Cents Game Day – Merritt vs Trail – December 16/22

Date – Friday, December 16, 2022

Game Time – Puck drop 7:00 pm, Pregame show 6:45 pm

Location – Cominco Arena, Trail BC

Broadcast – CKMQ-FM Q101 & BCHLTV

Merritt Centennials – 8-15-3-1 

Trail Smoke Eaters – 12-11-1-2

Previous meetings;

The Merritt Centennials and the Trail Smoke Eaters will play each other for the fifth and final time this season, with the Cents losing all four so far.

September 24 VS Trail: 7-4

October 28 @ Trail: 5-1

November 19 @ Trail: 3-1

December 9 VS Trail: 2-1 SO

Over the past five seasons, the Centennials have only won six out of 22 games in this matchup.

Blue Paint Battle;

Johnny Hicks has made 17 appearances this season logging over 900 minutes of hockey, 985 to be exact. Hicks has put up a 6-4-3-1 record with a 0.919 SV% and a 3.23 GAA. Back-up Connor Sullivan has a 1-5 record in six games with a 0.863 SV% and a 6.01 GAA.

Teagan Kendrick has taken on most of the action this season, playing in 17 games. Kendrick has a 7-7-1 record with a 0.914 SV% and a 3.11 GAA. Back-up Keegan Maddocks in 6 games played this season has a 2-2 record with a 0.877 SV% and a 4.57 GAA.

Special Teams Comparison;

Cents – PP 19.8% (20/101) *12^th best in the league PK 79.7% (102/128) *8^th best in the league

Smoke Eaters – PP 24.1% (19/79) *3^rd best in the league PK 76.8% (73/95) *10^th best in the league

Players to Watch;

Throughout the four games played between these teams, the Cents have been outscored 17-7. Aleksey Chichkin has been a rock defensively for this team throughout the year and will be looking to have another good solid game full of more blocked shots. Offensively he has four points on the season (1G,3A) and will be trying to help out his team on that side of the puck after being shutout by the Vees last game.

His last time out against the Centennials, goalie Teagan Kendrick played outstanding, stopping 38/39 in a shootout win. The Centennials got shutout in their last game so they will be coming out hungry and Kendrick will need to continue his good season and weather the storm.