The West Kelowna Warriors and Salmon Arm
Silverbacks are set to begin their first round playoff series tonight with Game
1 at Royal Lepage Place
The Teams
·
West Kelowna Warriors – (38-17-1-2) – 79 Points – 2nd
BCHL Interior
·
Salmon Arm Silverbacks – (29-20-4-5) – 67 Points – 3rd
BCHL Interior
The Schedule
·
Game 1 – Friday March 4th - West Kelowna – 7:00 PM
·
Game 2 – Saturday March 5th – West Kelowna – 7:00 PM
·
Game 3 – Monday March 7th – Salmon Arm – 7:00 PM
·
Game 4 – Tuesday March 8th – Salmon Arm – 7:00 PM
·
Game 5 – Friday March 11th – West Kelowna – 7:00 PM (If
Necessary)
·
Game 6 – Saturday March 12th – Salmon Arm – 7:00 PM (If
Necessary)
·
Game 7 – Sunday March 13th – West Kelowna – 7 PM (If
Necessary)
Goalies
Goaltending will be an interesting story to
follow throughout this first round series, as both teams sport a legitimate #1
goaltender that is 20-years-old. The interesting part of this story is the
amount of time each of the 20 year olds have seen the opposition this season.
While Matthew Greenfield was only acquired in mid-December, Angus Redmond has
been manning the crease for the Silverbacks for the last two seasons. Redmond
has only appeared in three of the six games against West Kelowna this season,
while Greenfield has a pair of victories against the Silverbacks
|
West Kelowna
|
|||
|
Matthew Greenfield
|
13-4-1
|
2.09 GAA
|
.938 SV%
|
|
Keelan Williams
|
13-6
|
3.38 GAA
|
.893 SV%
|
|
Salmon Arm
|
|||
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Angus Redmond
|
21-14-3-3
|
3.05 GAA
|
.904 SV%
|
|
Brandon Kegler
|
8-7-1-1
|
3.09 GAA
|
.910 SV%
|
Vs. Salmon Arm
|
Matthew Greenfield
|
2-0
|
1.00 GAA
|
.972 SV%
|
|
Keelan Williams
|
2-1
|
2.81 GAA
|
.909 SV%
|
|
Vs. West Kelowna
|
|||
|
Angus Redmond
|
1-2
|
4.40 GAA
|
.883 SV%
|
|
Brandon Kegler
|
1-2
|
3.00 GAA
|
.916 SV%
|
Defensemen
West Kelowna
The Warriors do not boast a 20-year-old on the
backend like they did last season with Tyler Kunz and Braeden Jones. The
experience they do have on the backend, mixed with the young talent in Jake
Harrison is a good mix on the blueline. Tyler Anderson was the Warriors Most
Improved Player when the Awards were handed out last week, while Scott Allan
has been steady throughout the year. Add in scholarships for Nick Rutiglano and
Rylan Yaremko that were earned this season, and this is a solid group on the
blueline.
Salmon Arm
Three 20-year-olds on the backend gives the
Salmon Arm Silverbacks the edge when it comes to age on the blueline. Ayrton
Nikkel has pro experience this season with the ECHL Allen Americans, but its
his emotions that could make a difference in this series. Nikkel took five
minors against the Warriors in two games that he faced them this year, but
expect him to play hard-nosed defense against whichever Warriors forward group
he’s matched against.
It will be interesting to see if Ryley Booth is
back in the lineup for Game 1, as he missed the final game against the Warriors
last week. For the Silverbacks to have success in this series, Phil Middleton
and Damian Chrcek need to play big, hard, successful minutes on the Salmon Arm
defense corp.
Forwards
West Kelowna
The Warriors are lead up front by 44 goal scorer
Jonathan Desbiens, who finished just shy of the most points in a single-season
in Warriors history. He did set the goals mark, however, while Kylar Hope
exploded this season on the offensive side of the puck, putting up 74 points
while playing in every game for the second straight season. Add in Brett
Mennear, and the Warriors trio is playing with great confidence. Liam Blackburn
added 74 points of his own, it’s his linemates of Jake LeBrun and Garrett
Forster who seem to have created some top-line chemistry. The depth is there
for West Kelowna, as it is for the Silverbacks as well, when you look at Bryan
Basilico, Kyle Marino, and Connor Sodergren seeing big minutes, and the fourth
unit has seen some success recently as well, lead by the 13 goals from Quin
Foreman, and 25 assists from Reed Gunville.
Salmon Arm
Lead by 71 points from Taro Hirose (including 56
assists), the Salmon Arm Silverbacks enjoyed success on the offensive side of
the puck this season. Scoring 227 goals this season, the Silverbacks ranked 5th
in that category this season, and finished with a +43 differential. The
Silverbacks leading player in goals was 33 goal scorer Ross Heidt, while Chase
Zieky scored 28. Carson Bolduc was just one of four ‘Backs to reach the twenty
goal plateau, as their scoring was spread out amongst the lineup.
Special Teams
These two teams are very evenly matched on the
Special Teams side of things heading into the series, as the Warriors sit 3rd
on the power play, with the Silverbacks 4th. On the Penalty Kill
side, West Kelowna has seen their percentage increase over the last two months,
and finished the regular season with the 4th best mark. Salmon Arm
sits just 3% back of West Kelowna, but is ranked 9th when a man
short.
In the season series West Kelowna went 8 for 28
on the man advantage, while the Silverbacks went 7 for 38.
Overall Preview
Many say this will be one of the hardest fought
first round series in the BCHL this season. As was shown last weekend in the
Warriors final Regular Season game, this looks to be a very physical series
where special teams could play a big role. It will be interesting to see how
the officials let this series play out, and see where the line is drawn, as
each team is going to try and toe the line. Buckle up. This one is going to be
fun.
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