FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Merritt, BC – March 9, 2012
The Merritt Centennials clinched second place in the interior and home ice advantage for the playoffs as they beat the Trail Smoke Eaters with a 6-2 win in BC Hockey League action on Friday night at the Cominco Arena.
Evan Stack earned the first star for the Centennials (33-18-2-6) with a goal and an assist. AP Scotty Patterson also had a goal and an assist while Silvan Harper, Regan Soquila, Jakob Reichert and Payton Schaefer all earned a goal each. Brayden Low got two assists for the night while assists also went to Billy Marshall, Ross Mancuso, Brandon Bruce, Sean Maktaak, Brendan Lamont, Chad Brears and Brandon Pfeil.
Connor Tiechko put Trail (11-40-1-6) on the board midway through the third period. Garrett McMullen scored the other goal for the Smoke Eaters on the power play.
Tyler Steel made a remarkable 34 saves for Merritt in the win while Trail net minder Lyndon Stanwood also had his work cutout for him, stopping 31 Cents attempts.
The Centennials went 1-for-6 on the power play while the Smoke Eaters fared slightly better with their chances, going 1-for-3 on the man advantage opportunities.
With the win, the Cents now have just fourteen regulation losses in their last 52 games and continue to sit in second place in the BCHL's Interior Conference, four points ahead of Prince George and seven points ahead of Chilliwack.
The Centennials next game is at home on Saturday, March 10th against the Trail Smoke Eaters at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.
For further information, please contact Cents Head Coach and GM Luke Pierce at 250-378-3607.
The Merritt Centennials, proudly celebrating 39 seasons as the BCHL's longest continuously run franchise, is a non-profit, community owned Junior 'A' Hockey Club run by a dedicated team of investors, directors, and volunteers.
Stay current with the latest team news by visiting www.merrittcentennials.com. In addition, stay connected with the Cents on Facebook (/merrittcentennials) and Twitter (@merrittcents)
