GAME DAY: Merritt Centennials (11-15-3-1) at West Kelowna Warriors (20-6-4-0)

Merritt Centennials – (11-15-3-1) 

The Cents have dropped two straight since returning from the break and have lost 6 of their last 8 games. That means the Prince George Spruce Kings are just three points behind the Centennials now with a game in hand as well. Even though the West Kelowna Warriors sit at 3rd in the league Merritt has been pretty competitive against them going 2-2-1 this season. The last time they were here they went down 3-0 after the first period then came all the way back to only lose 4-3 in overtime.

West Kelowna Warriors – (20-6-4-0)

The Warriors were the hottest team in the league on an 8 game winning streak until going 2-2 against Penticton and Prince George. The defense hasn’t been perfect either as West Kelowna has given up 3 or more goals in 7 straight games. That being said the goal horn has been going off at Royal LePage Place of late with the West Kelowna Warriors scoring 6 or more goals in their last three games here. They also have a six game winning streak on the line at home since Merritt beat them back in November.   

Previous Meetings;

It’s been all real tight games between these two with West Kelowna leading the season series 3-2. The Warriors won 6-4 in Merritt then lost 6-4 in Merritt. The Centennials won 4-3 in West Kelowna then lost 4-3 in West Kelowna, the second time in overtime. In their most recent matchup the Cents had leads of 3-1 and 4-3 until Felix Caron scored the tying goal with the goalie pulled then finished off the Cents in overtime.  So Merritt is actually 2-1-2 with only one regulation loss in five games against West Kelowna.

Special Teams Comparison;

Cents –      23/101 (22.77%) (7th) PK 22/112 (80.36%)   (6th)

Warriors –      19/100 (19%)  (12th) PK 25/118 (78.81%)   (11th)

Players to Watch;

This segment is usually about the offense but I’d say take a look at a couple of defensemen in this game that could make a difference limiting the high flying Warriors. Sawyer Prokopetz has been a solid addition by Brian Passmore with the best plus/minus on the team and a great leadership type of attitude out there. Lynden Hanvold the Kelowna native is being eased back into the line up and will likely play again in this game. 

Meanwhile Felix Caron was named 2nd star of the month in December. 

Caron led all BCHL players with eight goals in December and his 12 points in nine games were just one back of the league lead.

Jack Pridham had 13 points in 9 games, Michael Salandra had 12 points in 9 and D-Man Isiah Norlin had 11 points in 9 and two shootout winning goals. All three of those players were honorable mentions in the BCHL players of the month.

Keys to Victory; 

Key number 1 – Confidence. The Centennials should have the confidence they matchup well with the West Kelowna Warriors. Despite being the 3rd best team in the BCHL and 10-0-2 over their last 12 games the Centennials are 2-1-2 with only one regulation loss against the West Kelowna Warriors and have led in all but five games.

Key Number 2 – Road Warriors. Since an 0-2 start on the road the Cents are 5-6-1-1 a competitive record in some real tough BCHL buildings this season. This is a team that can win on the road and somethings gotta give as Merritt has time to gel a little bit since coming back from the break, the cobwebs should be shaken off.

Key number 3 – Special Teams. The Warriors despite being 3rd best in the league are in the bottom third of the league in powerplay and penalty kill and also take the third most penalties in the league as well. This is an area the team is going to have to cash in on if they hope to steal a victory against arguably the hottest team in the BCHL.