GAME DAY: Trail Smoke Eaters (9-8-4-0) at Merritt Centennials (8-10-2-1)

Merritt Centennials – (8-10-2-1)

What a game last night. Karlis Mezsargs stopped a penalty shot that could’ve made it 4-0 West Kelowna. Instead the Cents got a late second period goal then dominated the third to tie things up at 3-3 and stealing a much deserved point on the road. 

Tonight they have a chance to end the weekend on a winning note with the Smokies in town.

Trail Smoke Eaters (9-8-4-0)

A huge win in Vernon last night. The Smoke Eaters dominated the Vipers on the shot clock and stole a 3-2 overtime win on the road. Trail was 2-7 on the road prior to that game so we’ll see if that confidence carries over into tonight’s game at the NVMA.

Both teams are close as it can get with nearly identical goals for and against and are separated by just three points.

Something’s gotta give on a Saturday night in Merritt.

Previous Meetings;

Trail is another one of those teams that have historically dominated the Centennials over the past five years. A 16-2-0-0 record that is reflected by a dark period for Merritt mostly as this year’s team is a bit different. 

In the only matchup between these two teams in Trail the Smokie absolutely controlled every aspect of play. Outshooting Merritt 12-3 in the first and 21-7 in the second period. After going up 3-0 in the third period Felsing and CT Larochelle put the Cents back into the game down by just one before the Smokies would ice the game with an empty netter. They would outshoot Merritt 48-26 on the night.

Special Teams Comparison;

Cents –                      20/80 (25%) (5th)                 PK 14/80 (82.5%) (3rd)

Smoke Eaters –      13/76 (17.11%) (14th)             PK 20/71 (71.8%) (15th)

Players to Watch;

Michael Felsing is on a assist streak like no other. 5 games with a point and 8 assists along that span. He is now the 5th best player in the BCHL points wise thanks to his smooth skating, hockey smarts, and ability to make the right play at the right time. 

Jaxson Murray is on a 3 game scoring streak and 7 game point streak. Murray has only gone pointless in one game against Vernon in his 10 games since returning to Merritt. His return has sparked the powerplay which is now 5th in the league. 

For Trail a balanced scoring attack. Ridge Dawson, Maxim Potvin, Adam Parsons and Josh Shenk all have 17-18 points so look for Tim Fraggle to cycle all four lines today.

Keys to Victory:

Key number 1 – Special Teams mastery. This is the first game I can honestly say the Cents have a massive advantage on the powerplay and the penalty kill. This could be the biggest difference in today’s game with a Top 5 BCHL powerplay and penalty kill for Merritt while Trail sits at the bottom of the league in both categories.

Key Number 2 – Carry that third period over. A 20-9 shot advantage and doing all the little things right in West Kelowna is what got Merritt a point. The team has to bottle up that kind of energy and use it in front of the home crowd. It’s time to put together a full sixty but it won’t be easy against a team that dominated them in shots last game and dominated the play against Vernon last night.

Key number 3 – Home cooking. 

As Brian Passmore agreed the fans deserve better. While I’ve been able to watch the Cents play some of their best hockey on the road, the fans havn’t had the same kind of show that I’ve been given. Merritt is 3-5-0 since a home opening win, their 4-5-1 home record puts them at 13th in the BCHL. No better night than Saturday night against a team that hasn’t been exactly dominant on the road, to get a win. Let’s see if the Cents can send the homeside home happy.