LAST GAME: 4-0 loss in Vernon last night (4th loss in a row)
Westside: 14-26-2-5 (39 pts) - 6th in Interior (12 pts back of Chilliwack, but Chiefs have 2 games in hand)
LAST GAME: 4-2 loss to Alberni Valley last night (3rd loss in a row)
Season Series: Merritt 3-1-0-2 officially, but 2-1-0-3 without the reversed OT loss from earlier (Warriors have outscored the Cents 22-19)
- after a full week off before yesterday's game, you can't use fatigue as an excuse anymore, and judging by last night's game, it certainly wasn't a factor. The fatigue has turned into anxiety for goals and points, with players getting frustrated and gripping their sticks a little tightly
- with 5 regulation losses in 6 games, this is officially the worst slump of the season (they started the season with a 6 game winless skid after their first 2 games, but that included 3 overtime points). And what's more shocking is that this came on the heels of a 7 game winning streak, the longest for the franchise in a full decade
- it's hard to figure out the priority for the Centennials right now, because you can't point to one thing being the problem: during this 4 game skid, they have been outscored 20-3 (17-1 in the last 3 games), their power play has gone an ice cold 1 for 19, (5.3%, after a recent 10 for 21 stretch), and their once dominant PK (that went 55 for 60 recently) has given up 9 goals on 21 opposition power plays (57.1%). Overall, they are goalless now in their last 76 mins of hockey, and have just 1 goal in the past 190 minutes of game action. Surprisingly, this 4 game losing skid has seen Merritt average 40 shots a night. This is where the "quality over quantity" argument obviously comes in, though there were plenty of quality-looking shots from last night
- it's now been 4 straight games, and 3 seconds shy of being 8 straight games that Merritt hasn't scored a 1st period goal, so a good start (with an offensive reward) will be a huge key for Merritt to snap out of the funk tonight in West Kelowna
- if the reason for the 1st period funk was a lack of urgency due to comfort in the standings, that comfort is gone, and a peek at the standings indicates that it's time to get desperate. Should Chilliwack win their 3 games in hand, they would be just 2 points back of Merritt, and should Prince George win their 2 games in hand, they'll be just 3 points back. That's how close the Cents are to falling to 4th place and meeting Penticton in the 1st round. Then there's the Vernon Vipers, who have 2 more meetings with Merritt over the next couple of weeks, and are threatening to overtake 4th spot. It's not just a positioning race right now for Merritt, but a race to make sure they stay in the playoffs, period
- the Warriors were big sellers at the trade deadline but still had a solid stretch of hockey before their recent 3 game funk, and they gave Merritt a run for their money in their last meeting on January 18th (a 2-1 Merritt win), which was the last win in Merritt's 7 game streak. You can expect another tight, down to the wire contest tonight
- with the Warriors sitting 14 points out of the playoffs (and Chilliwack holding 2 games in hand), the players are playing without much pressure, and just for the "fun" factor, which is always a danger to the opposition that has lots to play for, like Merritt
- it's likely that head coach Luke Pierce will go back to Tyler Steel between the pipes for this one, and the Cents might need him to come up big, the way Halcrow did yesterday. With the guys struggling to score goals, it's unlikely they will have a sudden explosion. They need a hero of some sort to snap out of this funk and get some confidence going, and that hero often needs to be the goaltender
- the season series has been a very heated one through 6 games, and with this being the final meeting of the season between the two clubs, you can bet that the Warriors would like to send a final parting messages to the Cents and play the role of "spoilers". They also have plenty of players still playing for scholarships and jobs for next season, so it's unlikely that they will lack motivation and allow Merritt an easy time in their building tonight
Opening face-off from Royal Lepage Place is at 7 o'clock. The pre-game show gets going at 6:30. You can tune in on Q101 FM in Merritt, online at Q101.ca or on the BCHL fanzone
***UPDATE:
The lines have been juggled up bigtime for tonight, at least lines 2 through 4, as coach Luke Pierce looks for the right combinations to get some offense. Here are the very different combinations for tonight, with Brandon Bruce the lone scratch (I imagine he suffered an injury in last night's game):
Regan Soquila (93) Chad Brears (91) Evan Stack (9)
Carter Shinkaruk (91) Brayden Low (93) Jakob Reichert (93)
Silvan Harper (92) Brent Fletcher (92) Brendan Lamont (94)
Payton Schaefer (93) Sean Maktaak (92)
Reece Willcox (94) Brandon Pfeil (92)
Tyler Martin (93) Ross Mancuso (92)
Billy Marshall (91) Dylan Chanter (95)
Richard Sabourin (92)
Tyler Steel (93)
Lino Chimienti (91)
SCRATCHES:
Brandon Bruce (93)
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