GAME DAY PREVIEW (for Friday, March 15th) Merritt Centennials (19-24-4-1) at Prince George Spruce Kings (14-31-3-0)

Merritt Centennials — (19-24-4-1)

After a four game winning streak the Cents ran into some tough competition going 1-2-1 and dropping three of four games all against top teams.

Now Merritt is in Prince George where they lost their only trip here 5-3 back in late September. The roster was nothing like today’s Cents roster while the Spruce Kings have pretty much the same team.

The Cents were dominated in shots in the first half of a 3-2 win over Prince George two weeks ago in a game that came down to the wire. Luke Pfoh had the winner with one minute left as I’m sure the Spruce Kings left that game feeling like they should’ve won.   

Prince George Spruce Kings — (14-31-3-0)

Prince George is on a four game losing streak scoring two goals or less in four of their last five games. But they are not the same team on the road as they are at home.

The Spruce Kings usually feast on the opposition at home that usually have to battle fatigue from long bus rides over.

Prince George is dead last in the BCHL on the road having lost a whopping 22 of 25 games. They are a different team at home though where they have gone 11-10-2 this year. They have however lost five of their last seven games at Kopar Memorial Arena.

Previous Meetings;

The only win for the Spruce Kings was the lone game in Prince George way back on September 30th where they prevailed by a score of 5-3.

The Cents have won all three home games 3-2, 4-3 and 6-3 leading the season series 3-1.

Merritt has scored at least three goals in all four games against Prince George so we hope to bring you plenty of goal calls this weekend. The Cents play three of their final six games of the season against Prince George.

Special Teams Comparison;

Cents PP:     32/161 (19.88%) (13th)    PK: 35/174 (79.89%) (6th)

Kings PP: 44/187 (23.53%) (5th)   PK: 45/160 (71.88%) (17th)

Players to Watch:

Luke Pfoh continues to put on a show after being reunited with Felsing and Murray. He has looked great in Red, White and Black. He’s a 2005 born with two more years left in the tank.

Don’t be surprised if Pfoh becomes a player the franchise builds around. 

For the Spruce Kings Killian McGregor Bennett seems to always do well against the Cents.

The gritty and talented White Rock B.C. native has 5 goals 4 assists and 9 points in his last 9 games and had quite a celly at the NVMA last time he scored. It should be a rough finish to the season series with plenty of chirping and after the whistle scrums.

The Spruce Kings had plenty of words for Merritt before the last game and the Cents gave it back to them after winning 3-2 two weeks ago. Whoever wins Friday is going to let the gums flap and whoever wins the final game I’m sure will get some chirping in. 

Keys to the Game:

Key number 1 – Light the lamp. This is a team you have scored a minimum of three goals against in four matchups this season. Two weeks ago the offense didn’t show up until a Michael Felsing between the legs goal of the year candidate with 13 seconds left in the second period. You cannot almost get blanked by the worst defensive team in the BCHL.

Key Number 2 –  Special Teams Mastery. The Cents’ struggling powerplay has to be a factor. They are facing the worst penalty kill in the BCHL. Today is the day to get one or two on the powerplay. And at the same time be wary of a Spruce Kings powerplay that is scoring at a red hot pace of 25 percent at home and Top 5 in the BCHL in all arenas. 

Key number 3 – Show up on time. Getting outshot 18-6 in the first period the last time the Spruce Kings were in town was not the start the Cents wanted. Then to go down 3-0 in back to back games after that is starting to show signs that the team is struggling off the bat. It’s something that needs to be addressed before the post season begins.

The boys have gotta be fired up and ready to go while making smart aggressive plays out there right off the drop of the puck.