Truth be told, the Grizzlies were already quite tamed, but they got a little ferocious tonight and gave the Cents all they could handle. But it was a big, and you have to say almost mandatory bounceback after a devastating finish to the game in Alberni Valley which saw Merritt's winning streak end at 7:
- the first period went just as anticipated, but the rest of the game did not. In the opening 20 minutes, Merritt came out looking like a determined bunch, and they took it to the Grizzlies who were playing extremely shorthanded (only 3 lines, which included 4 AP's, and 5 defensemen, one of whom is actually a forward). The Cents peppered the Grizzlies netminder Garrett Rockafellow with all sorts of shots, as planned, and had some grade A scoring chances, but he stood tall and got some help from his dmen at key times to keep the game scoreless. The Cents just couldn't finish
- Tyler Steel wasn't overly busy in the first period, but out of 6 shots, he made 2-3 high quality stops
- just when it looked like the Cents effort would be all for not, we saw a bit of justice from the night before. The Bulldogs scored their game winner with 3 seconds left in the game, and this time Regan Soquila led a quick, late rush into the offensive zone and set up Mancuso for a slap shot between the 2 faceoff circles, which went glove side, post and in, for his first career BCHL goal, and also came with just 3 seconds left on the clock. This was a huge one to make Merritt feel rewarded for their 1st period efforts
- unlike the night before where Merritt got better as the game wore on, the opposite seemed to be true in this game. The Cents didn't come out of the gate in 2nd with nearly as much energy as the 1st, and the Grizzlies seemed to gain some momentum after a few strong shifts. After failing to convert on a dangerous-looking (and red-hot) power play, the Grizzlies converted just seconds later on a nifty 3-way passing playing between Smith, Kaiser and Hansen, who finished the play off with a nifty deke past Steel at the top of the crease
- surprisingly, the Grizzlies never really had a physical let-down, and didn't show the fatigue that you would expect from a team playing with only 2/3 of a roster. They saw an opportunity to end a 6 game losing streak and they pushed hard, as the two teams traded chances but both goaltenders were solid again
- suddenly, when they were needed to make a statement, the big boys broke through once again. Stack and Brears executed a perfect give and go on a 2 on 1, and Brears finished it off to give Merritt a 2-1 lead through 40 minutes
- the 3rd period was much like the 2nd... the Grizzlies seemed determined to come back and make a game of it, but Tyler Steel was excellent between the pipes and forced into making a few too many "big" stops for anyone's liking I'm sure (both in the 2nd and 3rd period)
- with Victoria on a power play and a chance to tie, Regan Soquila copied Evan Stack from the night before by cutting wide around the defense on the left wing, and he slid a backhander through the legs of Rockafellow for Merritt's FIRST shorthanded goal of the season (they were the last team to score one), and what wound up being a real momentum changer
- despite the turn of events, the Grizzlies still didn't give up and had some good shifts in the Merritt zone, but the Centennials were determined to wind down the clock and they did so rather effectively.
- The Grizzlies got a late power play to make things interesting, but a high sticking penalty of their own would end that power play just halfway through. Coach Victor Gervais decided to pull the goaltender with just over 2 minutes left and an offensive zone face-off to go 5 on 4, and although the Centennials had numerous chances on the yawning cage that they couldn't bury, they would finally break through with just seconds left in their "power play"... Lamont stole the puck at the Grizzlies blue line and had a clear lane to the goal down the right wing on what was a partial 2 on 1. But instead of firing the puck in himself, he made a very unselfish (and I would say risky) move by dishing it across to Chad Brears (lines were juggled a bit in the 3rd to get the Cents going) who was able to bury his 2nd, and with that goal re-take the team lead in goals with 21. Brears finished with 2 goals and an assist on the night
- the late empty net tally was also (barely) on the power play, which allowed Merritt to go 1 for 3 on the power play and continue their streak of consecutive games with power play goals to 6. Their perfect night on the PK now has them 62 for 68 on the PK over the last 18 games (91.2%!!!!!!)
- It looked at times as if the Centennials were playing down to their competition tonight, and Luke Pierce made it clear on the postgame show that he wasn't happy with a lot of the performances from individual guys who need to step up... the big line certainly did that again though, for a 3rd straight game, and they were dominant during most shifts that they were out there for
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