The Merritt Centennials (11-8) will face the Victoria Grizzlies (11-6-0-1) in a clash of division leaders at the NVMA tonight.
The Cents are coming off two of their worst performances of the season,and have lost those games by a combined score of 12-2. Last night against the Penticton Vees a strong start evaporated due to goals on the counter-attack, and after one the Cents found themselves trailing 3-0. In the second, the Vees added two more and ended the night early for Austin Roden who didn’t get much help from the team in front of him and surrendered 5 goals on 16 shots. The Cents lone goal came from a bit of a feel good story as Matt Kopperud returning after 5 games off beat Jack LaFontaine and then Rylan Van Unen poked the puck across the line for the Cents lone goal of the game. The Vees would add another in the third period for the 6-1 final. It now makes two games back to back where the Cents have lost by that scorelines.
Tonight they’ll look for a recommittment to team defense against the Grizzlies, and play them much like they did in the only other time they played this season – at the BCHL Showcase. The Cents capitalized on their chances in that game with goals from Kopperud and Nick Granowicz, and took pride in shutting down one of the most electric players in the BCHL Alex Newhook. In the smaller confines of the NVMA the Cents will have to be extra vigilant as the counter-attack can turn on a dime. The Grizzlies added a late goal in the final minute, but the Cents would hang on to win 2-1.
The Grizzlies are looking to refocus after a rough go last weekend. They lost 12-5 to the Powell River Kings and 6-5 to the Surrey Eagles in a shootout. However, they picked up a win last night against the league-leading Chilliwack Chiefs. Marty Westhaver had 2 goals, and Cam Thompson and Carter Berger had singles as the Grizzlies beat the Chiefs 4-2.
The Cents will hope for some more offense from their weapons. Brad Cocca has 25 points, Nick Granowicz has 23 points, and Mathieu Gosselin has 20. To discover some more offense the coaching staff has thrown together some different line combinations to ignite the team.
The Grizzlies top gun is a top ranked prospect in the NHL draft. Alex Newhook is third in league scoring with 24 points, young gun Alex Campbell is just behind him with 22 points, and defenseman Carter Berger has 18 points.
It’s a rare game where the Cents will have the edge on the powerplay, now 14th at 16.4%. The Grizzlies are just behind them at 15th at 15.6%. However, the Grizzlies have the edge on the penalty kill at 83.8% for 5th in the league while the Cents are 15th at 76.2%.
Vincent Duplessis will get the start for the Merritt Centennials. He stopped 15/16 shots in relief last night and is 3-3 with a .889 SV% and a 3.45 GAA. The Grizzlies have been getting good goaltending from Kurtis Chapman who is 10-5 with a .945 SV% and a 2.12 GAA. The backup, Keenan Rancier, has struggled at 1-1 with an .837 SV% and a 5.92 GAA.
Assistant Coach Brandon Shaw said the team needs to focus on what makes them an elite team to win tonight.
“We neet to get back to playing team defense, playing with speed, and playing as one if we want to get back in the win column.”
Tonight is Halloween night at the NVMA. Youngsters 12 and under, and even parents too, are encouraged to dress up for tonight’s game. There will be a costume contest for the kids in the first intermission and Monster Mash Musical chairs in the second intermission, and of course candy for everyone!
Puck Drop 7pm. Pre-Game 6:45 on Q101.1FM and online at q101.ca.
