Merritt Centennials climb to top spot in KIJHL Week 18 power rankings

The Merritt Centennials ongoing 10-game point streak has taken them to the top of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s (KIJHL) latest power rankings, for the week ending Jan. 25.

The Centennials are 8-0-2 in their last 10 games going back to Dec. 12, and they went a perfect 2-0 this past weekend. They beat the Chase Heat 4-1 on Sunday (Jan. 25) and the Princeton Posse 5-4 in a shootout on Saturday (Jan. 24).

Saturday night at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena, the Centennials trailed 4-0 just eight minutes into the game against their divisional rival, the Posse. They scored four unanswered goals to force a shootout, which they won.

Troy Horn scored the shootout winner, while Sam Saskiw stopped 23 of 24 shots in regulation and overtime, as well as both shots he faced in the shootout.

The night after, the Centennials scored another four unanswered goals to beat the Heat in regulation. Kaden Wilkins led the way with two goals while Saskiw made 15 saves in net.

The Centennials (19-11-2-1 ) are in fourth place in the Bill Ohlhausen Division with 41 points from 33 games. The Posse (24-8-0-3) are in second place in the division with 51 points from 35 games. Merritt is tenth in the overall standings while Princeton is fifth.

Merritt had 11 games to go in the 2025-26 KIJHL regular season, with two more scheduled this month. They’re hosting the Sicamous Eagles on Friday (Jan. 30) before heading to Revelstoke to play the Grizzlies the following night (Jan. 31).