tilsley (3-9-12)
Parm Dhaliwal (5-6-11)
Goal scoring has been spread out on this year’s version of the Warriors with three players tied for the team lead with six goals. Captain Jared Marino, Chase Dubois and Parm Dhaliwal are all tied with those six goals, the two by Dhaliwal on Saturday night vaulting him into a tie for the team lead. RJ Murphy, Willie Reim and Matt Kowalski aren’t far behind with five goals on the season as the Warriors tight race for scoring continues.
It will once again be one of the top power plays against one of the top penalty kills coming into Wednesday night. The Silverbacks are 1st in the BCHL on the power play at 23.9% while the Warriors own the 2nd best penalty kill in the league at 85.9%. West Kelowna’s power play will look to get going, operating at 17.5% and sits in 12th while the Salmon Arm penalty kill is working at a 77.1% rate which ranks 14th in the league. Salmon Arm scored twice on the power play in their last meeting with the Warriors being held off the board while on the power play.
The Warriors will be paying their respects to the veterans of our country with our Remembrance Ceremony tonight against the Silverbacks. The Warriors will be wearing commemorative jerseys for the special occasion and will be made available via auction through the Warriors website after the game.
The Salmon Arm Silverbacks enter the night with a 9-10-0-2 record and currently sit in 6th place in the Interior Division. The ‘Backs most recent contest was on Sunday afternoon where they lost by a 4-1 score to the Powell River Kings at the Shaw Centre. Rhett Kingston scored the lone Silverbacks marker while Kyle Dumba turned aside 42 of the 44 shots he faced in the game for his 3rd loss of the season.
Silverbacks Leading Scorers:
Rhett Kingston (8-11-19)
Logan Mostat (6-8-14)
Noah Wakeford (5-8-13)
Marcus Mitchell (8-4-12)
Tanner Campbell (3-9-12)
The ‘Backs have a different look in the crease since the two teams met just about three weeks ago as they picked up Kyle Dumba after he was released from the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Dumba has played in all five games since joining the team in late October and has started in four of them with a 1-3 record to go along with a 3.25 GAA and a .917 SV%.
The Silverbacks sit at 67 goals for on the season, good enough for 9th in the BCHL and have gotten 5 from Noah Wakeford, a 17-year-old forward from Salmon Arm who has found his scoring touch as of late. After 5 points in his first 10 games, the Silverbacks rookie has points in 7 of his last 9 games and sits 3rd in team scoring with 13 points.
The Warriors and Silverbacks drop the puck at 7:00 PM from Royal LePage Place and in addition to the Remembrance Ceremony, it’s a night of cheap beer and chicken wings! Draft beer is just $2.50 and wings are just 25 cents! Tickets are available for purchase at the Warriors office, calling (250) 769-7051 or at the door ahead of the opening puck drop.
