TALKING CENTS: Home opener vs Kamloops: “Will be a great test” Coach McLeod

It’s been a full week of preparation for your Merritt Centennials as they look towards Friday night to their 2024-25 KIJHL home opener at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.

The Cents (1-1-0-0)  will entertain Kamloops (1-1-0-0) at 7:00 p.m., on Friday,  a team Merritt has knows too well after dropping three games to the Storm during the pre-season.

Merritt Centennials head coach and assistant General Manager Wes McLeod, said despite the lopsided pre-season woes the Cents had with Kamloops, his team feels confident heading into Friday’s home opener.

“We took our lumps in the exhibition season, however as we were assessing talent, The Storm iced their everyday line-up in each of the games we played,” said McLeod. “I think the Storm will be surprised come Friday night as they play against our full team with the recent additions we have made so it will be a great test.”

The Centennials addressed their need for size up front with the addition of Maxim Radmanovich (6’2) and rookies Brayden Thurlow (6’1) and Marshall Wagoner (6’0).

The Centennials also welcomed the return of  defenseman Jackson Foster (6’2) who played nine games in Merritt in 2022-23 when the franchise was still in the BCHL.

“We certainly got bigger in the past few weeks with some of the guys we brought in, but we also added a few skilled players into the lineup like Taye Shukin (5’10) and Jackson’s younger brother ,Steven Foster (5’11) who just need a bit more time to gel with the team but the sky is the limit for these players,” McLeod added.

The Centennials opened the 2024-25 regular Kootenay International Hockey League  season last Friday (September 20 ) with a close 2-1 win in Quesnel before dropping a 1-0 decision to the Williams Lake Mustangs on Saturday.

“We should have come away with two wins over the weekend but that’s hockey,” McLeod chuckled. “I think we played well however we need to get more traffic in front of the net and make the lives of opposing goalies miserable. It’s something we are working on during practice and I think the guys are ready to make adjustments.”

The Centennials have a busy weekend ahead with three games in four days. Following Friday night’s matchup with Kamloops, the Cents play two divisional rivals as they travel to Sicamous (1-1-0-0) to play the Eagles on Saturday night and then Monday afternoon, the Cents will return home to honor Truth and Reconciliation Day with a 2:00 p.m. encounter with the Princeton Posse (0-1-0-0).

Advance tickets for all Merritt Centennial games are available at Nicola Valley Sports on Quilchena Avenue.