On Friday night, friendships with former teammates from the Salmon Arm SilverBacks will be pushed aside for the Penticton Vees.
Forward Cam Amantea said there is no talking to them before the game.
āItās kind of all business when we play each other,ā said Amantea, who took a quick breather from an after-practice workout. āMitch Ferguson is from Calgary too, so weād see each other a couple of times in the summer. When weāre out there, thereās no friends.ā
There might be some chirping during the game, but Amantea said itās fun to play against friends.
Along with Ferguson, the 4-4-0-1 SilverBacks also have former Vees Evan Anderson, Alex Jewell and the recently acquired Max Becker. Amantea said playing in Salmon Armās Shaw Centre is always tough, plus the SilverBacks have won their last two games.
āShould be exciting. Salmon Arm is a big opponent,ā said Amantea. āWe always want to be top in our division. Those games, itās easy for everyone to get up for because we play them so much, thereās that rivalry.ā
Michael Hengen, the Vees assistant coach who works with defenceman, said the SilverBacks have done a good job of bringing back the tough environment to play in.
āTheir top line is skilled. They have two good, big goalies,ā said Hengen. āWhen they are on, they are as good as anybody else.ā
He said the key will be looking at the right things during pre-scouting, then going over it with the players so they can execute.
Vees rookie forward Jack Ramsey expects the SilverBacks to be tough.
āSalmon Arm is pretty physical,ā he said. āWe are trying to keep a high level of energy out there. Just forecheck as hard as we can out there.ā
Their Saturday night tilt is against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, the last place team in the Island Division with a 1-7-1 record. The two teams opened the season during the BCHL Showcase, with the Vees earning a 3-2 win that started the Bulldogsā seven-game slide. The Bulldogs snapped the losing skid when they tied the Victoria Grizzlies on Sept. 27 and edged the Langley Rivermen 4-3 on Sept. 28. The Bulldogs then made some deals picking up Harlan Orr, a forward from the SilverBacks on Sept. 25. They also picked up Darian Henry from the Western Hockey Leagueās Regina Pats and on Oct. 1, they dealt defenceman Jared Wilson to the Vernon Vipers for forward Craig Martin.
āThey made some trades recently and brought in some good guys,ā said Amantea. āIt seems like they are getting on a roll.ā
Not playing the Bulldogs very much, Amantea said they want to put on a show for their fans. Hengen expects the Vees to get a tough test from the Bulldogs as teams bring their best for Interior Division opponents.
āThey know that itās their best chance to kind of measure themselves up for the rest of the season,ā said Hengen. āWe get every teams best.ā
Vees notes: Rookie forward Jack Ramsey said it was a privilege to be asked to play in the second annual CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game in Pittsburgh on Sept. 26. Ramsey said the pace amazed him.
āIt was probably the fastest game I ever played in. Just seeing specific guys out there. Their hands and what each player brings is pretty cool.ā Ramseyās team lost 5-2 and he said he felt he played an ok game. āI didnāt do anything too special. I thought I kept along with the pace pretty well.ā
Former Vee Zac Dalpe was acquired by the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday along with Jeremy Welsh for Kellan Tochkin and a fourth round draft pick in 2014. The Canucks made the announcement on their website that morning. Dalpeās brother Ben, who plays for the Vees, tweeted, āWow pretty crazy news, brother traded to his childhood team the Vancouver Canucks!!!ā
āIām excited for the fresh start,ā said Dalpe on the Canucks website. āObviously stuff didnāt go as well in Carolina, but itās a change of scenery and thereās no better way to come to the team I grew up adoring and watching, I was a big Vancouver Canucks fan growing up, so itās good.ā
Dalpe lists Pavel Bure and Markus Naslund as hisĀ favourite Canucks.
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