Cents Game Day – Merritt vs Prince George – Oct 30/21

Date – Saturday, October 30, 2021

Game Time – Puck drop 7:00 pm, Pregame show 6:45 pm

Location – Nicola Valley Memorial Arena, Merritt BC

Broadcast – CKMQ-FM Q101 & BCHLTV

Prince George Spruce Kings – 6-1-0

Merritt Centennials – 0-6-0

The Merritt Centennials return to the friendly confines of the NVMA tonight to face an all to familiar foe in the Prince Goerge Spruce Kings, as the Cents are still in search of their first win of the season.

Last weekend, the Cents went 0-2 at the BCHL Showcase including a 5-2 loss to Cowichan.

The script was already written before puck drop Sunday night. The 0-5 Merritt Centennials versus the 0-6 Cowichan Valley Capitals, something had to give.

The first period wouldn’t see much action on the scoresheet, as neither team was able to bulge the twine. The Cents were able to kill off the only penalty of the opening frame when Josh Olson went off for tripping at the 14:08 mark.

John Hicks would stop all eight shots he saw in the first period.

The offense came quick in the middle stanza as David Jacobs would beat Hicks high blocker side to open the scoring.

Then at the 9:04 mark, on a Jerzy Orchard slashing penalty, Massimo Lombardi would feed Luck Haymes backdoor who would make no mistake giving the Caps a 2-0 lead.

The Cents would get one back right before the end of the 2nd as Walker Erickson would catch up to a loose puck on the breakaway, slam on the breaks in front of Ben Montgomery and finish on his backhand after a nifty little deke. The score after 40 minutes 2-1. Hicks stopping 21/23 through two.

The third period would be one sided and unfortunately for Cents fans, Merritt wasn’t on the right side.

Cowichan would pour on the offense in the final 20 minutes scoring three times to ice the game.

Adam Jeffery would score twice for Cowichan in the third to open the game up before David Jacobs put it to bed at the 15:29 mark, making it a 5-1 final.

Hicks stopped 28/33 in the game.

The Prince Goerge Spruce Kings have been the class of the Interior Conference this season. They just completed a home and home series agaisnt the Penticton Vees which included a 7-1 thrashing of the Vees on Wednesday night.

Previous meetings;

The Cents and Spruce Kings have already played 3 times this season, with PG coming out on top each time. Two weekends ago in Prince George, the Cents played well, but couldn’t complete the comeback efforts.

Blue Paint Battle;

The Cents are still looking for consitency from their goaltending duo. Both John Hicks and Brayden Melynk are 0-3 on the year. Hicks has posted a .837 SV% and a 6.00 GAA. Melynk has slightly better numbers at .882 SV% and a 5.62 GAA. To their credit, both netmiders have been peppered by shots in their games.

Both PG netminders have a win this season agiasnt the Merritt Centennials. Jordan Farlie won the most recent meeting and is 2-0 this year with a .900 SV% and a 2.00 GAA. Aaron Trotter has beaten Merritt twice on route to a 4-1 record with a .911 SV% and a 2.21 GAA.

Special Teams Comparison;

Spruce Kings – PP 46.7% (1/18) PK 78.3% (9/18)

Cents – PP 17.2% (14/18) PK 70.0% (15/18)