The Quesnel Millionaires drew first blood in their Interior Conference Quarter-Finals match-up against the Salmon Arm SilverBacks, scoring a 4-3 overtime victory and a 1-0 series lead on Friday evening at the Quesnel Twin Arenas.
The Mills started strong, taking a 1-0 lead less than a minute into regulation on an unassisted tally by Derick Ste-Marie. But David Killip replied 30 seconds later, and the SilverBacks took the lead on goals by Matt Cassidy and Devin Gannon in the span of 54 seconds in the second frame.
Quesnel's power-play provided the ingredients for a comeback, however, as Trever Hertz drew his team within one before intermission and Justin Hogan evened the score 13 minutes into the third. And the Millionaires didn't have to wait long to end the game once in extra time, as Sam Higgins beat Tony Ierfino for the winner at the 1:58 mark of overtime.
Quesnel, who began the series on home ice due to a scheduling conflict at the Sunwave Centre, will look to grab a 2-0 lead on Saturday night before the series shifts to Salmon Arm for three midweek games.
In other Interior Conference playoff action:
- The Trail Smoke Eaters' special teams proved the difference in their series opener in Westside, as they scored three times with the man advantage in a 6-3 victory over the Warriors. A pair of goals from Matt Wilkins bookended the scoring, with Travis St. Denis, Michael Betz and Sam Mellor all taking advantage of opportunities when the Warriors were in the penalty box. Alex Grieve, Colton Sissons and Tyler Krause replied in the loss for Westside, who was outshot by a 20-8 margin in the third period and 39-36 overall.
- Denver Manderson made his return to the Penticton line-up a successful one, scoring twice in a 4-2 home ice victory over the Merritt Centennials. Byron Sorenson and Joey Laleggia gave the Vees a lead after 40 minutes, but Manderson's tally at 12:47 of the third stood up as the game winner. Alex Valenti and Jordan Soquila tallied for the Cents in the loss, but it was netminder Keith Hamilton that nearly stole the show with 35 saves in a first star performance.
All three Interior Conference series continue with Game Two on Saturday night. Catch all the action on BCHL Web TV Pay-Per-View — Packages for the entire postseason and indlividual series are available.
