Penticton, BC – March 27, 2012
The Merritt Centennials allowed four goals in just under five minutes in the second period as the Penticton Vees cruised to a 5-0 win and a 1-0 series lead in the BCHL Interior Conference Final Tuesday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Mario Lucia opened the scoring for the Vees on a power play at 3:37 of the first period and the game was 1-0 Penticton after 20 minutes.
Lucia added his second of the night, also on a power play, at 5:46 of the second period to make it 2-0 Vees before Bryce Gervais at 12:07, Lucia again at 13:49, and Curtis Loik at 17:00 rounded out the scoring for Penticton. Tyler Steel took over in goal for the Centennials following Lucia's hat trick goal on Lino Chimienti, who put up a valiant effort between the pipes for Merritt.
There was no scoring in the third period and Penticton wound up outshoot the Cents 34-20 on the night.
Chad Katunar kicked out 20 Merritt shots for his second straight playoff shutout. Steel finished with 11 saves for the Centennials after Chimienti wound up with 18 saves.
GAME SUMMARY
Merritt visits Penticton in Game Two on Wednesday night at 7:00 at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
For further information, please contact Cents Head Coach & GM Luke Pierce at 250-378-3607.
Fans looking to purchase advance, reserved Interior Conference Final playoff tickets can do so Wednesday – Saturday from 12 – 3 pm at the Centennials Marketing Office (2185 Voght Street).
Reserved tickets are also available on Friday, March 30, Saturday, March 31 and Tuesday, April 3 (if necessary) from 3 – 6 pm at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.
All tickets purchased after 6 pm on game days are general admission and subject to availability. For more information, please call Cents Marketing Manager Rachael Sanders at 250-378-3604.
Exclusive Cents merchandise is available at both Booster Club Booths at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena during all Centennials games. Merchandise includes t-shirts, hats, hoodies, souvenirs and much more.
Select merchandise is also available outside of game hours at the Cents Marketing Office (2185 Voght Street) and at Merritt Printing (1951 Garcia Street).
Throughout the playoffs, fans are encouraged to go to MerrittCentennials.com for exclusive coverage including photo galleries, post-game coverage and more. For extensive pre-and-post-game analysis by the Cents play-by-play voice, Alex Grebenyuk, visit centscentral.blogspot.com
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)
