Centennials win fifth in a row; next up the Princeton Posse

Noah Lawless scored two goals and added an assist as the Merritt Centennials edged the Sicamous Eagles 4-3 on Saturday night at the Sicamous & District Recreation Centre for their fifth consecutive win.

This is the Centennials’ longest win streak of the season, which includes three wins over the Eagles in January.

The Cents’ line-up was bolstered by their new trade deadline acquisitions, including Markus Hughes, Morgan Page, Wyatt Cull, and Rhett Serfas.

Merritt led 2-0 after one period of play, and built a 3-0 cushion early in the second period; however, the pesky Eagles made it close, scoring three in the middle frame with Merritt leading 4-3.

There was no scoring in the final period.

The game was also marred by a brawl at the 4:30 mark of the second period, which featured several players from both teams being receiving misconducts and ejections, including Centennials Markus Hughes ( Fighting – Major, 5 minutes, Game Misconduct, 10 minutes, Disrespectful and Abusive Behavior – Game Misconduct, 10 minutes), Morgan Page (Roughing – Minor, 2 minutes, Misconduct,10 minutes, ) and Jobie Siemens, (Misconduct 10 Minutes.)

Aside from Noah Lawless two goals (23, 24), Merritt got goals from Jack Wideman (4) and Brayden Thurlow (5).  Three of the Centennials’ goals came on the power play, which now sits fifth overall in the KIJHL at 24.5 percent.

The Merritt Centennials will wrap up their January schedule of games with three of their next four at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena (NVMA), including a 7:00 p.m. tilt with rival the Princeton Posse on Saturday, Jan. 24, followed by a 5:00 p.m. contest on Sunday afternoon, Jan 25, when Chase comes to town.

The following weekend, the Sicamous Eagles return to the NVMA on Friday, Jan. 30, then wrap up the month on Saturday, Jan. 31 in Revelstoke.