The Merritt Centennials season has officially come to a close, with the team failing to make the BCHL playoffs due to their 12–37–3–2 record this year. The Cents ended their golden season with two major losses, using a roster heavily marred by injuries and dotted with AP players. The Cents will now head into the summer looking to bolster their team in preparing for the 2023/24 BCHL season. 

Cents at Warriors – road game, March 24

The Cents visited the West Kelowna Warriors at Royal LePage Place for their penultimate game of the season, looking for their second win against the team. Conor Sullivan started in goal for the Cents, who found themselves down on points right from the start. Following a hooking penalty against Merritt’s Jackson Krill, Rylee Hlusiak of the Warriors found the twine behind Sullivan to make it 1-0 just three minutes in. Jake Bernadet of West Kelowna would be the only player to score without the aid of a man advantage in the first period, making the score 2-0 with a shot to the back of the net. After centre Carter Schmidt garnered a tripping penalty, the Warriors would once again capitalize on the ensuing power play by way of a Riley Sharun goal. The final score before the buzzer sounded happened with three seconds left in the frame, another power play goal by Ben MacDonald, once again on a man advantage. The score was 4-0 heading into the second period. 

To start off the second frame of play, Cents AP goalie Ryder Gregga replaced Sullivan behind the crease. Jackson Krill once again earned himself a couple of minutes in the sin bin, allowing the Warriors’ Luke Devlin to make the score 5-0. Brennan Nelson scored next, once again for West Kelowna, making the score 6-0 before the halfway mark of the game. Before the end of the period, Marik Mamic would go on to score his first and second season goals with the Warriors. Jaiden Moriello and Jake Bernadet would also find the net behind Gregga before the end of the second period, making it a 10-0 game for West Kelowna. 

The third period would, somewhat predictably by that point in the game, begin with another Centennials penalty. Following Connor Farren’s high-sticking penalty, Michael Salandra of West Kelowna would further increase the team’s double digit lead to 11-0. Rylee Hlusiak would score his second of the night not long after, followed by two more West Kelowna goals by defenseman Isaiah Norlin and forward Matthew Lee. The final result would be a 14-0 shutout loss fo the Cents, in which Conor Sullivan saved 15/19 compared to Ryder Gregga’s 28/38. 

Cents at Vipers – home game, Save on Foods Night season finale, March 25

The Centennials’ season finale took place on home ice at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena, where the Cents hosted the Vernon Vipers for Save On Foods night in support of the BC Children’s Hospital. The game started with an on-ice ceremony, including the presentation of a plaque to the Cents from BCHL commissioner Chris Hebb, who attended the game to commemorate the team’s 50th season and preform the ceremonial puck drop. The first period was a slow start to what would eventually become a lopsided affair. Former Centennial Walker Erickson, who was traded to Vernon on the BCHL trade deadline this year, opened up scoring with a long shot to the back of former teammate Conor Sulivan’s net. Thomas Tien would add another point to the board for Vernon before the end of the period, making it a 2-0 game. The game’s sole penalty would take place just before the buzzer, with Cents defenseman Kyle Isenberg garnering two minutes in the sin bin for roughing. 

The second period began quickly, with Anthony Cliche, a Vipers defenseman, scoring his first goal of the season less than two minutes in for a 3-0 score. Reagan Milburn would score his first of the night not longer after, followed by Thomas Tien’s second, to quickly propel the Vipers to a 5-0 lead. Not half a minute later, the action would continue as Viper Ethan Merner managed to escape Cents defenses to find the back of the net. The score would soon be 7-0, with Lee Parks scoring his 22nd of the season. The next team to find the back of the net would be the Cents, who rallied back to make the score 7-1 by way of Diego Johnson’s final goal this season. Before the final buzzer, Griffen Barr, Seiya Tanaka-Campbell, and Jonathan Horn would all find the back of Merritt’s net for a 10-1 score. 

The tide did not change much for the Cents in the third and final frame, which served only to drive four more nails into the coffin. Julian Facchinelli and Hank Cleaves scored their first goals of the night, with Lee Parks and Reagan Milburn bringing their total for the night to two. At the final buzzer, the score was 14-1 in favour of the Vipers. Conor Sullivan saved 52/66 of the shots peppered at him in the loss. 

Next week

The BCHL playoffs will go on without the Centennials, who placed ninth in their Interior Division, starting on March 31. Joining the Cents in the early summer break club are the Coastal Division’s Cowichan Valley Capitals, who also placed last in their division with only 10 wins on the season. Stay tuned to the Herald for all your offseason Cents coverage.