Cents Game Day – Merritt vs Cranbrook – Jan 2/22

Date – Sunday, January 2, 2022

Game Time – Puck drop 2:00 pm

Location – Nicola Valley Memorial Arena, Merritt B.C.

Broadcast –Q101 & BCHLTV

Cranbrook Bucks – 15-10-1-0

Merritt Centennials – 1-21-1-0

The Merritt Centennials will begin their new year versus the newest BCHL franchise on Sunday afternoon as the Cranbrook Bucks roll into town.

The Merritt Centennials began the Curtis Toneff era Wednesday night at the NVMA versus the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

The second half of the BCHL season got off to a bit of uneventful start with both teams skating through a clean opening 20 minutes, no scoring, no penalties.

Colton Phillips-Watts would get the start for Merritt stopping all 14 shots he faced.

The goals would start flying in the middle stanza, with Salmon Arm breaking the deadlock less than five minutes in with Lucas Matta beating PW. The ‘Backs would add to their lead at the 12:57 mark when Brandon Santa Juana ripped a one-timer on the powerplay.

The Cents would respond with captain Davide Patella scoring his 4^th on the season from a terrible angle.

Late in the frame, the Cents would give up a shorthanded marker to the BCHL’s leading scorer Simon Tassy.

Merritt would climb back within one in the third thanks to the second of the night from Patella on the powerplay, but that’s as close as they would come. Salmon Arm added one more, making the final 4-2.

Despite the loss, Merritt showed solid signs of growth under new head coach Toneff.

The Bucks are riding high entering play this afternoon, winners of five games in a row. The most recent four games were all versus the Trail Smoke Eaters. Tyson Dyck leads the team in scoring this season with 37 points (17G, 20A).

Previous meetings;

The Cents and Bucks have only met once so far this season with Cranbrook earning a 8-0 victory back in November at their home rink. In that contest Johnny Johnson led the way with 2 goals.

Blue Paint Battle;

The goaltending situation in Merritt remains fluid with Johnny Hicks battling a lingering injury and a rotation of Aps filling in the gaps, led by Colton Phillips-Watts.

Hicks, if available, is 0-4 this year with a .867 SV% and a 5.22 GAA.

PW is 0-3 with a .887 SV% and a 5.15 GAA, including a massive 65 save performance is Wenatchee.

Nathan Airey has been the starter in Cranbrook making 18 starts, posting a 8-7-1 record with a .904 SV% and a 3.09 GAA. The backup is Evan Gartner at 7-3, .894 SV% and a 3.14 GAA.

Special Teams Comparison;

‘Backs – PP 17.3% (14/18) PK 81.4% (5/18)

Cents – PP 9.6% (18/18) PK 65.8% (18/18)