Cents Game Day – Merritt vs Wenatchee – Dec 11/21

Date – Saturday, December 11, 2021

Game Time – Puck drop 7:00 pm

Location – Nicola Valley Memorial Arena, Merritt BC

Broadcast –Q101 & BCHLTV

Wenatchee Wild – 3-10-4-1

Merritt Centennials – 1-16-1-0

Friday night was teddy bear toss night in West Kelowna and the Merritt Centennials came out looking to spoil the party.

The Warriors would take an early penalty, but the Cents would fail to convert with the extra man. A few minutes later it was a reversal with Merritt going to the box, with West Kelowna not finding twine on the 5-on-4 chance.

Then at the 11:24 mark, Ryan Mulrenin would chip and chase himself into the left-wing corner, win the battle and then feed Connor Farren on the half-wall. Farren would find Mulrenin in the high slot who would ring the puck off the post and in to open the scoring.

Hicks stopped 15/15 in the opening frame.

The Cents came out strong in the middle stanza with captain Davide Patella finding himself all alone in front of Johnny Derrick, Patella would deke to the forehand and bury top corner.

Then teddy bears would them come raining down a few minutes later, as Elan Bar-Lev-Wise scoring on the powerplay. West K would then rattle off two more to take a 3-2 lead. Goals from John Evans and Felix Trudeau.

Following the third goal, Head Coach Dave Chyzowski called a timeout to rally the troops. Five seconds later Jerzy Orchard responded with his 7^th on the year to level the contest at 3-3.

The Cents would take a late penalty, and the Warrior would make Merritt pay, as Nicolas Ardanaz scored his first of the year from the point.

Hicks stopped 30/34 through 40 minutes.

The Warriors would add two more in the final stanza to win 6-3. John Hicks was peppered in goal stopping 45 of 51 in the contest.

The Wenatchee Wild enter play tonight losers of five games in row, including a 4-3 OT loss to Merritt last weekend. Since that game, Wenatchee has only played a single game, a 5-3 loss to Penticton.

Previous meetings;

The Wild and Cents have met just once so far this season, but that is about to change as the teams will play each other four times in a row beginning tonight in Merritt. Last weekend the Cents used a massive 4-point night from Ben Ward to beat Wenatchee 4-3 in OT for their first win of the season. Ward completing the hat trick for the OT winner.

Following tonight’s game, the Cents head south for three games in Wenatchee starting Thursday night.

Blue Paint Battle;

The game share situation in the Merritt crease has switched drastically as Keegan Maddocks has joined the Kamloops Blazer for a few weeks, meaning John Hicks will be leaned upon heavily by Head Coach Dave Chyzowski.

A night ago, Hicks stopped 45/51 shots in a 6-3 loss to the West Kelowna Warriors. Hicks is 0-4, with a .867 SV% and a 5.22 GAA. Backing up Hicks while Maddocks is in Kamloops will be Colton Phillips+Watts.

Tyler Shea was in net last weekend when the Cents won 4-3. Shea is 2-4-3 with a .875 GAA and a 3.47 GAA. Andy Vlaha is .859 SV% and a 4.00 GAA.

Special Teams Comparison;

Wild – PP 26.3% (6/18) PK 75.9% (12/18)

Cents – PP 10.2% (18/18) PK 67.4% (18/18)