GAME DAY: Prince George Spruce Kings (14-28-3-0) at Merritt Centennials (18-23-3-1)

Prince George Spruce Kings – (14-28-3-0) 

Last night was a wild one in Vernon for the Spruce Kings. A wild 7-5 loss where Prince George erased a 3-1 deficit but couldn’t keep pace with the high flying Vipers. From a defensive standpoint the Kings are giving up a lot right now on the road. 7 goals last night, 7 in Alberni, 4 in Cowichan, 6 in Victoria, 8 in Penticton and 5 in Salmon Arm. That bodes well for the Cents who tend to score at home. We could hear the siren a lot tonight if that trend continues.

Merritt Centennials – (18-23-3-1) 

The Cents kick off four games against the Spruce Kings in March tonight in their third of four games during their current home stand. The last two times the Cents hosted the Kings they won 4-3 and 6-3 taking 4-0 and 4-1 leads in those games. Merritt is 8-5-1 in their last 16 home games and will be looking to rebound from a 5-2 loss last night that saw their season high winning streak snapped at 4 games. The Cents have been on a win 2 lose 2 win 3 lose 3 pace of late so they’ll have to buck that trend and prove they can rebound from a loss on what should be a rocking NVIT night on a Saturday in Merritt. Hopefully the home side can benefit from a few more fans in the crowd tonight and feed off that energy. 

Spruce Kings vs Centennials | Zach Amin Photography

Previous Meetings;

A very early season 5-3 loss in Prince George came after arguably the worst bus ride of the season. After losing in Vernon the Cents bussed overnight, sleeping on the bus and stopping in a hotel very shortly before playing an exhausted brand of hockey. That won’t happen again two weeks from now with the Cents heading over ahead of time to Prince George for the road double header. Merritt leads the season series two games to one scoring 13 goals in three games and surrendered 11 along that span in what has been a high scoring series.

Special Teams Comparison;

Cents PP:     31/150 (20.67%) (11th)    PK: 31/160 (80.63%) (3rd)

Kings PP: 43/180 (23.89%) (4th)   PK: 44/153 (71.24%) (17th)

Spruce Kings vs Centennials | Zach Amin Photography

Players to Watch:

Will a Dylan Wegner goal get him feeling good again? After he was scratched and inserted back into the line up he ended a lengthy scoring drought. He was a point-per-game player earlier in the season and could potentially get back to his old scoring ways with a bit of confidence. He also scored on the Spruce Kings earlier this year in his first game since being traded away from Prince George, he did it here at the NVMA.

For the Spruce Kings JR Perdion got an honorable mention for BCHL player of the week and has 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points in his last 6 games. Killian McGregor-Bennett has also had a hot stick of late with 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in his last 6 games. 

Cents Bench | Madeline Baker Photography

Keys to Victory:

Key number 1 – Tighten up on defense. After a stellar five game span that saw the Cents average less than two goals per game the floodgates opened up last night. Ballantyne was forced to make some huge saves and was hung out to dry on multiple opportunities last night. It was very uncharacteristic of the way the Cents were protecting the front of their net during the winning streak.

Key Number 2 –  Special Teams Mastery. This is an interesting matchup. The Cents have improved to 3rd best on the penalty kill this year. Yet the Spruce Kings despite being last in the Interior have the 4th best power play. We’ll see how that matches up. For the Cents their powerplay dropped two spots to the 11th spot in the league after a tough night. They will face the worst penalty kill in the BCHL with a chance to get some redemption in that category.

Key number 3 – Match their Physicality. Prince George is a well known tough team and the Cents have the ability to outpower teams with their size and grit. Don’t let the Spruce Kings outmatch you in this category and don’t underestimate a team that’s looking to get a huge road win.

NVMA