The BCHL’s Interior Conference final was determined on Friday, April 26 with Salmon Arm Silverbacks and Penticton Vees poised to face off on Thursday, May 2.
The third-seeded Silverbacks ousted number-2 West Kelowna Warriors in five games with a decisive 6-2 victory, while No. 1 Penticton also won their series 4-1 with a close 2-1 overtime victory over the fourth-seed Vernon Vipers.
Casy Laylin scored twice and added two assists for a four-point night in the Silverbacks game clinching win, while Tanner Walos scored twice and goalie Eli Pulver stopped 35 shots in the Salmon Arm net.
Vipers goalie Ethan David almost won the game single handedly, as Penticton outshot Vernon 40-15. The Vipers led 1-0 on a goal by Erik Pastro three minutes into the third period, but with 1:51 remaining in regulation and the Penticton net empty, Vees defenceman Larry Keenan tied it to force the extra frame.
The Vees Thomas Pichette then tallied his second of the playoffs 42 seconds into OT for the 2-1 victory.
In the Coastal Conference, the Surrey Eagles will face the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in the other BCHL semifinal.
The Eagles defeated the Victoria Grizzlies 7-3 in Game 6 to win the series 4-2 on Saturday, April 27, while Alberni Valley took the second-seed Chilliwack Chiefs out of the playoffs with a sweep in a 3-2 victory on April 24.
Round 3 of the BCHL playoffs, Conference finals, gets underway on May 2, with Games 1 and 2 at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton and Games 3 and 4 at Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm on May 6 and 8.
Alberni and Surrey will start its best-of-7 series on May 4 and May 5 in Surrey, and May 8 and May 9 in Alberni.