PREVIEW: Merritt @ Vernon

Merritt: 26-14-2-5 (59 pts) - 2nd in Interior
LAST GAME: 4-1 loss to Chilliwack on Friday (3rd loss in a row, 4th in 5 games)

Vernon: 21-20-1-2 (45 pts) - 5th in Interior (5 pts back of 4th place PG w/ 1 game in hand, 6 pts back of Chilliwack with even games played)
LAST GAME: 5-4 OT win in Prince George on Sunday (snapped a 12 game road losing streak)

Season Series: Merritt 3-0-1-1 (outscored Vernon 14-8)

• Merritt in the midst of their 1st official "slump" since the start of the season when they won 1 of their first 8 games. That included a 6 game winless streak (but 3 overtime points in that stretch)

• this situation is reflective again of what happened last season where Merritt had a tough start and a tough finish, but a strong stretch in between. The difference this season is that their struggles haven't lasted as long and they had success for a much longer stretch. With 13 games left, they also have more time than last year to right the ship

• the hope for the coaches and fans is that this slump is a simple reflection of fatigue, as the team just wrapped up a stretch of 9 games in 15 days. So it's no time to push the panic button. As of last Friday, with 47 games played, Merritt had played at least 2 more games than anyone in the league and at least 3 more of any of the playoff teams. Because Merritt now has the least busy schedule of anyone in the last month and change of the season, there is hope that they can find new life and re-energize themselves into a big run leading up to the playoffs

• if urgency was a problem in the past couple of weeks with a comfortable lead for 2nd, a look at the standings suddenly indicates a need for urgency (Chilliwack is 8 pts back of Merritt but with 3 games in hand, while Prince George is 9 pts back with 2 games in hand)

• when you break down the stats, the things that made Merritt so successful just a couple of weeks ago are not happening right now: they were scoring by committee, but now have just 11 goals in their last 6 games, 10 of which came from the 1st line. They're not getting the team defense they used to either, where they limited shots and scoring chances and made life easy for the goaltenders. Lino and Tyler have had a big burden on their shoulders in that past couple of weeks. The special teams (both power play and penalty kill) have struggled of late as well, and during the last 3 games, Lino and Tyler haven't been able to "steal" games between the pipes the way they have in the past

• Vernon is coming off their biggest, most important, momentum-turning win of the season in Prince George. Down 3-2 in the final 2 minutes, Prince George scored an empty netter with 1:11 left to seemingly ice the game at 4-2. But in the last minute, after Colton Sparrow was taken down on a breakaway, he got hurt, so Colton Cyr took the awarded penalty shot and scored (with 45 seconds left) to cut the deficit to 4-3. Then with the goalie pulled, Michael Zalewski tied the game with just 20 seconds left, which he followed up by scoring the overtime winner just 22 seconds into the extra session, snapping a 12 game road losing streak that dates back to November 12th. A loss in regulation would have all be sealed in the Vipers playoff hopes, but a win like that puts them just 5 points back (with a game in hand) and all sorts of confidence

• both teams tonight will be well rested and likely very focused and desperate for different reasons. Merritt has had 6 days off, Vernon has had 4 days off, and they're expected to get some important bodies back in the lineup (coach Jason Williamson indicated on Sunday's post-game show that John Knisley and Darren Nowick might return), so they will definitely look to use the last game as a turning point and go on a serious run in the last month here

•  Vernon's road record might be less than impressive (7-14-0-1), but their home record is nothing short of dominant at 14-6-1-1 (similar to Merritt's). Tonight they begin a 4 game home stand with 2 games vs Merritt, and two very winnable games against Alberni Valley and Trail. So this is definitely as good a time as any for the Snakes to make a run for the postseason

• For Merritt, 3 of their next 4 games are against the Vipers (capped off by their next home game which is Valentines Day, Feb 14), with a game in Westside in between (tomorrow night)

*In another unbelievable recovery, Sean Maktaak, who had a suspected broken foot and was on crutches last Friday in Chilliwack, is drawing back into the lineup tonight in his regular role on the 3rd line, leaving Ross Mancuso as the 7th defenseman healthy scratch. So it's great to see that the entire team is healthy once again, which is almost unheard of for any team at this point of the season (just ask Vernon or Westside, the next 2 opponents). Lino Chimienti is slated to get the start once again tonight.

Opening face-off from the Wesbild Centre is at 7 o'clock tonight. Our pre-game show gets going at 6:30 on Q101 FM in Merritt. You can also tune in online at Q101.ca or the BCHL fanzone

Here is the full lineup for the Centennials tonight:

Regan Soquila (93)        Chad Brears (91)           Evan Stack (9)
  
Silvan Harper (92)         Braydern Low (94)          Jakob Reichert (93)
                          
Carter Shinkaruk (91)     Brandon Bruce (93)       Sean Maktaak (93)
                         
Payton Schaefer (93)      Brent Fletcher (92)        Brendan Lamont (94)


                      Reece Willcox (94)        Brandon Pfeil (92)
       
                       Tyler Martin (93)        Richard Sabourin (92)

                        Billy Marshall (91)        Dylan Chanter (95)

       
                                             Lino Chimienti (91)       
 
                                               Tyler Steel (93)       

SCRATCHES:

Ross Manuso (92)