Steven Foster scores winner as the Cents edge Kelowna with seconds left in regulation

Steven Foster provided the heroics on Friday night scoring with just four seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Merritt Centennials to a 3-2 win over the Kelowna Chiefs at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.

It was the Cents third win over the Chiefs this season with all of the victories by a slim one-goal margin.

The game was highlighted by the annual Teddy Bear Toss and Centennials fans didn’t have to wait long to throw their stuff toys onto the ice.

Fresh out of the penalty box, Jacob Bishop corralled a bouncing puck and took off on a breakaway. He tried to deke Chiefs goalie Max Fowle who made the original save however Taye Shukin went hard to the net and tucked home the rebound for his second of the season at 7:49 of the first period which sent hundreds of stuff toys onto the ice, which will now be distributed to those less fortunate in our area.

The Chiefs tied the game at 10:40 of the  first when Aiden Morcom notched his ninth of the year whipping a pass from Ben Henshall past Andrew Krakora.

The Centennials took an early 2-1 lead when Marshall Wagner redirected a pass from Logan Kearley that beat Fowle clean at 2:25 of the second.  The remainder of the period was solid for both teams with physical play an spectacular goaltending at both ends of the rink.

Kelowna tied the game when a clearing attempt from Sam Dal Cin took a strange bounce of the end boards that fooled Andrew Krakora who misplayed the puck which ended up on Sam Lescarbeau’s stick and he buried it into the open net at  13:56 to even the score at 2-2 where it remained until Steven Foster’s winner at 19:56 of the third period.

The Cents are now 6-3-1 in their last ten games and have one game remaining before the team heads out on its Christmas break and that is Wednesday when they travel to Princeton for a 7 p.m. contest against the first place Posse.