Centennials win 4th in a row; reacquire defenseman Serfas at trade deadline

The Merritt Centennials were busy this weekend, both on and off the ice.

The Cents won their fourth in a row Friday night thanks to sniper Noah Lawless. The KIJHL December “rookie” of the month scored his 22nd of the season in overtime to lift the Cents to a 3-2 win over the Spokane Braves at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.

This is the second four-game winning streak of the season for Merritt. Between September 27 and October 4, the Cents reeled off a pair of wins over 100 Mile House and victories over Kelowna and Grand Forks.

Merritt opened the scoring early in the first period when Ryder McAslan notched his second of the season at 4:22 before the Braves bounced back with a pair of goals to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

After a scoreless second period, the Braves tried to increase their lead by firing 19 shots towards Cents goalie Tyler Picha ( W 10-5-0-0), who was outstanding and kept the Centennials in the game. In total, Picha turned aside 34 of 36 shots he faced in the victory.

The Centennials tied the game on the power play when defenseman Jack Wideman scored his third of the year at 7:29 of the third, sending the contest to overtime for Lawless heroics.

It was the only game of the weekend for the Cents, who return to action on Saturday when they travel to Sicamous to face the Eagles. Game time is 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Cents were very active on the final days of the KIJHL trade deadline, making several deals, including a trade for a former Centennial.

The Centennials acquire the playing rights of former Cents defenseman Rhett Serfas from the Portage Terriers of the MJHL in return for future considerations. Last year, Serfas anchored the Centennials’ blueline, scoring three goals and adding seven assists for ten points in 27 games for Merritt.

To make room for the 6’4″ Serfas, the Centennials traded defenseman Gairen Bona to the Grand Forks Border Bruins in return for the playing rights of forward Wyatt Cull and forward Morgan Page.

The Centennials also added size to its offense when they acquired 6’6″ forward Marcus Hughes from the Winkler Flyers of the MJHL in return for future considerations. In 20 games with Winkler with season, Hughes has five points and 75 penalty minutes.