The Merritt Centennials had different plans when the puck dropped on the game tonight, but at the final buzzer it was a 3-0 shutout at the hands of PG.
Things started fairly well in the first period with the teams trading chances 5-on-5 but no one finding the back of the net. It wasn’t until a holding call 8 minutes in that Prince George went to work on the powerplay and it was Christian Buono threw a slap pass of Corey Cunninghams stick to make it 1-0. Brandon Dent then took a hit that made head contact and received a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. On the powerplay, Nick Rheaume was able to add another for the Spruce Kings, but the Cents limited the damage to just one. However, the momentum swung soundly in PGs direction and the Cents couldn’t find an answer in period 1. Shots after 1 were 11-8.
The 2nd period saw nothing going save Josh Dias keeping his team in the game. Making some big stops on breakaways and being the last line of defense. The Cents couldn’t muster much towards Kobe Grant, and shots after 2 were 28-14.
The Cents rolled into the third period with a winnable game in their grasp, but it was Prince George adding some insurance as Kolton Cousins took a shot from the wall that took a bounce off a Cents stick and beat Dias up top. The team pressed late to try and break the shutout bid by Kobe Grant, but couldn’t do so. Final shots were 38-23. The Cents went 0/5 on the powerplay.
After the game Head Coach Derek Sweet-Coulter said the team was looking good before penalty trouble hit.
“We got everyone into the game and got the lines rolling and I was liking the flow of the game, but we let their powerplay go to work a little too much and that was the difference.”
The Cents are right back at it tomorrow night at 5PM against the Chiefs.
