Cents fail to capitalize on 5-on-3 chances, drop 6-3 final to SA

The Cents were looking for redemption on Saturday night after losing 11-0 to Penticton the night before. It didn’t start well for Merritt, as with the first shot of the game Will Lavigne would go post and in for his first goal in the BCHL.

The Cents would respond with Jackson Krill scoring his first as a Centennial to level the score. The goal set up by a nice rush up the ice by defenseman Tristan Allen.

Later in the first, Ryan Mulrenin and Connor Farren would work a 2-on-1 but fail to convert, as the play continued the puck would get worked back to front of the net, with Mulrenin outwaiting Liam Vanderkooi to give Merritt the 2-1 lead.

After allowing a goal on the first shot of the game, John Hicks would go on to stop the next 16 he faced in the period.

It was a penalty filled middle stanza with both teams cutting ruts to the sin-bin and the officials taking a single player after ever altercation in an attempt to cool things down.

On the powerplay at the 5:13 mark, Daniel Panetta scored his 14^th on the year to level the score.

Just 16 seconds later, Ashton Taylor would score from a terrible angle to restore the 1 goal lead 3-2. That was all the scoring in the period, but the penalties would start to fly.

Both teams would fail to convert with the extra-man or during extended 4-on-4 time in the frame.

Hicks stopped 30/32 through 40 minutes.

Salmon Arm looked like a different team in the final 20 minutes, as they erased the Cents lead and blew the door open with four unanswered goals to win 6-3. The game would continue to be chippy down the stretch with multiple players hitting the showers early.

The Cents and ‘Backs are set to square off again on Wednesday night, but this time from Salmon Arm. Puck drop is 7pm, the pregame show begins at 645.