Centennials and Storm Announce Inaugural Coquihalla Cup

The Merritt Centennials and Kamloops Storm are adding a little more to the line when the two clubs meet this season with the introduction of the Coquihalla Cup.

The inaugural Coquihalla Cup will be decided over six regular-season meetings between the Storm and Centennials, creating a season-long battle between two neighboring Junior A hockey communities connected by the Coquihalla Highway.

The format will award three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win and one point for an overtime loss.

At the conclusion of the six-game series, the team with the most points will be crowned Coquihalla Cup Champions and take home the newly created Coquihalla Cup trophy — along with a year’s worth of bragging rights.

Merritt Centennials majority owner Brad Anstey has been a strong advocate for building the rivalry between the two clubs and sees the Cup as another way to strengthen junior hockey throughout the region.

“The Centennials mean a great deal to Merritt and the Nicola Valley, and the Storm have built something special in Kamloops,” said Anstey. “This is a natural rivalry between two proud hockey communities. We want our fans to circle these games on the calendar, make the trip down the highway and have some fun with it. At the end of the day, we both want to grow the game, give our players a great experience and give our communities a team they can be proud of. That said, neither one of us is going to want to be on the wrong side of the bragging rights when the six games are over.”

The Coquihalla Cup will feature its own official identity, with a newly created logo representing the rivalry and a dedicated championship trophy that will be awarded to the winning team.

The Centennials are at home on Wednesday afternoon for a 3:00 matinee for Truth and Reconciliation Day against the Summerland Jets.

On Friday night, the Cents and Storm face off in game one of the Coquihalla Cup at 7:00 p.m.

Jared Thomas will have all the action for you on Super Save Gas Cents Hockey on Q101, Wednesday at 2:45 p.m.