The Good, the Bad & the Ugly. Merritt splits Weekend Home and Home series

MERRITT — The Merritt Centennials will embark onto their four game road trip 1-1-0-0 after a win and loss.

Friday was a rocking home opener where the Centennial entertained the home side with a 5-3 win over the visiting Powell River Kings.

The Good: Cents home opener a Success

The Kings went up 1-0 a minute and a half into the first game. Powell River dominated early with a 9-2 advantage in shots, Ryan Spinale would tie the game before the first period ended, on a nifty backhand move on the breakaway. Tim Kim would score back-to-back goals to start the second period, giving the Kings a 3-1 lead. Penalties would get the Cents in trouble as the Kings were able to tie the game 3-3 heading to the third period. Michael Felsing had two assists in the victory.

The third saw a lucky bounce off Zach Losier find the back of the net to give the Cents the game winning goal. Jonathan Wong would add an insurance tally to make it a 5-3 final score, Wong’s second goal in the BCHL. Merritt outshot the Kings 41-38. Andrew Ballantyne stopped 35 of 38 shots for his first BCHL win in his first BCHL game. He’s won two straight starts at home heading back to the preseason.

The Bad: Defending Champs crush the Cents

Penticton looked like an angry swarm of hornets after losing Friday 5-3 in West Kelowna. The Vees unleashed their frustration early going up 2-0 after one period of play. Karlis Mezsargs, who just joined the team from Latvia, was given the start in net. He struggled in the first and second period but looked more settled in the third period. He gave up 6 goals on 42 shots. The Cents were outshot 42-12 registering no more than 5 shots a period. The second period saw Ryan MacPherson score a natural hat trick to make it a 6-0 lead. The third period saw no goals.

The Ugly: Tough Road Trip

A tough four game road trip looms… Friday the Cents play in Vernon then bus overnight for a game in Prince George. The following week the Cents play a double header in Cranbrook. The team will stay overnight before the second game in Cranbrook, so they won’t face the same fatigue struggles the Vernon overnight to Prince George yields.