Photo Credit: Garrett James Photography
The Merritt Centennials (26-14-1-1) face the BCHL leading Chilliwack Chiefs (29-11-1-0) tonight.
The Cents are coming off a week that saw the trend of going to overtime continue, but they couldn’t collect the full 4 points settling for 3 of 4. Last Wednesday the Cents travelled to Coquitlam for a date with the Express and surrendered an early 2-0 lead before bouncing back with goals from Payton Matsui and Rylan Van Unen. The Express rolled ahead by 2 again, but in the third the Cents got some life late from Daniel Tkac to get within one, and then Captain Nick Wicks tied the game in the final minute to tie the game at 4’s. In OT the Cents controlled the puck and Wicks finished the game with a rush from centre, a dangle in short side, and a snipe to win 5-4 and give the Cents a 5 game winning streak.
The streak would be snapped on Friday night against the Warriors. A game that saw the Cents get all their goals on the PP. Jackson Munro had two, but the Warriors led 3-2 after two periods. Matt Kopperud would tie the game late with a one-timer on the PP, but the Cents would fall in OT after they were out possessed in extra time.
The Chiefs are the defending RBC Cup National Champions and they’ve carried over that success into this season. A new coaching staff, some new personnel and a solid returning core have given them the edge in the Mainland Division where they’re on top – and also on top of the BCHL standings.
In the new year, the Chiefs are 3-1 with wins over Coquitlam, PG, and Surrey and have had their own share of overtime drama. They fell to Coquitlam 4-3, but their most recent contest against PG went to the wire – a 16 player shootout that produced only one goal as the tenders went toe to toe.
Last year, the teams split the season series with away wins. The Chiefs won 4-2 at the NVMA in October, but the Cents returned the favour with a February 5-2 win.
The Cents will need all hands on deck to propel them to victory, but are waiting for their top scorer to break out in the new year. Brad Cocca picked up an assist over the week that was and is 5th in BCHL scoring with 52 points. Nick Granowicz is 10th with 48 points. Nick Wicks is tied for 18th with 43 points.
The Chiefs are led by a couple rookies and a veteran up front. Rookie Matt Holmes is 9th in the BCHL with 49 points. Harrison Blaisdell is 13th with 45 points, and rookie Kevin Wall is 16th with 44 points.
The special teams battle sees the Chiefs with the edge:
Powerplay: Penalty Kill:
Chiefs – 20.4% (6th) Chiefs – 83.2% (5th)
Cents – 18.8% (10th) Cents – 75.5% (15th)
In net, Austin Roden is 3-1 in 2019 with all games going to OT, but with the last game being a loss we could see Vincent Duplessis get a chance in the crease. Duplessis is 8-5-2 with a .904 SV% and a 3.31 GAA. Roden is 18-8 with a .900 3.26 and 1 shutout. Mathieu Caron has been the go to guy for the Chiefs. He’s 18-7 with a .914 SV%, a 2.71 GAA, and 1 shutout. Nolan Hildebrand is 9-2 with a .881 SV% and a 3.36 GAA.
Head Coach Joe Martin says the Chiefs are one of the top teams in the BCHL for a reason.
“They are the defending RBC cup champions and there’s a reason for it. They have some of the best rookies in the league, and are good up and down the line up.”
The Cents will look to slay another dragon tonight.
Puck Drop 7pm from the NVMA. Pre-Game 6:45 on HockeyTV and Q101.ca with Jared Thomas.
