Game Preview: Cents Vs Spruce Kings – Apr. 10

The Merritt Centennials get set to face their demons of two games ago tonight as they line up against the Prince George Spruce Kings.

Prince George soundly stomped the Cents in their last meeting 11-2, but Merritt rebounded expertly against the pod leading Chiefs for a gutsy 4-3 win. Josh Dias played phenomenal and multiple Centennials registered firsts in the BCHL on an emotional bounce back night.

The first period was the Cents best of the pod season so far as they capitalized on their chances and struck first for the first time in the pod. Brandon Dent and Walker Erickson executed a beautiful give and go gaining the line, feeding to the corner, and back to the slot where Erickson finished it off with a snipe top corner. The Cents crashed and banged for their 2nd goal of the night as Josh Olson scored his first in the BCHL on a goal mouth scramble to make it a 2-0 hockey game. The Cents would carry that lead into the locker room.

In the second, the Chiefs were able to take early advantage on the powerplay with a former friend cutting the lead in half in Jackson Munro to 2-1. The Cents were able to answer with a powerplay marker of their own and it was another BCHL first as Alex Ochitwa picked up a goal on another force play to the front with fellow PG native Blake Astorino picking up his 1st BCHL point on the sequence. The Cents looked to get it across the line before it bounced back to Ochitwa who went skate to stick to a quick shot in the net to make it 3-1. Trevor Longo would again cut the Cents lead to one with a cross crease pass that was deflected in by the Cents defender to make it 3-2. However, again Merritt showed their resilience and answered quickly with Jake McLean batting in another goal mouth scramble that was started by a 1st point from defender Alek Erichuk. That would make it 4-2, but the Chiefs would not go quietly, Cameron Johnson answered with an unassisted goal to make it 4-3 heading into period 3.

The final frame saw the Chiefs continue to press for the equalizer and it was Dias’ time to shine. Chilliwack threw 13 shots on goal to the Centennials 3, but Dias was able to stop them all including a penalty in the final two minutes that saw the Chiefs pull the goalie. Final shots were 39-22.

Prince George went from offensive onslaught to being shut out by the Chilliwack Chiefs last night by a score of 1-0. From the buzz around the game, the teams suffered from no shortage of chances, but both goaltenders really shined including another great start from Jordan Fairlee who was only beat the once, but that was the difference. Mathieu Caron was able to rebound from his shakiest start of pod season against the Cents to shut the door against PG.

The match up should be an intriguing one, as the Cents proved they can bounce back against a different opponent, but now it’s time to see if they can do it against the team that handed them the lopsided loss. The key for Merritt will be seeing if they can control their emotions and play hard, battle, but not take cheap shots against the team that burned them. Another key will be staying out of the box as they made 11 trips to the sin bin the last time they clashed against PG.

Jake McLean now leads the way for the Centennials offensively with 4 points. Jerzy Orchard, Walker Erickson, and Talon Zakall have chipped in with 3 points each.

For PG, Christian Buono has 6 points and is 8th in league scoring, Andrew Seaman has 5 and rookie Max Borovinsky has 4 points.

Prince George currently has the best special teams in the Chilliwack pod and will have the edge on both sides of the man advantage against the Cents.

Powerplay:                    Penalty Kill:

MER – 15.8% (12th)      MER – 72% (12th)

PG – 23.1% (6th)           PG – 90.9% (2nd)

In net, Josh Dias will get the call once again after picking up his first BCHL win against the Chiefs. He’s now 1-2 with a 4.51 GAA and an .861 SV%. Brayden Melnyk will get his first taste of BCHL action getting to watch on and be ready should his name be called in this one.

Prince George has been splitting play between their two goaltenders so far in the pod. Jordan Fairlee 1-1 with a .940 SV% and a 1.52 GAA. Aaron Trotter is 1-1 with a .889 SV% and a 2.50 GAA.

Head Coach Derek Sweet-Coulter says the team is learning more about themselves as the pod season goes on.

The Cents are hoping they can learn how to beat the Spruce Kings tonight.

Puck drop 5PM from Chilliwack. Pregame 4:45 with Jared Thomas and Michael Reeve on BCHLTV.ca and Q101.ca