In the end, they could not be denied.
For the sixth season in a row, the Merritt Centennials have qualified for the BCHL playoffs, which begin this Tuesday. The Cents’ first-round opponents will be the second-place Vernon Vipers.
Merritt locked up a place in the post-season and third place overall in the Interior division with a convincing 5-1 win over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Friday night at a jam-packed Shaw Centre on the shores of Lake Okanagan.
The announced attendance was 2,125.
John Schiavo with two, Colin Grannery, Michael Ederer and Zak Bowles into an empty took care of the Centennials’ scoring, while Jonah Imoo was brilliant once again in the Merritt net, stopping 44 of 45 shots sent his way.
“It’s been a long battle, and a long road, but the guys earned it,” Cents head coach and GM Luke Pierce said in his post-game interview with Q101 play-by-play broadcaster David Ashbaugh. “[The players] are exhausted in the room.
They laid it all on the line. I’m proud of them.”
Pierce said that in the opening period of Friday’s game, both teams seemed nervous and tentative.
“I just told the guys that whichever team figures it out first, and gets control and confidence is going to be the one that takes over.”
Merritt did just that. Despite being outshot 17-13 in the second stanza, the Cents took care of all the scoring en route to building a commanding 4-1 lead. Two of Merritt’s goals came on the power play.
“Our scoring chances were all grade-A, and capitalizing on those was huge,” Pierce said. “Timely scoring and special teams are what we need going into the playoffs.”
Merritt’s head coach could not say enough about the play of his team’s captain, Sam Johnson, on Friday.
“He’s the most valuable guy most nights. He’s just always going to do the right things. He inspires [our] bench and dressing room. I’m really excited for a guy like that — knowing how much he’s wanted it and being a 20-year-old.”
Pierce gave credit to the Silverbacks for their tremendous stretch run.
“They’ve fought really hard this last month to make things interesting. It wasn’t a 5-1 game. It was a hard battle all the way.”
Saturday, Merritt closed out their 58-game regular schedule with a mean-nothing contest against the visiting Trail Smoke Eaters. With a trio of starters out of the lineup for a well-deserved rest, and three affiliate players dressed as their replacements, the Cents fell 5-2 to the Smokies. Schiavo and Ederer netted Merritt’s goals while backup Anthony Pupplo took the loss in net.
Going into the playoffs, Pierce likes what he has been seeing from his team over the last month.
“If you look at February, I think you’ll see there’s been a pretty consistent effort level from our group.”
The best-of-seven series between the Cents and Vipers gets underway Tuesday in Vernon. The two franchises have met six times in their history with the Vipes winning every time.
This season, Merritt and Vernon played each other on seven occasions, with the Vipers winning five times and the Cents twice. In their most recent meeting, on Jan. 28 in Merritt, the Vipers edged the Cents 4-3.
“It has the potential to be a great series,” Pierce said. “Our two teams match up well — both pretty honest and respectable hard-working groups.”
Games three and four of the series will be played in Merritt this Friday and Saturday.
Look for a special Cents’ playoff supplement in this Thursday edition of the Merritt Herald.
