Cents drop to 1-3-0-0 after grueling road trip

MERRITT – Two games 600 km apart in two nights, two losses.

The Centennials outshot the Vernon Vipers by a considerable margin early on, then slowly let their foot off the gas. Zach Losier got the Centennials on the board three minutes into a four minute powerplay to give the road side a 1-0 lead. After the Vipers tied the game 1-1 Easton Ryan scored his first goal of the season to retake the lead for Merritt.

Vernon would break a 2-2 tie in the third then score another to finish off the victory. Merritt had two powerplays late in the third period when they were down a goal but couldn’t convert on either.

The team would have to pile on the bus after the game, get a quick post-game meal and then bus off to Prince George, which took about seven hours. A tired group would reconvene in the hotel for some last minute shut eye before the game.

In the second game, Zach Losier once again opened the scoring for his third goal in four games. Prince George would answer soon after, building up leads of 3-1 and 5-2. Captain Aiden Lindblad scored a beauty of a snipe to cut the lead to 3-2 on the PP for his first goal of the season in the second period. Ryan Spinale would score his second goal in four games and third point to cut the lead to 5-3 Spruce Kings late, but the Centennials couldn’t get their legs going and lost 5-3.

There will be a lot to work on in practice this week, and the boys don’t have long to figure it out with a tough road swing peeking around the corner.

This Thursday they will be back on the road again, for two games in Cranbrook.

The Centennials won’t have to battle fatigue this time. The team will have ample time in hotels the night before games and is leaving a day before game time to ensure the team has their energy this time around.

Cranbrook has struggled to score this season and is coming off a 6-1 loss to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. They are 2-2-0-0 this year.