Cents Game Day – Merritt at West Kelowna – Dec 10/21

Date – Friday, December 10, 2021

Game Time – Puck drop 7:00 pm

Location – Royal LePage Place, West Kelowna BC

Broadcast –Q101 & BCHLTV

West Kelowna Warriors – 13-8-0-0

Merritt Centennials – 1-15-1-0

The Merritt Centennials are looking to get back on track after dropping two games following an emotional return to Merritt last weekend.

The Penticton Vees came out hot Tuesday night at the NVMA, but the Cents were able to bend and not break, allowing just a single marker.

At the 7:37 mark,  Brett Moravec sniped high past Keegan Maddocks to open the scoring, 1-0 Vees.

Merritt would respond with a pair of powerplay chances, firing on some quality shots but failed to find the equalizer.

Maddocks stopped 14/15 in the opening frame.

One stat line summed up the second period, Vees scored four goals, Cents registered three shots on goal.

The goal scoring began early with Grayson Arnott blasting one from the point at the 2:10 mark on the powerplay.

Jackson Nieuwendyk, Thomas Pichette and Luc Wilson would add to the tally before the period ended making it 5-0 after 40 minutes.

Maddocks stopping 27/32.

The third would see the Vees continue to pull away scoring three more times, compared to just three shots on goal in the period for Merritt.

Penticton getting goals from Moravec, Fin Williams, and Beanie Richter.

Maddocks stopped 39/47 in the contest.

The West Kelowna Warriors enter play loser of four games in row, and winless in the month of December so far. Last weekend the Warriors played a home and home with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks losing by scores of 5-2 and 6-2.

Previous meetings;

The Cents and Warriors have met just once so far this season, with West K earning a 9-2 win back in early November. The game was chippy in nature with Ryan Mulrenin even being kicked out for taunting the entire West Kelowna bench following a scuffle near centre ice.

In the contest, both Keegan Maddocks and Colton Phillips-Watts appeared in goal for Merritt. The Cents got goals from Anton Sorensen and Ryan Mulrenin.

Blue Paint Battle;

The game share situation in the Merritt crease it about to switch drastically as Keegan Maddocks will joining the Kamloops Blazer for a few weeks, meaning John Hicks will be leaned upon heavily by Head Coach Dave Chyzowski.

Maddocks is 1-9-1 with a .839 SV% and a 6.86 GAA. Hick is 0-3 with a .862 SV% and a 5.00 GAA.

Johnny Derrick has been the main goalie in West Kelowna posting a 10-5 record with a .897 SV% and a 3.42 GAA. His backup is Justin Katz at 3-3 with a .926 SV% and a 2.53 GAA.

Special Teams Comparison;

West K – PP 19.5% (13/18) PK 77.5% (9/18)

Cents – PP 10.6% (18/18) PK 68.2% (18/18)