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| Dylan Chanter celebrates his 1st period goal with teammates |
-the 1st period started exactly as expected, with the Vipers coming out like the desperate team they are, and establishing momentum early with a 7-2 lead on the shot clock. Lino Chimienti looked a bit nervous to start after a rough night in Salmon Arm on Friday, but he would settle down. And it didn't take the Centennials long to rebound, in fact only about half a period before they found their legs and matched the Vipers stride for stride. Nobody ever really had the upper hand, but it was definitely a game with plenty of momentum swings both ways-with Sean Maktaak out of the lineup due to a suspected concussion, there was a vacant spot to fill on the 3rd line, and 16 year old rookie defenseman Dylan Chanter filled it quite nicely 12 minutes into the hockey game: after a dominant shift in the offensive zone, Chanter parked himself in front, and Brandon Bruce made a remarkable, behind the back, no look pass to Dylan who buried a one-timer from just on top of the crease, top shelf on the blocker side... looked like a true goal scorer's type of goal. And with Merritt taking the 1-0 lead, they would get a big momentum boost and looked like a different team in the 2nd half of the first frame. Surprisingly, there was next to no emotion or physically in the opening 20, outside of a couple big Merritt hits... hardly any post-whistle scrums, which is something you almost expect on a regular basis, and is noticable when it doesn't happen.
-in the 2nd period, the two teams were once again very evenly matched, although the Vipers had the better scoring chances... they hit 2 posts on the night, one of them by Vernon captain Patrick McGillis, who looked outstanding in his first game back from injury after 3 months off the ice. The Centennials were able to go up by 2 on a bit of a strange play: with the puck tied up just outside the Vernon blueline in front of the Merritt bunch and battle for the loose biscuit, Lamont was able to poke it free and skate in on a 2 on 1 down the right wing with Soquila... in a great give and go, Lamont dropped the pass off for Regan, cut to the front of the net, Regan saucered it back to him, and Lamont one-timed a perfect shot high to the blocker side past goaltender Kirby Halcrow. It was only his 2nd goal of the season, but his 2nd point in as many nights after a 19 game pointless drought. Once again, looked like a true goal-scorers goal. Lamont was again very effective on this night, and looked quite good along with Schaefer and Fletcher on the 4th line.
-the Vipers didn't have a whole lot of puck luck in this one, as several sure-fire chances wound up staying out, either kept out by Chimienti, blocked, or simple going over/wide of the goal. But just when it looked like Merritt would cruise into the 2nd intermission with a 2-0 lead, the Vipers received a late power play, the first power play for either squad, and a nifty 3-way passing play from Walchuk to Mcgillis to Sparrow wound up in the back of the net... an easy tap-in for Sparrow in front to cut the Merritt lead to 2-1 through 40 minutes.
-in the 3rd, there was again little to separate these two teams, with both of them trading chances and both goaltenders standing tall. It was a good rebound for both Lino and Kirby Halcrow, who had a tough night Friday as well in a 4-3 loss to Victoria. One of Vernon's best chances came on a bit of a broken play, their 2nd post of the game, and Chimienti, along with his defense, were able to shut the door the rest of the way. With the goalie out for the extra attacker in the last minute, Billy Marshall lobbed the puck to an open Soquila at center, who caught it perfectly (almost a football play), dropped it to his feet and skated in on a breakaway to seal the game at 3-1 for his squad
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| It was a real team effort defensively, but Chimienti led the way between the pipes |
-this was another great "team" win, where I'm sure guys walked away feeling good about themselves, and feeling good about the overall effort put forth, which was a solid 50 minutes, minus a bit of a shaky start. But it was great to see Chanter and Lamont play hero, and Lino bouncing back remarkably with 35 saves. Lots to smile about on this night
-the only thing that didn't go Merritt's way was the special teams, with their PP going 0 for 2 (now 1 for its last 11 after a red-hot stretch of going 10 for 21) and their PK surrendering the lone Vernon goal on 3 power play chances. But it seems like when their special teams were on fire, the team was off and on. Now, just like during the 17 game streak where they lost just 2 in regulation, it seems like Merritt is finding success with a less than stellar special teams.
-Merritt didn't always look "great" since the Christmas break, but you can't argue they've been effective. Tonight might have been their first complete game since the break, with not too many defensive lapses and nobody taking anything for granted offensively. All 4 lines were rolling again. And going back to the "results" aspect, Merritt now has 7 of 8 points after the break, winning 3 straight and going 3-0-0-1 during that stretch. Their 5 straight road wins also give them 11 total road wins on the season, which is, *gulp*, more wins than they have at home. And that's a GOOD thing, since Merritt's home record and their play at home has been nothing to shake a stick at... this is just an overall reflection of how good the team has been this season
*The Merritt win and Chilliwack loss tonight to Cowichan Valley gives the Cents a solid 9 point cushion on 4th place Chilliwack (Chiefs still have 3 games in hand), a 6 point lead on 3rd place Prince George (through the Spruce Kings hold 1 game in hand), and a gaudy 12 point lead on the 5th place Vernon Vipers (Vernon still with 2 games in hand).
-The Cents now start a 4 game home stand on Friday with a highly anticipated rematch against the Vipers, and this a chance to build a real special streak and get back to the dominance they displayed earlier this season. Hopefully the fans will respond to the success and come out in droves to support the boys Friday night, the first or a busy weekend that sees Merritt play 3 games in 2 and a half days (Chilliwack on Saturday and Langley on Sunday)
In the meantime, here are the highlights from a very exciting and entertaining game at the Wesbild Centre in Vernon:
Merritt @ Vernon Jan 7 Highlights by agreb21
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