Cents Game Day – Merritt vs Langley – November 25/22
Jared Thomas/Q101
Nov 25, 2022 | 7:36 AM
Vern Strecheniuk
Date – Friday, November 25, 2022
Game Time – Puck drop 7:30 pm, Pregame show 7:15 pm
Location – Nicola Valley Memorial Arena, Merritt BC
Broadcast – CKMQ-FM Q101 & BCHLTV
Merritt Centennials – 5-12-3-0
Langley Rivermen – 5-13-0-2
Previous meetings;
This matchup between the Merritt Centennials and the Langley Rivermen is a rare one.
The game tonight is the only game between these teams this year and they didn’t meet once last year.
Over the past five seasons these two teams have played each other five times with the Cents grabbing the slight advantage with a 3-2 record, one of those wins coming in shootout.
Blue Paint Battle;
Johnny Hicks has made 12 appearances this season logging 699 minutes of hockey. Hicks has put up a 4-3-3 record with a 0.914 SV% and a 3.44 GAA. Back-up Connor Sullivan is still trying to get his feet underneath on the Cents. Sullivan has played in three games with an 0-3 record and a 0.833 SV% and 7.71 GAA.
Ajeet Gundarah has taken most of the load for the Rivermen this year. He has played in 17 games putting up a 5-8 record with good advanced stats, issuing a 0.922 SV% and 3.02 GAA. The back-up, Manjot Panghli has played in four games with a 0-3 record and a 0.863 SV% and a 5.87 GAA.
Special Teams Comparison;
Cents – PP 20.83% (15/72) *9th best in the league PK 81.40% (70/86) *5th best in the league
Rivermen – PP 20.73% (17/82) *10th best in the league PK 79.75% (63/79) *6th best in the league
Players to Watch;
The Cents made a flurry of moves before this weekend of action and one of the trades involved a new defenseman going to make it Cents debut. 20-year-old Tyler Bates was acquired from the Calgary Canucks in the AJHL and is coming onto this time to provide veteran leadership.
The leading scorer for the Rivermen has been averaging a point a game and will be looking to continue that level of play. Vitaly Levyy has 12 goals and 8 assists (20 points) so far this season and will leaned on to carry the scoring against the Cents.
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