GAME DAY: Vernon Vipers (12-5-0-0) at Merritt Centennials (7-9-1-1)

Merritt Centennials – (7-9-1-1)

The Cents are coming off a huge comeback win Tuesday in West Kelowna where Ty Wishart tied the game with just 8 minutes left. Michael Stenberg, who has found the back of net of late, was Johnny on the spot for the game winner with just under 4 minutes to go. Tonight, Andrew Ballantyne gets the start in net as the always tough Vernon Vipers visit the NVMA. 

Tomorrow the Cents play at home again, they will host the Prince George Spruce Kings, a team trying to catch up to Merritt in the standings.

Vernon Vipers (12-5-0-0)

Despite never outshooting the Cents in three games, the Vipers won all three games. Vernon is looking to rebound from a tough 4-0 loss in Salmon Arm however that saw their winning streak come to an end. The offensive powerhouse Vipers look to add to their two point lead on rival West Kelowna and possibly catch up to Penticton who sit 5 points ahead of them in the standings.

Previous Meetings;

Vernon is 18-1-0-0 against the Centennials the last five seasons with their only loss occurring last season.  

Two games this season were tied heading to the third period, these two teams play each other well this season it just seems to be a good matchup for the Centennials. Can the Cents finally get a win at home over the NVMA and possibly get a winning streak going heading into tomorrow’s game at home against Prince George.

Blue Paint Battle;

Beau Lane was fantastic on Tuesday, Mezsargs looks to be in the front running but Passmore continues to shuffle his three headed dragon that is the goaltending trio. 

Tonight Cents fans hope it’s happy Ballantyne’s day as the goalie known as Bally will take the crease tonight. I am sure he is raring to go at home, where he has had most of his success.

Ballantyne has been given many tough games, a lot of second games in back-to-backs so with this rotation it looks like it maybe Mezsargs turn tomorrow. But you never know! 

Special Teams Comparison;

Cents –      13/58 (22.41%) (8th)          PK 14/69 (79.71%) (7th)

Vipers–      18/61 (29.51%) (2nd)    PK 11/56 (80.36%) (6th)

Players to Watch;

Ryan Spinale has 4 points in 4 games and should be confident after signing with Colgate. Dylan Wegner continues to produce at a point per game pace. Dylan Lariviere though has really come into his own as a Centennial. 0 points in his first three games as he had to deal with the turnover, joining the team on a road trip. He has 4 goals in 4 games and has turned into nearly a point per game player. A great pickup by Passmore adding Dylan A and Dylan B!

It’s hard to say who to watch on the Vipers when the team leads the league in goals in the BCHL. Best advice would be to cover every player on the Vipers who attack in bunches. 

Owen Kim still leads the team with 6 goals and 23 points good for a whopping 1.44 points per game. He likes to get under the skin of the Centennials too as he did last trip to the NVMA. Can the Cents make Kim eat his own words and return the favor? Whatever his words were… I couldn’t hear them, but I doubt he was sharing Christmas holiday plans with Centennials players.

Keys to Victory;

Key number 1 – Play a full sixty. The game in West Kelowna saw the Cents take  2-0 lead, fall down 3-2 then steal a 4-3 win. They’re gonna have to cut down on the emotional roller coaster and play a consistent sixty minute effort.

Key Number 2 – Respect your opponent. This team has a 18-1-0-0 record over Merritt over the last five years. No games are easy in the BCHL and this should be another big test for the Centennials.

Key number 3 – Special Teams – Don’t let the 2nd best PP in the league burn you. Even though the Cents PK is solid, giving this team plentiful power plays will prove costly so limit penalties.