GAME DAY: West Kelowna Warriors (22-7-5-0) at Merritt Centennials (12-18-3-1)

West Kelowna Warriors – (22-7-5-0) 

The third best team in the BCHL made quick and easy work of the Centennials in the team’s last two visits. A 5-0 and 6-2 win at Royal LePage place in West Kelowna, games where the Cents particularly struggled to get shots on net. While the first game was a disappointment Merritt should be given a bit of slack for the second loss as it was their third game in three days in three different cities. The team did not stay in a hotel after losing 7-1 in Salmon Arm and returned to West Kelowna the next day for a 2:30 p.m. game. With two weeks off though there will be no excuses tonight.

Merritt Centennials – (12-18-3-1) 

For the Cents some say the Christmas break couldn’t come at a worse time with the team reeling off back to back wins then coming back and struggling to find their stride. This time safe to say to break couldn’t have come at a better time. Merritt definitely had their worst stretch of the season before the break. With a handful of trades however the new players have had a little bit more time to click, we’ll see if that makes a difference tonight. This is the fourth game the “New Look Cents” will be playing together as a team.

Previous Meetings;

This is the final meeting between both teams this season. They have seen a lot of each other lately and there was bad blood last game in West Kelowna with Sawyer Prokopetz and Ocean Fancy getting involved in the rough stuff after some questionable hits. While Merritt had an early advantage up 2-1 in the season series earlier the Warriors have ripped off four straight wins, most at Royal LePage Place.

West Kelowna is still one of the best teams on the road however so tonight’s game will be no slouch. The Cents hope the Warriors will be rusty on the road after the break. Merritt trails the season series 2-3-2-0 but has been very competitive at the NVMA losing 6-4, winning 5-4 and losing 5-4 in overtime. A lot of high scoring games here and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw another high scoring affair here tonight.

NVMA | Centennials.ca

Special Teams Comparison;

Cents PP 26/114 (22.81%) (6th)     PK 26/125 (79.2%) (7th)

Backs PP      23/113 (20.35%) (11th) PK 32/133 (75.94%) (13th)

Players to Watch:

Michael Felsing and Kiernan Poulin should be brimming with confidence after coming back from the All Star game. While Poulin played in the Top Prospects Game Felsing played in the 3 on 3 and Skills Competition. In terms of players that wore their emotions on their sleeves in the two games before the break, both tough blowout losses I’d say Prokopetz, Fancy and Lindblad will be fired up for today’s game. 

For West Kelowna Trent Ausmus, Jackson Kyrkostas, Johannes Lokkeberg and Viggo Nordstrom were all BCHL Honourable Mentions before the break. Kyrkostas has been a thorn in the side for the Cents this season so keep your eyes on him.

Keys to Victory;

Key number 1 – Get home cooking. Earlier in the season you could say the Cents were a better road team than they were a home team but the script has flipped since then. With a four game home stand looming it’s time to turn some heads and play your best hockey. If the Cents don’t turn things around this losing skid could really derail the season with the standings getting tighter and tighter.

Key Number 2 – Put the puck on net and good things will happen. One of the key consistencies in the Cents losses of late have been a serious lack of shots on net. Putting 4-6 shots on net per period will not cut it. Merritt is back in their smaller arena where they seem to be comfortable getting shots so they’ll have to do it tonight.

Key number 3 – Special Teams Mastery. The Cents are the better team on the PP and the PK and West Kelowna remains the third most penalized team in the BCHL. This is an area the Cents can use to overtake the West Kelowna Warriors and finish off the season series with a win, which will send a good message if they face each other in the playoffs.