Epic Battle Ends in Heartbreak for the Cents

This almost sums up the night for Merritt; they were right there, but just couldn't finish it off

It hardly seems fair to think about it, but the Merritt Centennials were 45 seconds away from snapping Penticton's marathon 35 game winning streak when the Vees found a way yet again to pull through and push the streak to 36 with a 2-1 double overtime victory:

• for entertainment value, this might have been the best game of the season, and I think it was also the biggest crowd of the year, with 870 fans packing the old Memorial Arena. There were in for a treat to say the least. Unlike the game 1 month ago where Merritt lost 1-0, this game certainly lived up to its hype and then some

• despite having to adjust from the worst team in the league to the best team in the league overnight, the Cents did that very seamlessly in the 1st period and went stride for stride, punch for punch with the Vees, trading chances in a fast, up and down opening 20 minutes

• Penticton got an early power play and looked very dangerous on it, but the Centennials established their defensive desperation early, and Tyler Steel previewed what would be a phenomenal night for him on his 19th birthday as the Cents killed it off

One of Tyler Steel's many outstanding saves (Photo Courtesy of John O'Connor/Merritt News)

• the Cents would go on to get 4 straight power plays in the 1st period, and frankly, they looked much better and more dangerous 5 on 5. The Vees were very efficient on the PK and easily outshot and outchanced Merritt while shorthanded

• finally, while on a 5 on 3, the Cents got back to basics... Bruce got the puck back to the left point for Sabourin, he fed across to the right point for Marshall, who's one-timer was stopped, but Sean Maktaak outwaited Garteig on the rebound before sliding it into a half open net to open the scoring for the Cents (2nd goal in as many nights for Maktaak) late in the 1st. The 2nd assist was given to Bruce (which would extend his point streak to 5 games) but it should have been given to Sabourin, which might be changed. Had the Vees killed off all 4 penalties, they'd likely steal the momentum going into the 2nd period, but instead the Cents had it during the internmission

• the 2nd period saw the Vees start to take the game over a bit as they outshot Merritt 15-5. Their skill took over as they had the Centennials pinned in their own zone a lot of times and peppered Tyler Steel, who remained unflappable in his crease

• the Cents had a couple of isolated chances, particularly a 2 on 1 early in the 2nd by Stack and Soquila which could have broke the game open, but Soquila's efforts were denied by Garteig (who was superb himself all night long) and the rebound just trickled through the crease

• the 2nd period saw the Centennials take 3 straight minor penalties of their own, and as they say, if you play with fire (the top ranked power play in the league), chances are, you'll get burned. And that's what happened. Joey Benik set up Mike Reilly for a one-timer from the right point, that was perfectly placed, finding its way through a maze of traffic over the left shoulder of Steel to tie the game at 1. This was the 2nd of the 3 straight power plays for the Vees, Merritt killed the last one off nicely. The goal also halted Steel's shutout streak at 95 minutes and 34 seconds. It stayed 1-1 going into the 3rd

Mike Reilly was all over the ice, also part of the physicality (photo courtesy of John O'Connor/Merritt News)

• the 3rd period picked up where the 1st period left off. It was another exciting 20 minutes, lots of back and forth play, great goaltending, and plenty of physicality. It was very evenly played, and that showed in the shots (12-10 for Penticton) and on the scoreboard, where nobody was able to break through

• despite getting outshot by 2, I thought Merritt was the more desperate team in the 3rd and had the better quality scoring chances. For the 2nd straight night, the 4th line seemed particularly hungry; they got plenty of scoring chances, specifically a 3 on 1 rush where Lamont fed a saucer pass in front to Schaefer, but he couldn't control the bouncing puck in his skates, and it turned into a broken play and a huge wasted chance

• near the end of the 3rd, it seemed like both teams resigned to the fact that they'd go to overtime, and both seemed content with that scenario. It was the first time Merritt went to overtime in nearly 2 months, since a Dec. 29th 6-5 overtime loss to the Westside Warriors

• the overtime session(s) proved to be just as exciting as the 3rd period, and actually wound up being the most exciting 9 minutes (and change) of the game. The two teams both seemed a little cautious at times, but they were both able to create some quality chances, and the goaltenders (the story of the game both ways) were again outstanding in giving their teams a chance to win. Merritt had the better chances overall, but just couldn't find that finish that was so prevalent over their past 4 games where they scored 26 times

• with the game going to a 2nd overtime, 3 on 3, things really got interesting, and again the Cents appeared like they were going to end it, but Garteig made sure that wouldn't happen (he deserves all the credit for his league-leading goaltending stats)

• just when it looked like a tie was the only possible result, which would be a very fitting result, the Vees Mike Reilly and Travis St. Denis worked a give and go, and Reilly drove wide ride on Fletcher, and from behind the goal, made a perfect centering pass to St. Denis who tipped it over Steel's blocker with 45 seconds left in the 2nd overtime, to, just barely, extend the Vees win streak to 36 games. 

• Despite the win, never in this streak was Penticton pushed quite as hard as the Cents pushed them tonight. And I'm sure despite the loss, the message was sent from Merritt... they will be a formidable opponent should these 2 teams meet in the 2nd round of the playoffs

*I was extremely impressed with the Cents physicality tonight. They were very aggressive and didn't take anything that they didn't give back. They were able to frustrate the Vees on a lot of occasions and tire them out by forcing the issue physically

*this really was an overall team effort. There wasn't a single guy on the team that I didn't notice at some point, including Dylan Chanter (back from injury, 1st game since securing a scholarship), Tyler Martin and the 4th line of Low, Schaefer and Lamont, who continue to do all the right things without being rewarded

*the goaltending battle was a real treat to watch, as both teams I'm sure got frustrated with 2 goalies who were on their game all night, and made it one of those low-scoring, but very entertaining affairs

*I think the 1st period and early 2nd period, the Cents had a real great chance to open up a multiple goal lead, which could have changed the complexion of this game, and obviously might have been enough to win. Despite scoring once in the 1st, Sean Maktaak had 3 glorious chances overall in the opening 20 mins, as did a few others, and the Cents could have easily gone into the room up by 2 or 3. But allowing the Vees to hang around and then go on a run of power plays was the ultimate undoing for the Cents

*Merritt has scored just 2 goals now in 3 games vs Penticton on home ice, and have been outscored 32-11 overall through 7 games

*This was the first time in more than 2 and a half months, since Dec. 6, that anyone has gotten any points from Penticton. That night, Logan Johnston had the double overtime winner, as the Vees beat the Westside Warriors 3-2 in Westbank

*Merritt's record vs Penticton of 1-4-0-2 might not look very impressive, but they are still the only team to get any points from the South Okanagan Events Centre, and the only team in the league to get more than 2 points from Penticton overall... they now have 4, which is a promising stat in the case that they meet again in the playoffs

*the single point gained extends Merritt's points streak to 5 games (9 of a possible 10 points), and it could be monumental come the end of the regular season, as it has given them a 2 point lead on Prince George for 2nd, even after the Spruce Kings beat Salmon Arm 4-1 to complete the series sweep 8-0 yesterday. Prince George still has 1 game in hand, but even if they win it, they have a much tougher schedule to end the season. And in case of a tie-breaker, Merritt won the season series 5-2, with both teams getting an overtime win. So the Cents have 11 points in the series, Prince George has only 5. Though this tie-breaker is only applied if the two teams are tied in wins. Right now they are with 30, but if Prince George wins their game in hand then keeps pace the rest of the way (which means beating Penticton most likely in at least one of their final 2 games vs the Vees), then they would have the first tie-breaker, which is "wins". But there's still 2 weeks left to determine all this...

***THE SINGLE OT POINT BY MERRITT, AND THE VERNON LOSS IN POWELL RIVER LAST NIGHT HAS OFFICIALLY CLINCHED THE CENTENNIALS A PLAYOFF SPOT FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT SEASON!!! (a great accomplishment under the new playoff format with only half the teams making it in)

*in the meantime, there's one more rematch in the regular season coming up on Thursday night, after a return trip from Trail on Wednesday

Here are my 3 stars from the broadcast tonight:

1) Tyler Steel- 44 saves on 46 shots (on his birthday, he couldn't possible do more)
2) Michael Garteig- 33 saves on 34 shots (just as good as Steel, and made one more clutch save by the end)
3) Mike Reilly- 1G, 1A (best, most consistent overall "skater" on the ice, and backed it up with 2 points)

Here are the highlights from one of the most exciting games of the season:

Penticton @ Merritt Feb 25 Highlights by agreb21