Hello Burns Lake! Hello Babine Lake Nation! The Prince George Spruce Kings and Salmon Arm Silverbacks will be playing two games this weekend at Tom Forsyth Memorial Arena as the BC Hockey League puts on the 2023 instalment of the league’s Road Show. The Spruce Kings enter the weekend ahead of the Silverbacks by just one point in the Interior Division standings. However, the Silverbacks own the season series lead 2-1.
Saturday, February 18th @ Tom Forsyth Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE VS. SALMON ARM SILVERBACKS (SILVERBACKS LEAD SEASON SERIES 2-1)
October 15th @ Shaw Centre (4-2 Silverbacks) (BOXSCORE)
November 5th @ Shaw Centre (2-1 Silverbacks) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, February 5th @ Shaw Centre (3-1 Spruce Kings) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, February 18th @ Tom Forsyth Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)*
Sunday, February 19th @ Tom Forsyth Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)*
Friday, March 17th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, March 18th @ Kopar Memorial Arena (7:00 PM)
* indicates BCHL Road Show in Burns Lake
These two teams have had some competitive games between them. So far, every game has been played at Salmon Arm’s Shaw Centre, with Prince George having to wait a little bit longer before hosting the Silverbacks at Kopar Memorial Arena in March.
Whoever is able to find themselves in the lead after the first period may be a good indication of how the final score will end up. Leading after one period, both teams have only lost once this season. However, Prince George may have an upper hand if they do find themselves behind. Compared to Salmon Arm’s 3-8-1 record in that scenario, Prince George has a much better performance when playing from behind with a 6-8 record.
Owen Beckner and Kilian McGregor-Bennett come into this matchup as their team’s leading scorers in this season’s rivalry. Beckner has scored a goal and three assists in the three meetings while McGregor-Bennett has tallied a goal and two assists.
The last meeting between these two was Spruce Kings’ goalie Jordan Fairlie’s first against the Silverbacks this season. He pulled off a 3-1 win and earned a save percentage of .972. Salmon Arm’s Matthew Tovell won the two earlier meetings and posts a record of 2-1. He has a save percentage of .936 this season against Prince George.
Prince George is coming off a 10-4 win over the Merritt Centennials last weekend, setting a season-high for goals and assists in a game (16). The Silverbacks are also coming off of a dominant performance of their own, a 6-1 victory over the Nanaimo Clippers.
Spruce Kings Leading Scorers:
John Herrington (19-21-40)
Jake Schneider (17-14-31)
Kilan McGregor-Bennett (9-22-31)
Ty Gagno (14-15-29)
Austin Fraser (10-19-29)
Silverbacks Leading Scorers:
Nathan Mackie (21-18-39)
Ethan Ullrick (17-21-38)
Owen Beckner (14-22-36)
Brandon Santa Juana (13-20-33)
Tristan Allen (5-26-31)
Saturday and Sunday’s games will be available on Mixlr for an audio-only broadcast. Both games will be available on BCHLTV.ca. Fans can join Spruce Kings play-by-play announcer Ethan Ready for the Spruce Kings Pre-Game Show beginning at approximately 6:45 PM on Saturday at 11:45 AM on Sunday.
