Photo Credit: Garrett James
The Merritt Centennials (13-8-0-1) welcome the Vernon Vipers (8-6-5-2) to town during Parent’s Weekend tonight.
The Centennials are coming off a weekend split against the Penticton Vees and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. They lost in their first trip to the penalty shootout against the Vees 4-3. Mathieu Gosselin, Rylan Van Unen and Matthew Kopperud had goals to give the Cents a 3-1 lead in the final frame, but the Vees stormed back to tie it and then win it. The following night the Cents rebounded on home ice against the Dogs. With the 3rd best home record in the division at 8-3, the Cents got off to a good start against Alberni scoring 3 goals in the first to lead 3-1. The newly formed top line of Nick Granowicz, Brad Cocca, and Christian Sabin were in on all of them with Granowicz scoring twice, Sabin scoring the other, and Cocca drawing assists on all three. Granowicz completed the hat trick early in the third before the Bulldogs stormed back to tie things at 4. Brendan Schneider got the game-winner with 2 minutes remaining to vault the Cents over the Dogs late. Vincent Duplessis had back to back 38 save nights and went 1-0-0-1 over the weekend.
The Vipers and Cents will meet for the third time this season and have split the season series so far. The Vipers spoiled the Cents home opener by a score of 5-2, but the Cents returned the favour a couple weeks later when they invaded Vernon and won by the same score.
As of late, the Vipers have been struggling by their lofty standards. They’ve been in a lot of tight games, but have had trouble scoring goals as evidenced by their 59 goals for – the lowest in the Interior Division. They’ve also spent the most time in extra time with 5 games lost in overtime and 2 lost in the shootout, but have yet to win a game that’s gone longer than 60 minutes. However, with those trips to overtime come extra points in the standings which they’ve used to keep pace in the tight Interior Division and they sit just 4 points back of the Cents and Warriors at 23 points.
The Vipers are coming off a loss to the Penticton Vees on Wednesday night in overtime. The game was tied at two after goals from Ben Sanderson and Sebastien Streu for the Vipers, and the scoreline held through 60 minutes. However, a late major penalty to Mitch Andres gave the Vees 5 minutes to try and get the go-ahead goal. While they couldn’t do it in regular time, with the 4-on-3 advantage in overtime they made good and won the game. In their last 5 games, the Vipers are 2-1-1-1.
The Cents welcomed a new face to the team yesterday. Payton Matsui joins the Centennials after a very successful season in the United States Hockey School League, and a brief stint in the USHL. With St. Thomas Academy last season he scored 26 goals and 28 assists for 54 points. An astounding 2.16 points-per-game. This season he spent time with the Central Illinois Flying Aces and tallied 2 goals in 13 games. Head Coach Joe Martin expects him to add to the overall depth of the roster, provide offense, but also bring a full 200 ft game.
Brad Cocca continues to lead the Cents in scoring, now 4th league-wide, with 30 points. However, coming off a 4 point night including a hat trick, Nick Granowicz is 5th in the league with 29 points. Mathieu Gosselin is 3rd on the team, and 12th in the league with 25 points.
The Vipers are led by defenseman Jack Judson in scoring with 18 points. Forwards Josh Latta and Captain Jagger Williamson are tied for second in team scoring with 14 points, and Alex Swetlikoff has 13 points.
Special Teams:
Powerplay: Penalty Kill:
Vipers- 22.1% (1st) Vipers – 81.2% (9th)
Cents – 16.8% (13th) Cents – 76.1% (16th)
The goaltending match up sees Vincent Duplessis coming in with some solid play for the Centennials. He’s now 5-3 with a .903 SV% and a 3.28 GAA. Austin Roden will see action this weekend and is 8-5 with 1 shutout, an .885 SV% and a 3.80 GAA. The Vipers have given the majority of starts to Aiden Porter who is 5-8 with 2 shutouts, a 2.69 GAA, and a .905 SV%. Max Palaga was brought in from the Kamloops Blazers and is 2-2 with a .943 SV% and a 1.77 GAA.
Head Coach Joe Martin says that the Vipers are a team that always present a challenge.
“They’re a solid defensive team. They’re having some trouble scoring goals right now, but that doesn’t mean we can take them lightly. We will have to play our game, our way to win tonight.”
For families of 4 attending tonight’s match, they can enjoy a special of $20 for two adults and two kids tickets. Parents and Billet Parents will be honored before the game in a ceremony.
Puck Drop 7pm. Pre-Game 6:45 on Hockey TV and q101.ca with Jared Thomas.
