Game Day : Merritt Centennials (4-6-0-1) VS Victoria Grizzlies (9-2-0-0)

Merritt Centennials – (4-6-0-1)

Although the Cents are on a four game slide they have been in every game and the last one pushing Penticton to the edge. The slide started with a 4-2 loss in Trail and a 6-4 loss to West Kelowna where the Cents had the goalie pulled in both games. A 3-2 shootout loss in Langley where Merritt hit the post in overtime showed just how close they are. And then of course almost going up 4-3 in Penticton AFTER going down 3-1 in the first until a disallowed goal threw off the entire momentum of the game. The Cents will have their hands full with a tough opponent in Victoria tonight.

Victoria Grizzlies (9-2-0-0)

The Griz are simply rolling. A 6 game winning streak for Victoria after shutting down the West Kelowna Warriors in a tight 3-2 affair. The Griz only had 16 shots on net and never more than 5 per period and still kept the winning streak going. Victoria is a very big team, one of the biggest in the BCHL. So are the Centennials. We shall see how that translates on the ice. It could be another low scoring affair.

Previous Meetings;

These two teams haven’t faced each other much. Regardless Victoria is 4-0-0-0 over the Centennials over a span of five years.

If we dig into the last five games for Victoria you’ll see they are able to win games without scoring goals. They’ve only scored more than 3 goals once during their last five wins.

While Merritt is a big team they play a lot more of an all out attack style once they get going.

The Cents are going to have to play like they did in the final two periods in Penticton if they want to continue to improve and compete, instead of dropping back to their sloppy starts to games.

Blue Paint Battle;

 

Karlis Mezsargs will be in for today’s game. After an 0-2 start to the season Mez has really pulled it together of late. He’s had a lot of high 40 shot games and still kept his team in it even getting first star in back to back seasons.

His 2-3-0 record is masked by his whopping .913 save percentage combined with a GAA of 3.61.

We’ll see what kind of shot volume he’ll get against a much more defensive team.

Special Teams Comparison;

Cents – 7/40 (17.5 %) (13th) PK 7/44 (84.1%)   (3rd)

Grizz–           11/39 (28.2%) (4th) PK 5/36 (86.1%) (1st)

Players to Watch;

Some very exciting news as Jaxson Murray returns to the team after being one of Merritt’s leading scorers last season. Murray had 20 goals 23 assists for 43 points in 52 games with the Centennials last season. Adding him to the line-up is literally going to be a game changer. It’s getting really tough for Brian Passmore to decide who to sit out and who to put into the lineup when the cupboards are getting so full. Which is a good problem to have. Murray was invited to Washington Capitals camp earlier this year which is a testament to his skill.

On the other side of the ice it’s a balanced scoring attack. Anthony Carone and Charlie Golob come in as the playmakers of the team and Chase Pirtle along with Nathan King lead the team in scoring.

 

Key number 1 – Block out the fact that it’s the BCHL showcase. There are going to be many fans in the stands and the team is going to have their hands full with a tough opponent. Just go out there and play much like you did against Penticton in the final two periods of the last game and the Cents can compete with anyone.

 

Key Number 2 – Shots on net. They’ve simply got to stop giving up so many shots and play as a big man unit. They come in with an average of 6’1 183 lbs so they have got to use their size when it comes to blocking shots. And it can’t just be on the defense to make those blocks. The forwards have got to stop cheating and help their d men out. If the forwards want goals by cherry picking they have to realize helping with a shot block could be just as useful when it comes to odd man rushes the other way.

 

Key number 3 – Special Teams – This is a disaster of a special teams matchup. The top PK in the BCHL and the 4th best PP. Merritt will have to limit penalties against a tough PP. The Cents may be able to improve on those PP numbers that sit at the bottom of the league with the Cents adding Jaxson Murray that number could change.