The West Kelowna Warriors (21-11-4-0) will look to get back in the win column and finish their weekend strong with a trip to the Shuswap to face-off against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (18-14-3-1) on Saturday night at the Shaw Centre.
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. SALMON ARM:
Saturday, October 29th @ Royal LePage Place (7-1 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, January 8th @ Royal LePage Place (5-3 Warriors) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, January 28th @ Shaw Centre (7:00 PM)
Friday, February 10th @ Shaw Centre (7:00 PM)
Saturday, March 25th @ Shaw Centre (7:00 PM)
West Kelowna comes into Saturday night’s contest following their first loss of the New Year on Friday night as they fell to the Cranbrook Bucks by a 3-1 score at Western Financial Place. Michael Salandra scored the lone goal in the game for the Warriors while Cayden Hamming turned aside 25 of the 28 shots thrown his way in his 1st regulation loss of the season.
The Warriors and Silverbacks play their third of five games in the season series with West Kelowna having won each of the first two games between the two sides, including the last matchup in early January by a 5-3 score. Jaiden Moriello scored twice in the game while Nic Porchetta, Luke Devlin and Ben MacDonald each tallied singles in the win. Cayden Hamming made 25 saves on 28 shots on that night for the win in net.
Warriors Leading Scorers:
Jaiden Moriello (19-12-31)
Ben MacDonald (14-15-29)
Rylee Hlusiak (8-19-27)
Isaiah Norlin (3-24-27)
Michael Salandra (11-14-25)
Adding an assist on the lone goal of the game for the Warriors in Friday night’s loss, Ben MacDonald extended his point streak to five games, which is a season long for the Havrad University commit. MacDonald, a Weston, Massachusetts native, has tallied four goals and two assists for six points over a stretch of five consecutive games with a point.
Warriors defender Isaiah Norlin added another assist to bring his total to 24 on the season, which ranks in a tie for 3rd amongst defensemen in the BC Hockey League. The Clarkson University commit has posted 27 points in 36 games played this season and has earned assist in four of his last six games coming into Saturday night.
The Salmon Arm Silverbacks come into Saturday night’s action following a 5-0 shutout victory over the Merritt Centennials on Friday night at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena. Raoul Boilard, Tristan Allen, Lynden Hanvold, Ryan Gillespie and Hayden Stavroff each found the back of the net in the winning cause. Matthew Tovell turned aside all 30 shots he faced in his 4th shutout of the season and 14th victory this campaign.
Silverbacks Leading Scorers:
Owen Beckner (12-19-31)
Nathan Mackie (18-12-30)
Ethan Ullrick (15-15-30)
Brandon Santa Juana (9-19-28)
Tristan Allen (4-24-28)
The Silverbacks third leading scorer, Ethan Ullrick, is trending in the right direction offensively and has posted points in each of his last four contests. The Air Force Academy commit has registered 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points in his last 4 contests while the Lakewood, Illinois native has posted back-to-back multi-assist games.
Salmon Arm was able to add an experienced point getter on the blue line at the Trade Deadline in Tristan Allen, who has produced points in three of his four games as a member of the Silverbacks. The Kamloops, BC product scored his first goal as a ‘Back on Friday night against his former team in the Centennials and has tallied a goal and three assists for four points in his four games with Salmon Arm.
The Warriors and Silverbacks will play the third of their five-game season series on Saturday night at the Shaw Centre. Puck drop is slated for 6:00 PM with the game being broadcasted live on AM 1150 as well as streamed online on BCHLTV.ca.
