GAME DAY: Prince George Spruce Kings (5-9-3-0) @ Merritt Centennials (7-10-1-1)

Merritt Centennials – (7-10-1-1)

Coming off a close 4-2 loss to the Vipers the Cents will be hungry to end the home stand with a victory. The Cents have been better on the road than at home so they are due to show the fans a victory. 6 losses in 8 home games and the worst home record in the Interior. They have to do it tonight against a team chasing them in the standings. After what feels like 8 or so games in a row against top Interior teams this is the first game against a team below them, but not far. A loss tonight could really affect the psyche of this team heading into next week. With 3 wins and 9 losses in their last 12 games the Centennials have to start putting some wins together.

Prince George Spruce Kings (5-9-3-0)

The Spruce Kings are on a streak of loss win loss win loss. They have followed up losses with a big win. After getting dominated 8-1 in Penticton they will be hungry to do it again. Prince George likely feels this is a team they can beat as they have done it before, although after one of the worst bus rides of the season for the Centennials. Prince George with all their travel is the worst road team in the BCHL at 1-7-1-0.

Previous Meetings;

Both games were similar, a 5-3 win for the Spruce Kings in Prince George and a 6-3 win for the Centennials at the NVMA. Expect a high scoring affair if that trend continues. These teams get pretty chippy when they play too so expect a gritty game, a high scoring game perhaps and a game full of emotion.

If the Spruce Kings can win tonight they will be just one win behind the Centennials in the standings so the importance of this game is not lost on either team.

Special Teams Comparison;

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

Spruce Kings–      17/78 (21.79%) (9th) PK 15/66 (77.27%) (11th)

Players to Watch;

Dylan Lariviere scored twice last night and now has 6 goals in 5 games. This is a player feeling it offensively. With Ryan Spinale moving on, 18 year old Dylan Lariviere is looking to make an impact and possibly turn some heads around the hockey world as he shines with the Centennials. Jaxson Murray continues to shine since returning to the Centennials as well. He’s very fun to watch out there with his smarts, skill and speed. 

Killian McGreggor Bennett, JR Perdion and Kazumo Sasaki have led the way for Prince George. Linden Makow has also been solid and Kai Greaves continues to be an assist machine for the Spruce Kings.

Keys to Victory:

Key number 1 – Beat the worst road team in the BCHL. There would be no excuse for a loss tonight. The fans deserve better, you’ve lost 6 of 8 in front of the home side so, it kind of feels like the same old team for Merrittonians as the team has saved all its wins for the road. End the weekend on a positive note.

Key Number 2 – Outscore them. It sounds simple but you have the same goals against, yet outscore the Spruce Kings by a count of 20 at least. Use your offense like you did in West Kelowna because in Merritt the goals have been much harder to come by.

Key number 3 – Limit penalties. The Centennials give up too many penalties, sometimes in the offensive zone even. The Spruce Kings are amongst the leaders in penalties drawn so do not fall into their trap.