Digby, NS – November 10, 2012
Defenceman Dane Birks (Williams Lake, B.C./Merritt, BCHL) was held off the scoresheet but Sean MacTavish (Edmonton, Alta./Sherwood Park, AJHL) notched the game’s first two goals to get the offence rolling as West blanked East 5-0 on Saturday night before a capacity crowd at Digby Area Arena in the first of two CJHL Prospects Games.
The victory means West will take a five-goal advantage into Sunday’s second game (10 a.m. PT) of the two-game, total goal series. West is looking for its second consecutive President’s Cup, and fifth since 2005.
After a goal-less, penalty-less first period with very few whistles, MacTavish scored the game’s opening goal 6:30 into the second period and added his second less than five minutes later, with both goals set up by Joseph Drapluk (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Minnesota, SIJHL) and Dante Hahn (Victoria, B.C./Victoria, BCHL).
Ryan Berlin (Edmonton, Alta/Whitecourt, AJHL) made it a 3-0 game before the end of the second before Andrew Taverner (Edmonton, Alta./Sherwood Park, AJHL), on the power play, and Hahn, into an empty net, rounded out the scoring in the third.
Despite the loss, East outshot West 30-29.
Both teams split their goaltending duties, with Marc-Andre Daigle (Delson, Que./Drayton Valley, AJHL) and Ty Edmonds (Winnipeg, Man./Virden, MJHL) sharing the shutout for West, while Hayden Lavigne (Brampton, Ont./Wellington, OJHL) and Chase Marchand (Halifax, N.S./Amherst, MHL) saw 30 minutes of action each for East.
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The Merritt Centennials, proudly celebrating 40 seasons as the BCHL's longest continuously run franchise, are a non-profit, community owned Junior 'A' Hockey Club run by a dedicated team of investors, directors, and volunteers.
