It was no work of art, but the Merritt Centennials learned a lesson, battled adversity, and came out on top after being pushed to the brink by the Smoke-Eaters:
- the 1st period by Merritt couldn't be labeled "bad", but it was very average under the circumstances and under the expectations. They seemed a little too relaxed and comfortable, almost like they were expecting the 2 points would fall into their lap naturally
- despite a few quality scoring chances, Lyndon Stanwood was really on his game between the pipes for the Smokies, as he made his 13 first period saves look effortless and appeared to be in a groove
- halfway through the 1st, the Cents were caught in their zone, unable to get the puck out, and after another turnover at the blueline, the puck came to the right corner for Erik Cooper, who's sharp-angled shot attempt deflected off a skate and in. At first it looked like it might have gone off a Merritt skate, but they later credited the goal to Garrett McMullen, in a period he'll likely never forget
- just 2 minutes later, after Billy Marshall made a nice one-handed poke-check on Cooper, who tried to cut in up the middle, the puck came out to the top of the left circle, where McMullen was there once again to lean into a slap shot, beating Steel short side, off his right pad and in. This is one I think Steel would have liked to have back, but it was definitely a hard shot and difficult to pick up, as McMullen got all of it
- the Cents again came knocking on Stanwood's door on a few occasions, but he was there with an answer each and every time. Whenever there was a rebound, the defense was always there to clear it
- just when it looked like the damage would be over for the 1st period, in the last minute, McMullen was at it again.... off a rush, his slap shot from the top of the right circle was blocked, but it came right back on his stick where he re-loaded, and wired one low stick side on Steel to make it 3-0 Trail through 20 minutes. 3 goals in a row for McMullen in 1 period, and it was a natural hat-trick. Like I mentioned, a period he'll never forget
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| (Photo from Randy Emery in Trail, courtesy of Chris Wahl's Smoke-Eaters blog) |
- clearly the pep talk in the 1st intermission rubbed off on the Centennials. They came out in the 2nd flying and were absolutely dominant throughout the entire 20 minutes, outshooting the Smokies 17-5 and basically playing most of the period in the offensive zone. Unfortunately Stanwood stole the show again, and looked like he might just frustrate the Cents right to the end. It worked through 40 minutes, as the Smokies went to the locker room still up by 3
- despite the monumental task in front of them, the Cents came storming out of the gate in the 3rd period as well, particularly the top line of Stack, Brears and Soquila who looked possessed in the final 40 minutes. And finally, in this period, Superman Stanwood lost his cape
- nearly 2 minutes in, after a dominant shift in the offensive zone, Sabourin came up with a great hold at the left point, got the puck for Lamont on the halfboards, and Lamont walked into the slot and wristed one through the legs of Stanwood, snapping a personal 10 game pointless drought, and giving his team some confidence that Stanwood WAS in fact human and beatable
- just over 9 minutes into the period, the Cents again did a great job of holding the line to keep the puck in, and then after a lucky bounce off the glass that kept the puck in the Trail zone, a scramble in front led to the puck coming free at the side of the goal for Reichert, and the big man shoveled a backhander past Stanwood to cut the deficit to just 1
- the Reichert goal appeared to make the Cents even more hungry. The top line came back into the offensize zone quickly and established a lot of pressure... they simply wanted the puck more and it paid off. From the corner, Soquila got the puck to Stack in the left circle, who snapped a shot on from a sharp angle, creating a juicy rebound for Brears to pounce on and tie the game at 3 just 38 seconds later (also tying Evan Stack for the team lead in goals with his 27th)
- it looked like Merritt would just snowball their momentum into the game-winning goal shortly, but it didn't happen. The Smoke-Eaters woke up a bit and started to fight back, forcing Tyler Steel to be extra sharp in order to make sure the comeback was worth something
- the two teams were fairly evenly matched in the final 10 minutes, but nobody was able to capitalize, and so after 2 months without overtime, for the 2nd straight game, the Cents went the distance
- in the overtime, it appeared clear that Merritt was the more desperate team, needing the point to secure 2nd and home ice advantage for the playoffs. They carried play throughout, outshooting the Smoke-Eaters 3-1, and their 3rd shot is all they would need. Marshall and Sabourin played catch at the line, setting up Brandon Bruce for a one-timer in the slot, a shot which he fanned on, fooling goaltender Lyndon Stanwood, as the puck squirted through his legs less than 2 minutes into overtime for the game winner
*After failing to score in the first 40 minutes, and only 1 goal in 110 minutes as it turned out, the Cents broke out from all sides, and got goals from 3 different lines in the 3rd and another line in overtime. So for at least the 3rd straight game this season, Merritt goal at least 1 goal from every single line. That is extremely difficult to do, even for the best of teams
*Tyler Steel's play will go under the radar again, which is unfortunate. He faced 3 bad breaks in the 1st period, but was stellar the rest of the way, giving his team a chance. One of the most memorable saves was in the 2nd period, where he only faced 5 shots, but one of them was a point-blank tip-in try by McDougall, set up by a centering pass from Baltus... it clearly should have beat Steel, but he dragged his right pad and made a very underrated save, keeping the game at 3-0, and giving hish team a chance. He would give them a "chance" the rest of the 40 minutes and overtime, and they would ultimately reward him for that
*the Smoke-Eaters were clearly getting worn down by the end, playing the entire game with only 3 lines (9 forwards) and 2 D-pairings (4 defensemen). It took time, but clearly in the 3rd, the Cents were able to take advantage
*Merritt had only 1 power play all night, it was in the 1st period, but did a great job on the PK, going 4 for 4, including two 3rd period power plays that could have sealaed the deal for Trail, but instead turned the momentum in Merritt's favour at a time where it was 3-1, and ready for the Smokies to put away
*the win moves the Cents 4 points up on Prince George for that 2nd spot and home ice in the playoffs, though the Spruce Kings still have 2 games in hand. They will see Trail a couple of times this weekend themselves, trying to stay in the hunt for 2nd
Here are the audio highlights from Merritt's Leap Year/Leap Day trip to the Kootenays:
Merritt @ Trail Feb 29 Highlights by agreb21
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