The Salmon Arm Silverbacks faltered 5-2 in a midweek matchup against the league-leading Chilliwack Chiefs Feb. 13, in one of their final home games of the season.
Throughout the first period it was largely anyone’s game, with no points scored until late in the frame when Chilliwack’s Kevin Wall opened the scoring for the Chiefs. The Silverbacks were keeping up good momentum and jumped on a number of close scoring chances, but the Chief’s’ netminder got the glove on a few good shots to stop Salmon Arm’s attempts.
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In the second, the Silverbacks edged out a fragile one-goal lead with two unanswered goals, owning the scoreboard for the majority of the period. Matthew Verboon kept his scoring streak going strong with a goal assisted by Jack Sampson and Andy Stevens; Justin Wilson also added another to his numbers, with Sampson and Verboon both tagged on the assist.
However, Chilliwack turned things around in the back-end of the period and settled in on their own one-goal lead. Kevin Wall scored his second of the game, and Jacques Bouquot picked up a goal to make it 3-2 Chilliwack.
Early in the third, the Chiefs extended their lead by one off a goal from Ethan Bowen before settling into some defensive play to maintain the lead. Kevin Wall came in seven seconds before the final buzzer to steal a hat-trick with an empty net goal as the Silverbacks attempted to spin an advantage out of an extra skater on the ice. The final score was 5-2 in favour if the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Related: Silverbacks break even in double-header against Trail
Next up over the weekend, the Silverbacks take a trip to Wenatchee Feb. 15-16 for a double-header against the Wild, another of the league’s top contenders, before the Wild come to Salmon Arm Feb. 19 to make it a best out of three.
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