Merritt, BC – February 19, 2011
The Merritt Centennials wrapped up their most successful regular season in four years with a 4-2 win Saturday night at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.
Jeff Jones scored twice and Max Vallis had a goal and an assist for the Centennials (22-31-1-6) while Jakob Reichert also notched a goal in the win. Chad Brears had two assists. Regan Soquila, Blaine Bokenfohr, Sean Maktaak, Steve Wall and Kameran Crawford all had single assists as nine different Cents players hit the scoresheet.
Logan Proulx and Jordan Bauer scored for the Smoke Eaters (31-23-2-4).
Lino Chimienti kicked out 21 of 23 shots to get the win for Merritt. Matt Larose made 42 saves for Trail in the loss.
The Cents went 0-for-8 on the power play while the Smoke Eaters were 1-for-4 with the man advantage,
The Centennials now await the results of Sunday's game between Salmon Arm and Coquitlam to determine whether they face the Silverbacks or the Penticton Vees in the first round of the 2011 Fred Page Cup playoffs. The complete first round playoff schedule will be released Monday.
