Game Day Preview (for Friday, February 9th) Merritt Centennials (14-20-3-1) @ Trail Smoke Eaters (18-14-6-0)

Merritt Centennials – (14-20-3-1) 

The Centennials were firing on all cylinders at the NVMA. They crushed the Victoria Grizzlies 6-3 then followed up with a drubbing of tonight’s opponent the Trail Smoke Eaters 5-1 outscoring their opponents 11-4 in two games. But all that confidence hit a wall, a big blue wall in the Penticton Vees as the top team in the Interior blanked the Cents 4-0. Tonight Merritt has their hands full with a strong home team that is looking to avenge a 5-1 loss to the Cents and hasn’t played since that tough loss.

Trail Smoke Eaters – (18-14-6-0) 

Revenge is on the mind of the Smoke Eaters. In Trail’s only home game they notched a 4-2 victory over the Cents. The Smokies dominated every aspect of that game. The game did come October 13th however so this is a completely different team than we saw last time the Cents visited Trail. How dominant were the Smoke Eaters that game? They outshot the Cents 12-3 in the first and 21-7 in the second for a whopping 33-10 advantage after two periods of play. The Cents would storm back on goals by CT Larochelle and Felsing but eventually fall 4-2. Mezsargs was on fire that game with 44 saves on 47 shots.

Previous Meetings;

The Cents lead the season series 2-1-0-0 while Trail has gotten points in 2 out of 3 games against Merritt.

After the Smoke Eaters won 4-2 in Trail they would head to Merritt and lose a nail biter 5-4 in overtime on Sam Grabner’s first BCHL goal. That game Trail would erase a 4-1 deficit. Last Saturday the Cents crushed the Smoke Eaters 5-1 but that was a team that had traveled to Coquitlam and played a shootout game the night prior. Expect a Smoke Eaters team with more energy, home ice advantage and revenge on their minds.

Special Teams Comparison;

Cents PP 28/129 (21.71%) (9th)     PK 28/141 (80.14%) (6th)

Smokies   PP      26/137 (18.98%) (16th) PK 30/123 (75.61%) (14th)

Players to Watch:

Jaxson Murray has been killing it. 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points in 7 games. He may come off as a guy with a relaxed demeanor but he’s ice cold out there with his plays. He’s a fun player to watch and it’s a shame he’s in his final year of junior.

Luke Pfoh had 4 assists in 3 games since being added to the top line and he looks at home. Trail and Cranbrook are two teams he is familiar with so look for him to continue his success as he is likely pumped for the weekend. 

And Michael Felsing has never gone three games without a point so don’t expect that trend to end as he had a goal last time he was in Trail.

For the Smoke Eaters the player to watch remains Mathieu Cobetto-Roy who was an absolute heater heading into this game. Cobetto-Roy has a scorching 13 goals and 6 assists in 14 games heading into today’s game. And don’t forget about Ethan Warrener, he looked solid last game in Merritt as the quarterback of the blueline for Trail.

Keys to Victory:

Key number 1 – Special Teams Advantage: As good as the Smoke Eaters are at home they are still one of the worst teams in the league on the powerplay and penalty kill. Trail does not take a lot of penalties but this is an area where Merritt can take control of the game.   

Key Number 2 – Get prepared for a different type of team. This is not the tired team that had to deal with fatigue when they lost 5-1 in Merritt. The Centennials have 1 win and 11 losses on the road when bussing there the day of the game so they’re going to have to buck that trend if they hope to leave Trail with a win today. Don’t expect another blowout win for the Cents today.

Key number 3 – Continue keeping shots from the outside. Last game against Trail Andrew Ballantyne faced 41 shots stopping 40 but he mentioned how a lot of the shots were from the outer perimeter. If the Cents can continue to play like that it will make the goalie’s job easier. Trail likes to put the puck on net so it’s going to be a busy one in the Centennial’s crease.