The Silverbacks hit the road for an away game with the Trail Smoke Eaters on Feb. 10 that saw them shut out 4-0 by the end of the third period. Though a hard fought game, the numbers weren’t on the Silverbacks’ side this time.
The first period saw a pretty even spread of scoring opportunities, with the Smoke Eaters’ Blaine Caton and Tyler Ghirardosi landing two assisted shots inside the goal posts by the time the buzzer rang.
In the second frame, Salmon Arm pushed the offensive with 17 shots on goal to Trail’s 10. They tried to make the most out of every scoring opportunity but unfortunately couldn’t get past the Smoke Eaters’ goalie Adam Marcoux. Trail put in two more goals during the period, off the sticks of Connor Welsh and Daine Dubois.
The Silverbacks focused on a hard defence in the third period, switching tactics from a shot-heavy game and stonewalling Trail for a scoreless 20 minutes. Salmon Arm’s goaltender Kyle Dumba stopped 11 shots in the third, and when the final buzzer rang the score sat 4-0 for the Trail Smoke Eaters.
It was a pretty physical game on both sides of the ice as well, with 14 penalties spread evenly between the Silverbacks and Smoke Eaters across three periods of play.
Though something of a rough game for the Silverbacks, they showed a hunger for points in the second period with an impressive ratio of shots on goal before proving what their defence is made of in the scoreless third.
The Silverbacks’ next scheduled game is at home against the Victoria Grizzlies on Feb. 16. These two teams have only met once so far this season, playing a very close game in October that went into double overtime and ended 3-2 for the Silverbacks. With a previous matchup showing the two teams going neck and neck in pursuit of a victory, this next game should be quite the spectacle.