“One Last Dance,” Merritt Centennials ready to “Paint the Town Red” after first playoff win in five years

MERRITT — Life’s not fair and neither is hockey. 

After letting a 2-0 lead slip away in Game One and losing a heart breaker in overtime the team likely felt like they deserved better bussing home after the final buzzer. 

While most teams stayed in fancy hotels overnight, the Centennials had to bus home after the loss, wake up and bus back for Game Two in Salmon Arm. 

The odds were stacked against the Cents to say the least. The Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm has been a hostile environment with the Silverbacks winning 20 games at home losing just seven times, as they were the third best home team in the BCHL. 

Cents Bench | Madeline Baker Photography

Perhaps the grittiness and adversity of being on the bus again as a team helped unite the Cents as they were able to shock the crowd and steal a crucial Game Two victory Saturday, April 6th (2024) by the tune of 3-2. 

The win was the first for Merritt in five years in the post season.

The last time the Cents were “in the dance” they lost in five games to the Trail Smoke Eaters, who were a wild card team in the playoffs.

What made the victory even more special was the fact that only two road teams were able to steal wins this weekend with 14 home teams winning. Six out of eight playoff series have the top seed up 2-0 with Coquitlam and Merritt being the only teams to tie their series 1-1.

jaxson murray |centennials.ca

It didn’t take long for the Cents to make an impact with Brian Passmore starting his top line right off the bat.

It took only 10 seconds for Jaxson Murray to silence the crowd and tap in a perfect feed from Michael Felsing and Luke Pfoh to give the Cents an early 1-0 lead.

Cents fans were out in full force in the crowd as they watched Charles-Thomas Larochelle score two goals to extend the lead to 3-0 Merritt. He would later be named first star of the game.

Much like yesterday the lead slipped away as the Silverbacks were able to cut the lead to 3-2 with seven minutes left in the game. 

Andrew Ballantyne was able to slam the door shut, making 34 saves on 36 shots for second star honors. He was named third star the game prior. 

Nicola Valley Memorial Arena | City of Merritt

Now the Centennials have three out of four of the next games at home (if the series goes 6 games.) 

Salmon Arm is not the same team on the road as they are at home going 14-12-1. Merritt meanwhile is 14-10-3 at the NVMA and is 7-2-1 at home in their last ten games. 

During the regular season the Silverbacks lost 4-0 and won 5-2 in Merritt.

The team hopes the town can “Paint the Town Red” for Game Three on Tuesday, April 9th (2024) and Wednesday, April 10th (2024.)