The Salmon Arm Silverbacks got stronger as the game got longer and their third-period push was too hot to handle Friday for the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings.
Leading 2-1 in the third period, the Spruce Kings found themselves in a shooting gallery and gave up three goals on 19 shots in that final 20 minutes to lose to the Silverbacks 4-3.
Salmon Arm centre Noah Serdachny scored two power-play goals and his unassisted shorthanded goal with 3:31 left in the game provide the margin of victory the Silverbacks needed. His 11th goal of the season got the Silverbacks on the scoreboard 18:05 into the second period. Serdachny’s second of the night, 15:01 in the third period, with Kings’ defenceman Nick Marciano serving a delay-of-game penalty, gave his team a 3-2 lead came with less that five minutes to play.
Simon Tassy scored his league-leading 22nd goal on another Salmon Arm power play with seven minutes gone in the third period.
The Spruce Kings got goalie Aaron Trotter to the bench and the extra skater was on the ice when John Herrington made it a one-goal game with 49 seconds left. But it was too little, too late, and the Spruce Kings lost for the second time in their past two games.
Salmon Arm (19-4-0-0-0) remained second in the Interior Conference with an .813 winning percentage, while the Spruce Kings (13-8-1-0-0. 614) dropped to fourth place in the conference.
Austin Fraser opened the scoring on a Kings’ power play, 1:59 into the first period, and Fraser drew an assist on Kolton Cousins’ ninth goal of the season, also in a Prince George power play late in the second period. Luc Laylin collected two assists and now has five points in five games since joining the Spruce Kings two weeks ago from Minnesota of the NAHL.
The Kings were outshot 19-7 in the final period and 40-22 in the game.
Owen Say notched the victory In the Salmon Arm nets, stopping 19 of 22 shots. Trotter was picked as the game’s third star after he made 36 saves.
The Spruce Kings play the Vernon Vipers tonight in Vernon (6 p.m. start), the last game before the Christmas break.
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