Prince George, BC – March 19, 2012
Merritt captain Evan Stack scored 5:41 into the first overtime session to give the Centennials a 4-3 win over the Prince George Spruce Kings in BC Hockey League playoff action on Monday night at the Prince George Coliseum.
Merritt opened the scoring for the first time in the series as Reece Willcox beat Kirk Thompson at the 7:29 mark of the first period before Gerry Fitzgerald tied the game for the Spruce Kings on a power play at 9:56. Sean Maktaak restored the lead for the Centennials at 13:35 of the opening frame and the game was 2-1 heading to the second period.
In the middle frame, Cents rookie defenceman Dylan Chanter scored at 1:04 to give Merritt a 3-1 lead but Paul De Jersey brought Prince George to within one at 10:37 and the scored was 3-2 going to the final frame.
Just one goal was scored in the third period and it came off the stick of Myles Fitzgerald for the Spruce Kings at 9:18 to tie the game at 3-3 heading into overtime.
Carter Shinkaruk forced a Ben Matthews turnover at 5:41 of the first overtime and Stack pounced on it to notch the winner for the Centennials.
Billy Marshall and Jakob Reichert each had two assists in the win for the Cents while Brent Fletcher, Brandon Bruce and Chad Brears each had an assist.
Lino Chimienti made 25 saves for the win in goal for Merritt.
Thompson took the loss for Prince George, stopping 27 shots.
Merritt visits Prince George in Game Four on Tuesday night at 7:00 at the Prince George Coliseum.
For further information, please contact Cents Head Coach & GM Luke Pierce at 250-378-3607.
Fans looking to purchase advance, reserved Interior Conference Semifinal 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 Thursday, March 22 (if necessary) and Saturday, March 24 (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)
