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Danny Ciccarello scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period to put the Salmon Arm Silverbacks ahead for good, as they downed the Wenatchee Wild 3-2 in B.C. Hockey League action Saturday, Nov. 27, on the road.
The opening 20 minutes saw the Wild outshoot the Salmon Arm Silverbacks 9-6. The Wild got the only powerplay of the period when Nathan Mackie went off for boarding. Owen Say, who was getting back-to-back starts in net for the Backs, picked up his first BCHL shutout in Friday night’s 4-0 win in Wenatchee, stopping 26 shots. Say was up to the task on the penalty kill stopping the two shots he faced.
The best chance of the period came off the stick of Cade Littler as he went in alone on Say, but he was denied with the right pad, keeping it scoreless.
In the middle frame, the offence picked up on both sides. First, it was the Silverbacks striking on the powerplay. After the first unit could not generate much offence, the second unit got their opportunity. Ciccarello fed a streaking Lucas Matta, and Matta directed into the net to give the Backs a 1-0 lead.
Moments later, it was the Panetta line that found the scoresheet. Panetta fed a pass out front to Ethan Ullrick, and Wild goalie Andy Vlaha stopped him, but Ulllrick stuck with it and jammed home his fourth of the season to give the Backs a 2-0 lead.
The Wild, though, would respond with a goal of their own on the powerplay. Ean Somoza ripped a shot under the arm of Say to cut the Backs lead in half. That would be where things stood after 40 minutes of action. Salmon Arm was outshot 13-10 in the middle frame.
In the final frame, the Wild began to push for the equalizer.
Just as Somoza exited the penalty box, fresh off serving his 10-minute misconduct, he got four good scoring chances on Say, who stopped them all, keeping it 2-1 Backs.
The Wild then got a bit of a lucky bounce, as the puck was shot in on Say, and he thought that he gloved it down, but the puck laid in the crease, and Cade Stibbe was all over the loose puck to tie the game 2-2.
The Silverbacks immediately responded. Mackie fed a streaking Ciccarello down the right side, and he zipped it five-hole on Vlaha to regain the one-goal Silverbacks lead. It was Ciccarello’s third goal of the campaign.
The Wild outshot the Backs 38-25 in the hockey game.
With the win, Salmon Arm extends their winning streak to three in a row and move to 13-3-1 overall on the season. The Backs and Wild will play their final game of the weekend in Wenatchee Sunday at 6 p.m.
READ MORE: Salmon Arm Silverbacks goalie Owen Say stops 26 shots for first career BCHL shutout
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