LAST GAME: 3-0 win over Langley on Sunday (won 6 in a row)
Westside 14-19-1-5 (34 pts) - tied for 6th/7th with Salmon Arm (have 2 games in hand). 10 points back of a playoff spot, the 4th place Chilliwack Chiefs (Chwk has 3 games in hand)
LAST GAME: 6-3 win over Salmon Arm on Sunday (won 3 in a row)
Season Series: Officially, Merritt is 2-1-0-2, but without the one game that got reversed, Merritt is 1-1-0-3 (Westside has only 3 overtime wins this season, all 3 are against Merritt, even though 1 of them was the decision that got reversed due to the Warriors having seven 91 born players still listed on their roster). It's been a tight series with Westside outscoring Merritt 21-17.
- Merritt is riding their longest winning streak in the 9 seasons the BCHL archives go back; they have found a rhythm right now and are at the point where they expect to win every game, but are still willing to do all the right things to work for it, rather than assuming things will go their way
- Lino Chimienti has 5 of the 6 wins during the streak, including 3 shutouts... he had 2 shutouts in 2 games this past week and is coming off a very fitting player of the week award. However, it appears that Luke Pierce is going back to the rotation and starting Tyler Steel tonight
- The Warriors were big sellers at the trade deadline, sending captain Izaak Berglund and young defensive prospect Michael King to the Lloydminster Bobcats of the AJHL for future considerations, as well as trading defenseman Klay Kachur to Battleford of the SJHL for Curtis Toneff. They also acquired defenseman Matthew Berry-Lamontagne from the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders. Both Toneff and Lamontagne are 18 year old defensemen
- The Warriors have been one of the most victimized teams when it comes to injuries, and this is the first time in a long time they got their offensive defeseman John Monk back, as well as secondary scorer Seb Lloyd. But at the same time, the injury merry-go-round continues, as the Warriors have now lost another secondary scorer in Brett Mckinnon and their 16 year old prospect Brennan Clark. They've also lost a couple guys to suspensions: forward Reid Simmonds and defenseman Peter MacIntosh. As a result, tonight they'll have a couple of affiliate players in the lineup: 17 year old forward Josh Ellis (27 points in 22 games with the BCMML Okanagan Rockets) and 17 year old defenseman Kirk Reeve (13 points in 33 games with the KIJHL's Kelowna Chiefs)
- for the Merritt Centennials, their lineup again doesn't change with the success they're having... Sean Maktaak remains out indefinitely with a concussion. But despite Lino being named the player of the week and getting 2 straight shutouts, Tyler Steel is penciled in as the starter tonight (this might change though, as Lino was penciled to start Saturday vs Chilliwack, but it wound up being Tyler Steel)
- this is shaping up to be a pretty good match: the Warriors have given Merritt trouble this season, and both teams come into this game on winning streaks. Merritt has outscored the opposition 22-6 in winning 6 straight, while the Warriors have outscored their opposition (Victoria and two games vs Salmon Arm) 20-5 in winning 3 straight. This will be the first time that Merritt sees the Warriors with Josh Monk in the lineup (3 assists in 5 games since returning), and I believe only the 2nd time they will see Seb Lloyd in the Warriors lineup (3 assists in 2 games since returning). Based on the season series, this might be the toughest game of the entire streak for Merritt to win, and the toughest game this week, with 3 teams out of the playoffs coming up on the island road trip this weekend
- you never want to focus too much on one or two players, but the Warriors have been stripped of their top end talent both offensively and defensively, so there are only a couple really key threats. Max French (who had 2 goals and 1 assists in the last meeting vs Merritt) has 12 goals and 17 points in 15 games since returning from injury, while leading scorer Connor Dempsey has 4 goals and 9 points in his last 4 games. A couple of others guys to key on: Marcus Basara has 6 points in his last 4, while Travis Blanleil is coming off a hat-trick and has 5 goals/6 points in his last 3 games
- Merritt has scored on the power play in 3 straight games and will try to keep that streak going by moving their feet and drawing penalties against the Warriors 14th-ranked PK
- With a significant lead in the standings on Chilliwack and Prince George for that 2nd spot, it's easy to get a little bit loose and lackadaisical, so the Cents will need to make sure they keep their commitment to team defense, and the limit the Warriors offensive opportunities. Westside averages slightly over 4 goals per game vs Merritt, and only Penticton averages more
MERRITT
Regan Soquila (93) Chad Brears (91) Evan Stack (91)
Silvan Harper (92) Brayden Low (94) Jakob Reichert (93)
Brandon Bruce (93) Carter Shinkaruk (91)
Payton Schaefer (93) Brent Fletcher (92) Brendan Lamont (94)
Reece Willcox (94) Brandon Pfeil (92)
Richard Sabourin (92) Tyler Martin (93)
Billy Marshall (91) Ross Mancuso (92)
Dylan Chanter (95)
Tyler Steel (93)
Lino Chimienti (91)
SCRATCHES:
Sean Maktaak (92) INJ
WESTSIDE
Dru Morrison (92) Shawn Hochhausen (92) David Pope (94)
Travis Blanleil (94) Connor Dempsey (92) Seb Lloyd (94)
Devon Hascarl (93) Max French (92) Marcus Basara (93)
Josh Ellis (94) AP Garrett Skrbich (93)
Mathew Berry-Lamontagna (93) Dustin Cave(94)
Kirk Reeve (94) AP Josh Monk (92)
Ben Betker (94) Curtis Toneff (93)
Dwayne Rodrigue (91)
James Leonard (93)
SCRATCHES:
Brennan Clark (95) INJ
Reid Simmonds (93) SUS
Brett McKinnon (92) INJ
Peter MacIntosh (91) SUS
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