Eli Pulver made 38 saves and the Salmon Arm Silverbacks knocked off the Penticton Vees 3-1 on Friday, May 10, in Game 5 of the Interior Conference Finals.

Salmon Arm leads the series 3-2 and could advance to the Fred Page Cup Finals with a victory on Saturday night in Game 6. Penticton hasn91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t faced elimination in the playoffs since 2019.

Pulver made 18 of his 38 stops in the first period and recorded his league-leading 11th win of the playoffs.

Tanner Walos, Reid Varkonyi and Nathaniel Davis scored for Salmon Arm, which has won two games in a row after falling behind 2-1 in the series.

James Fisher found the back of the net for Penticton.

Vees goaltender Will Ingemann made 18 saves in the loss.

Walos opened the game91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s scoring at 12:04 of the first period, before Fisher replied for Penticton just six seconds into the middle frame.

Varkonyi scored his first of the playoffs, the eventual game-winner, at 14:32 of the second period. JJ Monteiro threw a cross-ice pass that was tipped by Varkonyi and past Ingemann.

Davis also scored his first of the playoffs, an insurance marker late in the third period.

Penticton91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s season is on the line Saturday night, May 11, as the teams meet for Game 6 at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm at 6 p.m.

Game 7, if necessary, would go Tuesday, May 14, at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

In the Coastal Conference Finals, the Surrey Eagles lead the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 3-1.