It was a shaky return to the ice for the Merritt Centennials after their weekend off for the BCHL’s Top Prospects and All Star games, in which three Cents participated, with the team securing one out of a possible four points. The Cents lost in a shootout to the West Kelowna Warriors in a road game on Wednesday, followed by a shutout loss to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks for NVIT night on Merritt’s home ice. 

The week’s first game, on Wednesday, took place against the Warriors at West Kelowna’s Royal LePage Place. The first period was a good start for the Cents, with Jaxson Murray scoring the frame’s one and only goal at the 8:56 mark. The first period was filled with penalties, with two four on four situations, but neither team able to capitalize. Going into the second period a 1-0 game for the Cents, the visitors hoped to extend their lead. Within the first six minutes, Ryan Spinale scored again for Merritt, making it a 2-0 game. Just a few minutes later, the Cents would find a man advantage following a high sticking call against the Warriors’ Jaiden Moriello, with Jaxson Murray scoring his second goal of the night just six seconds into the power play to make it 3-0. Down by three, the Warriors replaced goalie  Justin Katz with Cayden Hamming, which seemed to turn the tide in West Kelowna’s favour. Not long after, the Warriors’ Noah Laframboise scored with a wrist shot for his first BCHL goal, making the score 3-1. Two minutes later, the Warriors would make another dent in their goal deficit with a goal by Ben MacDonald, making it a 3-2 game. With just 56 seconds left in the period, the Warriors would tie it up with a goal by Kailus Green. The third period was back and forth, with the Cents managing to kill off two penalties and sending the game into overtime. The game was further forced to a shootout after both teams failed to capitalize during the three on three overtime frame. Ryan Spinale shot first for the Cents, but failed to score against the Warrior’s goalie. Ben MacDonald for the Warriors was up next, also failing to score against Merritt’s Johnny Hicks. Aidan Lindblad, a Cents new arrival, also failed in his shootout turn. Leading Warriors scorer, Jaiden Moriello, was up next, but also failed to find the twine against Hicks. Cents leading scorer Jaxson Murray had the final try for the Cents, failing to score. The game ended when Rylee Hlusiak of the Warriors managed to capitalize on the team’s final shoutout effort, ending the game 4-3 in favour of West Kelowna. Merritt’s #1, Johnny Hicks, saved 38/41 in the loss.

Photo/Christina Gillett

The Cents returned home to the NVMA for a Friday night game against the visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks, with the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) sponsoring the game. NVIT students and staff were welcomed free of charge, and representatives of the school distributed information and free NVIT merchandise. The ceremonial puck drop was conducted by NVIT president Ken Tourand, with the intermissions featuring two U9 hockey games and a paper airplane throwing competition for the chance to win tuition for a three credit course at the school. The Cents weren’t as lucky as the winner of the tuition, losing in a 5-0 shutout to the Silverbacks. The first period was back and forth, with only one goal scored by the Silverbacks’ Raoul Boilard at the 6:19 mark. The Cents found themselves on a man advantage towards the end of the period, but were unable to capitalize on the power play. Going into the second period a 1-0 game for Salmon Arm, they looked to solidify their lead, and did so with a goal just 40 seconds into the period. Former Centennial Tristan Allen found the back of the net for an insurance goal. The Cents failed to score on another power play following a hooking call against the Silverbacks five minutes into the period. The Cents’ Connor Farren was served with a roughing and misconduct call when the Silverbacks scored their third goal of the night, leading them to capitalize on the ensuing power play to make it 4-0 for Salmon Arm. Another pair of penalties would be handed out not long after, with the Cents’ Carter Schmidt garnering an unsportsmanlike call, and Ryan Buckley of the Silverbacks getting a roughing call. The Silverbacks topped the second period off with their fifth and final goal of the night with just four seconds left in the period, making it a 5-0 game. The third period was quite back and forth, but saw little action besides the Cents replacing #1 Johnny Hicks for #35 Connor Sullivan, and two Cents penalties for cross-checking and misconduct, respectively. The final score was 5-0, with Hicks saving 27/32 in the loss, and Sullivan saving 17/17. 

The Cents return to home ice at the NVMA for their sole game next week, a Friday nighter against the visiting Wenatchee Wild. Puck drop is set for 7:00pm.