Merritt Centennials represented in the NCAA National Tournament

MERRITT – There are five former Merritt Centennials playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) National Tournament.

Playing for Boston University is goaltender, Vinny Duplessis. The 24 year-old played in 22 games for the Centennials from the 2017-19 seasons. The Quebec native had a 9-9-1 record with a 3.19 GAA and a 0.908 SV%. He has played 25 games with Boston University Terriers issuing a 15-6 record, with a 2.15 GAA and a 0.915 SV%.

Defensemen, Brady Ziemer is representing St. Cloud State during the National Tournament. Ziemer played for the Cents in the 2018-2019 regular season and playoffs. During his time in the BCHL, the 22-year-old played in 55 games, scoring 4 goals and adding in 14 assists for 18 points. Since joining the Huskies, the Carver, Minnesota native has played in 52 games while scoring one goal and helping with three.

After playing his entire BCHL career with the Merritt Centennials, Tyrell Buckley joined Michigan Tech for four seasons and now finds himself representing Canisius College in the National Tournament this year. During the defensemen four year stint with the Cents, two of which as a captain or assistant captain, Buckley played in 211 games with 14 goals and 61 assists for 75 points. Buckley’s 211 games with the Centennials ranks him sixth all-time for games played in franchise history. In his lone season with the Golden Girffins, the Penticton native has one goal and five assists in 37 games.

The current captain of Quinnipiac University, Zach Metsa, played the 2016-17 season with the Centennials. During his lone season, the Delafield, Wisconsin product put up 3 goals and 24 assists in 57 games. The defensemen is in his fifth season with the Bobcats and has been a solid producer on the offensive side, earning the past two seasons in the captaincy group. In 173 games played at the NCAA level with Quinnipiac, Metsa has 30 goals and 86 assists for 116 points.

Nick Granowicz is the only forward playing in the tournament that is a former Merritt Centennial. The Macomb, Michigan native is playing for the University of Michigan, his home state. Granowicz played in 58 games during the 2018-19 season for the Cents, during which he scored 32 goals while adding in 27 assists for 59 points. Now in his fourth season with the Wolverines, the 24-year-old has played in 98 games with 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points.

In total in this years NCAA National Tournament, there is 104 BCHL alumni playing for all 16 teams.