Cents Game Day – Merritt at Trail – Nov 10/21

Date – Wednesday, November 10, 2021

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

Location – Cominco Arena, Trail BC

Broadcast – CKMQ-FM Q101 & BCHLTV

West Kelowna Warriors – 6-4-1

Merritt Centennials – 0-11-0

The Merritt Centennials are back on the road tonight for a battle in Trail versus the Smoke Eaters. After an 0-3 week through Cranbrook, Salmon Arm, and West K, the Cents are still in search of win number 1 on the season.

Goals came fast in the opening 20 minutes of Saturday’s game in West Kelowna.

Just 40 seconds in the Warriors struck with the extra-man as Keegan Maddocks made two stops in close but couldn’t make the third, and Tyler Cristall would bury the puck.

At the 3:16 mark, Merritt would respond when Ryan Mulrenin broke into the zone and beat the goalie but didn’t have enough on the puck for it to cross the line, Anton Sorensen would clean up the garbage for his first in the BCHL, making the game 1-1.

Then West K would start going back-door and moving Maddocks laterally, that would lead to three quick goals in succession that all looked similar. First it was Brennan Nelson, then Cristall with his second of the night, and Felix Trudeau capped off the three-minute flurry.

That would be the end of the night for Maddocks, stopping 6/10. Colton Phillips-Watts would replace him.

At the 11:43 mark, Mulrenin wouldn’t be denied again, the newest Centennial went in all alone and deked five-hole for his first in the BCHL.

West K would add one more before the intermission when Carter Schmidt beat Phillips-Watts high.

The second period would start the same as the first, with Merritt taking an early penalty and West K taking advantage on the powerplay. This time it was Elan Bar-Lev-Wise finding the rebound to make it 6-2.

The game would then get quite chippy with some big hits and a slew of penalties being called. At the 15:06 mark Ben Ward and Mark Thurston would both take minors, resulting in a full 2 minute 5-on-3 for West K. Merritt would kill of the penalty. The score after 40 minutes 6-2.

Colton Phillips-Watts stopping 11/13 in relief of Maddocks.

West K would add three more goals in a chippy final stanza, courtesy of Trudeau, Bar-Lev-Wise, and Zach Reim.

Final score would be 9-2, Cents fall to 0-11 on the season.

Previous meetings;

The Merritt Centennials and Trail Smoke Eaters haven’t face each other since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past five seasons, Merritt is 9-8-1-1 against the Smokies.

Blue Paint Battle;

The Cents have been forced to run with Keegan Maddocks alone for the past five games as John Hicks has been working his way back from an injury.

Maddocks is 0-5 with a .797 SV% and a 7.88 GAA. Hicks is 0-3 with a .858 SV% and a 5.21 GAA.

Trail has been rolling with Evan Fradette mostly, as the 2001 born goaltender has appeared in ten games already for the Smokies. Fradette is 6-3-1 with a .913 SV% and a 3.38 GAA. The rarely used backup is Bailey Monteith who is 0-1 with a .854 SV% and a 4.45 GAA.

Special Teams Comparison;

Trail – PP 1906% (13/18) PK 79.2% (8/18)

Cents – PP 12.3% (18/18) PK 68.9% (16/18)