Salmon Arm Silverbacks toppled league-leading Cowichan Valley Capitals followed by loss to Cranbrook

OT win over top team

Photo: Kristall Burgess Photography

The Salmon Arm Silverbacks toppled the top team in the league on Friday with a 4-3 overtime win against the Cowichan Valley Capitals.

It was a roller coaster weekend at home for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

The team upset the league-leading Cowichan Valley Capitals with a 4-3 overtime win on Friday, but on Saturday night, Salmon Arm put up a less inspiring performance losing 4-1 to the Cranbrook Bucks.

Jack Toogood was the overtime hero as the Silverbacks beat the Capitals at home on Friday night.

Anthony Cardilli, Brady Logue and Mateu Späth were the other goal scorers for Salmon Arm. Cowichan Valley got scoring from Havryil Simchuk, Teddy Richardson and Ryan Harvey.

The Capitals scored first with a goal less than two minutes into the game, but the Silverbacks responded with three goals in the first period.

With Salmon Arm up 3-1, the Capitals managed to score twice in the second period with a powerplay goal from Harvey tying the game at three apiece.

The third period was a stalemate, sending the game to overtime. Toogood scored after only two minutes of overtime hockey to get the win for the home team.

Daniel Dirracolo looked strong in net for Salmon Arm making 25 saves on 28 shots. Rhett Stoesser was pretty good between the pipes for Cowichan Valley, making 23 saves on 27 shots.

The Silverbacks special teams continued to struggle as they failed to score on four opportunities with the man advantage. And the penalty kill was no better, allowing the Capitals to score on their one and only powerplay.

Rogers Rink had an announced attendance of 1,295.

Embarrassing 4-1 loss to the Cranbrook Bucks

On Saturday night, the Cranbrook Bucks came to Rogers Rink and beat the Silverbacks 4-1.

Defenceman Aiden Shirey scored Salmon Arm’s only goal, marking his second goal of the season. Shane Tronoski, Nathan Simm, Konstantin Hutzinger and Adam Csabi were the goal scorers for the Bucks.

Cranbrook started the game strong, scoring three unanswered goals in the first period with two of them coming on the power play.

Shirey scored Salmon Arm’s only goal early in the third period which could have started a comeback, but Csabi scored for the Bucks soon after, leading to a 4-1 loss for the Silverbacks.

Daniel Dirracolo had a poor showing in net for Salmon Arm, allowing two goals on five shots and getting pulled halfway through the first period. The Silverbacks sent in Mikkel Christensen as a replacement who looked solid, making 17 saves on 18 shots.

Josh Scully was incredible in net for Cranbrook stopping 33 out of 34 shots.

Salmon Arm’s special teams struggled once again going zero for two with the man advantage and allowing two goals on six penalty killing attempts.

There were 1,276 in attendance at Rogers Rink on Saturday night.

The Silverbacks remain in third place in the Interior West division with a 15-13-3-2 record. Sitting at 32 points, Salmon Arm is still 13 points ahead of the Cranbrook Bucks and seven points back from the Trail Smoke Eaters.

The team has suffered a bit with the departure of two top players, as the team announced Liam Bursaw and Luke Sinclair have left to join the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

Sinclair was team's leading scorer with 10 goals and nine assists on the season, and Bursaw was also a top contributor with nine goals and six assists.

Most of the team will enjoy a week off, as Luke Lepper heads off to play in the BCHL All Star Weekend in Spruce Grove next weekend. Then Salmon Arm will have another home game with the Vernon Vipers coming to town on Friday, Jan. 23.

Tickets are available in person at the box office or online through the Silverbacks' website.