Evan Stack had a career night with a trio of goals, Merritt's first hat-trick of the season, as the Centennials literally took care of business in a neat and tidy 5-2 win over Salmon Arm
one thing the team deserved lots of credit for tonight was consistency. They weren't over "overwhelming" throughout the game, but they were very business-like from the opening face-off. There were no passengers, everyone came to play, and they were clearly the superior team in all 3 periods. It just took longer to prove it than it should have
after intense pressure for over a minute on a Merritt power play, the top line finally opened the scoring when Brandon Pfeil's point shot was tipped in front by Evan Stack to give Merritt a 1-0 lead
Ian Webster/Merritt Herald
Ian Webster/Merritt Herald
the Cents had a great chance to pull away in the 1st period, when they got a long 2 man advantage for about a minute and a half, but despite lots of puck possession, the execution just wasn't there, and they failed to generate many scoring chances, let alone goals. So instead of 2 or 3-0, it stayed a 1-0 game and Salmon Arm would strike on a potential turning point
Devin Muller, who was as dangerous as I've ever seen him all night long, made a nifty move to dance around Reece Wilcox on the right wing, he cut out front with a great deke on Chimienti, but just as it appeared like he'd finish it off, he lost the handle (thanks in part to Pfeil's stick check), leaving the loose puck for Travis Stephens, who buried an open net backhand with Chimienti well out of position. So even though it could have been game over after 20 minutes, it was just 1-1 and anybody's game
early in the 2nd period, the Cents would appear to break out: Sean Maktaak set up Brandon Bruce for a one-timer between the two circles, and Bruce ripped it blocker side past Adam Clark (3rd straight game that Bruce has scored, and he has 7 goals and 11 points in his last 8 games)
Ian Webster/Merritt Herald
Shortly thereafter, a couple minutes later, the top line was back at it again, and after a mad scramble in the slot, Evan Stack's 3rd or 4th try found its way through the legs of Clark to give Merritt a 3-1 lead
Ian Webster/Merritt Herald
after another power play where Merritt came close, (Chad Brears set up Evan Stack on a point blank tip-in try, which would go in 9 out of 10 times, but this time Clark shut his 5-hole quickly and made one of his best stops of the game), the Silverbacks would again use the kill and the big save as a momentum turner...
on the Silverbacks first power play (after Merritt had 4 in a row), they were able to execute perfectly, as McCauley walked out of the left corner and Zulinick snuck in back door to take the feed and tip it into an open net, taking the Backs to within 1 goal, which is where it stood through 40 minutes
in the 3rd period, Merritt again controlled the play and never really found themselves in any danger of surrendering the lead, but Adam Clark and the Backs defense kept it close most of the way, UNTIL...
with about 5 minutes left in the game, a terrible, untimely turnover on a pass up the middle was the Apes ultimate demise... Evan Stack picked it off in the neutral zone and cut in 2 on 1 with Soquila... they executed the give and go perfectly as Stack went across to Soquila, then Soquila went back across on the left wing to Stack, who's one-timer got a big piece of Clark's pads and trickled in for the hat-trick goal
Ian Webster/Merritt Herald
just over 2 minutes later, after Evan Stack was again robbed point blank on a chance for his 4th, the Cents went on a power play, and Jakob Reichert, after using his big body to shield the puck and force it in deep, he parked himself in front, and Shinkaruk made a perfect centering pass from the right corner that Reichert was able to finish off to cap the scoring at 5-2
Ian Webster/Merritt Herald
*This was a perfect example of a game where the goalie didn't need to be great, but Lino Chimienti was very solid. He couldn't be blamed whatsoever for the 2 goals against him, and he was very sharp and confident most of the night. From a coach's perspective, it'd be a tough game to judge just how "playoff-ready" Lino might be, but he certainly pulled his weight tonight
Ian Webster/Merritt Herald
*this was the first time since Feb 18 that Merritt was able to strike for 2 power play goals in one game, and for the most part, they were doing the right things by getting lots of shots on net and getting traffic in front. They were deserving of 2 goals and definitely could have gotten more
*from a coaching perspective, it's hard not to like this game. The Centennials kept the pedal to the metal and applied pressure at different points from every line. Scotty Patterson made a seamless transition to the 4th line with Schaefer and Lamont, and that line had as many chances as anyone. At points in the game, each of the lines had their moments of dominance (the top 3 lines all had goals), but overall, it was a relatively quiet but effective night for the team as a whole. They weren't overwhelming, but they were hardly ever on their heels, made few errors, and generally played a smart game
Ian Webster/Merritt Herald
*The Centennials finished the season series vs Salmon Arm with a dominant 6-1 record, outscoring the Backs by a total of 31-22
My 3 stars from the broadcast will probably be unpopular and confusing because of the score and the shot clock (41-20), but I will back them up by saying this: Merritt played very much a "team" game. Outside of Evan Stack, they had very few guys who stood out as "dominant" because they're not a team of all-stars and everyone pulled their weight evenly. On the other hand, Morgan Zulinick and Devin Muller are both "all-stars" for Salmon Arm, and they played like it. They were as good today as I've ever seen them. They razzled and dazzled pretty much every time they were on the ice, looking dangerous all night on a team that didn't have much else going for them. They also each registered a point, but could have had much more. So you can probably guess who my stars are:
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