The 2016 BC tier 3 champion Merritt Ramada peewee reps saw any hopes of defending their provincial title come to an end on the weekend. The Jr. Cents were swept 2-0 in their best-of-three Okanagan-Mainline championship series by South Okanagan. The score of both games was 4-2.
Tyra Gage (left) and Makyla Cooke. Cooke’s goal in double overtime gave her team a 5-4 victory over Penticton in the third and deciding game of their best-of-three championship series. The Kamloops team will now compete in the female midget provincial championships in Oceanside later this month. (Ian Webster/Herald).
Point getters for the Merritt peewee team in the weekend games were Max Graham and Rylan Falcone (one goal and two assists each), Lucas Schmid and Robert Sterling (one goal apiece), Wyatt Smith (two assists), and Preston Laupitz and Jalen McRae (one assist each).
In the meantime, the quest for an OMAHA banner continues for the local City Furniture bantam rec team, after a stunning, come-from-behind series win over 100 Mile House on the weekend.
Down a game in the best-of-three series, the Merritt bantams forced a game three by edging 100 Mile 2-1 on home ice Saturday. The winning goal came from the stick of Taylor Nicholls with 2.6 seconds remaining in the second overtime period. Assists went to Sebastian Myram and Reese Paterson.
The other Merritt goal on Saturday was scored by Korben Blachford, from Hayden Ellis.
Sunday’s dramatic game three, back in 100 Mile, was even more of a heart-stopper. It took until the third overtime period before Myram could break a 4-4 deadlock with the series winner, assisted by linemates Ellis and Brodie Sterling.
Earlier Merritt goals in Sunday’s game came from Ellis (2), Myram and Luke Narcisse.
Troy Holmes was the hero in net on the weekend for the Merritt bantams, who now move on to play Chase for the Okanagan-Mainline title. Game two of the best-of-three championship series goes Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.
Bantam head coach Ray Lang was very pleased with the outcome of the weekend playoff series, stating that all members of the team played their personal best.
In other Merritt minor hockey playoff news from the weekend, the Interior Savings peewee rec squad saw its season come to an end with a pair of losses to Clearwater by scores of 4-3 and 5-1 in their OMAHA final.
The same fate befell Merritt’s Joco Transport girls’ midget team, which lost to Lillooet by scores of 6-1 and 9-1, and to Merritt’s NVIT midget rec side, which went down to the Thompson-Cariboo two games to none.
