Devin Kero earned his first BCHL shut out on Tuesday night as Scott Patterson picked up the hat-trick, in a 5-0 Merritt Centennials win over the hometown Trail Smoke Eaters.
Gavin Gould also made his presence in the game known, scoring his first BCHL goal. Sebastien Pare was an offensive weapon as well, picking up a helper on Patterson's 2nd goal and Jeff Wight's 2nd period marker.
Kero made 28 saves, while at the other end it was Adam Todd in the Smokies net, while he stopped 20 of 25 as the Smoke Eaters fell to 1-3-0-1 on the year while Merritt improved to 2-3-0-0.
On the man advantage, opportunities were limited for both clubs as Trail went 0-for-4 and Merritt 0-for-3. Malik Kaila was the penalty minute getter of the night along with Trail captain Adam Wheeldon; after the two dropped the mitts late in the 3rd period.
The Smoke Eaters visit the home of the Centennials on Friday night. Game time at Nicola Valley Memorial is 7:30, and the broadcast on Q101 begins at 7:00 sponsored by Norgaard Ready Mix.
The Cents will be on the road on Saturday night, when they travel to Vernon to face the Vipers, that game starts at 7:00 with the Q101 broadcast at 6:30.
Dustin Scafe's full game recap can be found at his Centennials blog at www.dustinscafe.blogspot.ca
