The Cents came down with a 6 game illness, the doctor prescribed some home ice medicine, and it turned out to be just the right remedy! With the support of their fans behind them, a return to the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena proved to be magical, as the Cents exploded for their most dominant win of the season, a 7-1 triumph over the defending champs, the Vernon Vipers.
- it's amazing how so much can go wrong over the course of 6 games, so many bad breaks can keep popping up, and then all of a sudden, in one game, all the bad fortune is reversed in what you could literally call the "perfect" storm
- despite the fact that this game was actually fairly evenly played territorially (all 3 periods), this was the game where Merritt got all the breaks (except one disallowed goal by Marshall) and all the bounces... they again got plenty of scoring chances, but this time they were able to "finish"... and finish again... and again... and again
- the other big difference for Merritt tonight was between the pipes. Lino Chimienti looked a bit nervous in the 1st period, but once Merritt took the lead, he settled down and really gained confidence as the game wore on. He made 2 big saves in the 1st (you can hear them both in the highlights... one off of Soleway and one after his own mistake off of Sparrow) and there was no looking back for him... you could tell the team got more and more comfortable in front of him and that allowed them to open up the game and get creative, which really paid off
- the first 10 minutes of the 1st period were very slow-paced, as there were plenty of icings, offsides and weak shots covered up by the goaltenders... it appeared to be a feeling out process in the 8th and final meeting of the season series, and it wasn't until the second half of the first period that the game finally began to open up
- after all the bad bounces over the last 6 games/3 weeks, the Cents finally got the break they were looking for... a puck that was flipped in by Wlicox was fumbled by Vipers defenseman Geoff Crisfield, allowing Brears to steal and cut in to the bottom of the left circle where he threw the puck out of front and got a lucky bounce off of Soquila and in (they first credited the goal to Brears, but later changed to Soquila, which is why the Vipers argued, to no avail, that the puck was kicked in)... this "lucky bounce" was monumental, as it allowed the Cents to score their first 1st period goal in 7 games, and only the second 1st period goal in 11 games. It was also the first time during this skid that Merritt was able to score 1st, and, as predicted, it turned out to make all the difference, as they took off and never looked back
- the Cents really made their mark in the last minute of play, when the first line had a great forecheck and pressed to keep the puck in deep, where Stack got it behind the goal for Soquila, and he centered to Brears, who was able to one-time the puck through double coverage high to the glove side past Halcrow to give the Cents a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes
- Merritt started the 2nd period with as much jump as they ended the 1st period with, getting an early goal to really take a stranglehold. After Sabourin lost his stick in his own zone, he kicked the puck forward to Brandon Bruce who fed a lead pass to Shinkaruk... Shinkaruk had a partial break down the right wing, his low shot was stopped, but Bruce snuck the rebound through the legs of Halcrow to make it 3-0 (up till this time, 14 of the past 15 goals had been scored by the 1st line), snapping a personal 6 game pointless drought, while Shinkaruk's assist snapped a 10 game drought and Sabourin's assist snapped a 9 game drought
- after some back and forth play for the next 10 minutes, including 5 on 3 by Merritt that knocked on the door several times without breaking through, and a disallowed goal by Billy Marshall (after a speedy rush from the left wing at center, around the Vipers goal and back to the right point where he fired a spin-around shot that went in, but was called just off-side before the shot was taken), Dylan Chanter sent in Brandon Bruce on a partial break in tight, and Bruce was able to dodge the poke-check of Halcrow and snap a shot in on the stick side to make it 4-0 (the assist for Chanter snapped a 6 game pointless drought for him). The Cents looked strong the rest of the way, taking a 4-0 lead into the 2nd intermission
- in the 3rd period, the Vipers made it a little interesting in the early stages, when leading scorer Michael Zalewski, coming out of the box, used his speed to cut into the Merritt zone on the left wing, circle the goal, and from the right circle, feed a quick pass to Knisley at the bottom of the left circle for a one-timer that caught Chimienti off-guard to get the Snakes on the board at 4-1. They came on very hard afterwards, pushing to get the next goal as quick as possible, but Chimienti was strong and helped out defensively by his teammates collapsing in front of him
- exactly 4 minutes after the Vipers got on the board, Chad Brears returned the favour to Soquila from the first period, setting him up with a pretty pass from behind the goal to the slot, which Soquila was able to finish off for his 2nd of the game, making it 5-1, and taking away any doubt as to who was going to come away with the points this night
- Merritt wasn't satisfied with the 5-1 lead, as they caught the Vipers on a bad change, and Reece Wilcox sent in Brent Fletcher on a clear-cut breakaway, which Fletcher was able to finish off with a great shot five-hole on Halcrow to make it 6-1, snapping a personal 13 game pointless drought, tied with Schaefer for the longest on the team (the assist was wrongly awarded to Brandon Pfeil, but if it holds up, it also snaps a 5 game drought for Pfeil)
- as if that wasn't enough, the hockey gods would throw the Centennials another bone just over a minute later, when Sean Maktaak's slap-in from the right point bounced off the backboards and came out front to Shinkaruk who buried a backhander to make it 7-1, ending Halcrow's night, and bringing in backup Danny Todosychuk for the first time ever against Merritt (the assist for Maktaak snapped his personal 11 game drought)
- to Vernon's credit, they still pushed hard right till the end, and looked determined to at least get something more past Chimienti, but it wasn't meant to be on this night. The Centennials were as good defensively as they have been during this whole slump, despite giving up 37 shots
- just when it looked like Merritt would quietly end the game on a power play, Brendan Lamont threw a hard hit on a Vipers defenseman along the end wall (I still don't know who it was, couldn't tell from my angle), and it was from behind, so another Vipers defenseman, Sean Robertson, instigated a fight with Lamont... and despite the big mismatch (a 6'1, 195lbs 20 year old vs a 5'8, 165lbs 17 year old), Lamont did extremely well for himself, fighting back very well after taking a few early punches, and by the end of it, tackling Robertson to the ground to at least get a draw decision. It was very impressive to see, and I'm sure Lamont's teammates all noticed it and appreciated it. Lamont is a very innocent-looking kid and one of friendliest guys on the team, but this was another lesson in not judging a book by its cover. A great way for the Centennials to make a statement and put an exclamation mark on their most dominant win of the season
*it's worth noting that during the 6 game losing streak, the Centennials had scored just 5 goals total... so to score 4 in the first 2 periods tonight, and 7 in total, is quite an amazing and stunning feat that shouldn't be overlooked, but should be a reason for fans to scratch their heads
*despite not winning the special teams battle (Merritt finished 0 for 5 on the power play), this was the 2nd straight game that Merritt was able to shut down the 3rd best power play in the league, forcing the Vipers to go 0 for 3, and going a perfect 7 for 7 on the PK in the last 2 games (both against Vernon), after giving up power play goals in each of the 5 games leading up to that
*as you could see in my notes, this game was just what Merritt needed. Not only the end to a slump at a crucial time, not only against a crucial opposition that was threatening to knock Merritt OUT of the playoffs, but it also snapped many personal droughts (hopefully re-sparkling the confidence for many guys) and matched a season-high goal output in one game... it was just an overall "feel-good" game for everyone involved on Valentines Day
*the Community Band (all wearing Cents jerseys) entertained the crowd with live music during the game and music in the mezzanine during the intermissions, and I have to say, they were outstanding! Plenty of hockey music, and it sounded very sharp and professional. It was a neat touch to a Valentines Evening that left many couples leaving the rink happy, and left all the fans with a newfound "love" for their hometown team
Here are the highlights from Merritt's most dominant win of the season, a 7-1 drubbing of the Vernon Vipers (I figured out the problem as to why my media player turned so bulky instead of the streamlined one that I liked):
Vernon @ Merritt Feb 14 Highlights by agreb21
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