Sometimes, the headlines just write themselves. And on Wednesday, Tyler Steel wrote his own headline by coming up with a superman effort against the Vees; just what the doctor ordered for Merritt. With the guidance of Steel, the Cents erupted for 4 unanswered goals in the 2nd period, and it was the Steel-show again from there, as his heroics allowed the Cents to hang on for a 4-3 victory.
The first period was almost a mirror image of the night before in game 1. The Centennials got called for an early penalty (Brandon Bruce for high-sticking), and after winning the ensuing face-off, the Vees needed all of 13 seconds to convert. Mike Reilly fed Mario Lucia at the right point, who threw the puck to Travis St. Denis at the side of the goal, and St. Denis re-directed it on the backhand over the left shoulder of Steel just 2:27 into the game to give the Vees a 1-0 lead.
*In 6 games in Penticton (regular season and playoffs), the Vees scored their first goal on the power play each time, and 5 of the 6 games it was early in the first. Definitely something for the Cents to take note of and to watch out for as the series progresses.
Unlike the previous night, the Cents put up a much bigger fight in the 1st period, establishing several "momentum shifts" from all their lines, as they had the Vees pinned in their own zone. Late in the 1st, the Centennials seemed to be coming on, and despite trailing, they appeared to take some momentum into the locker room (in a game where it was all about momentum).
Conversely, Penticton still had the better scoring chances and outshot Merritt 10-7, requiring Steel to come up with 3 or 4 real quality stops, most notably a glove save on Buchanan from the slot in the dying seconds of the 1st. Steel was a big reason that the deficit was just 1 through 20 minutes.
(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
The 2nd period was a memorable one to say the least if you're a Cents fan. First of all, I'll start by saying that they held the Vees from getting a single shot on goal for the first 10 minutes of the 2nd. During that time, they erupted for 3 goals on 7 shots themselves.
First off, on Merritt's 2nd power play of the game, they worked the puck around very effectively, and Stack and Soquila were able to set up Brears in the right circle with a half open net, and Brears made no mistake. This goal at 4:52 snapped what was a 150 minute shutout streak for Vees backup Chad Katunar. And as it turned out, the goal would also open up the flood gates for Merritt.
(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
Just 19 seconds after the Brears goal, a great forecheck by the 2nd line of Harper/Fletcher/Reichert led to a scramble, after Fletcher poked the puck out of Katunar's glove as he was trying to cover it. Fletcher skated onto the loose puck in the slot himself and threw a backhander on net which was tipped by Harper through the legs of Katunar, to give Merritt their first lead of the series.
(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
To be honest, in the opposite far corner of the rink where the booth is, it was very difficult to see what happened on this play, and even hard to see the numbers, which is why I originally thought it was Brears' goal. Then I thought it was Reichert's goal, so I had to correct myself twice before it was announced as Harper's goal.
The Cents didn't stop there. 3 and a half minutes later, Regan Soquila set up Evan Stack from the right corner with a perfect pass into the left circle, and Stack buried it past Katunar to open up a 3-1 Merritt lead.
(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
The fan bus crowd was going nuts and the Cents bench was clearly fired up. This was some of the most inspired 10 minutes of hockey they've played against Penticton this season. But they still weren't done...
(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
First, add one more massive stop by Tyler Steel, as he denied Travis St. Denis on a wide open net, diving across and stretching his arms out to make the save off a rebound from Lucia. After the Vees were thwarted in the 2nd half of the period with 11 shots on net (they really found some life), Dylan Chanter's heroic blocked shot in the Merritt zone led to a beautiful rush by Brent Fletcher, where he used his speed to cut around the defense, and from the right circle, snapped a shot low stick side on Katunar to increase Merritt's lead to 4-1.
(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
However, just as I was writing down that goal and talking about Merritt's dominant period, just 8 seconds after Fletcher's goal, the Vees would strike. After winning the face-off, they worked the puck into the Merritt zone; Kyle Beaulieu's long shot was stopped, Lucia was denied on the rebound, but the 3rd chance for St. Denis wasn't, and Travis St. Denis, after being held goalless in his first 7 playoff games, picked up his 2nd of the night. He was easily the most dangerous Vee in game 2, and if it wasn't for Steel, easily could have had anywhere from 4 to 6 goals. Even with his 2 goals, Steel had his number.
ONE OF THE HANDFUL OF TIMES STEEL SHUT DOWN ST. DENIS (Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
After the Vees cut the deficit to 2, they really poured it on late in the 2nd and almost got another one, but Steel was cool as can be between the pipes and denied the Vees anything else for the remainder of the 2nd period. Merritt led 4-2 heading to the 3rd.
In the 3rd period, the Centennials deserve credit for a near perfect start, slowing down the game and killing clock efficiently, as they had the only shot for the first 5 minutes or so. But after that, the Vees came on in waves. Penticton was really dominant for most of the final 15 minutes, getting chance after chance, after chance. Once again, Tyler Steel was the story in the 3rd, but his teammates helped him by sacrificng their bodies, blocking shots, throwing hits and generally collapsing in front of their goaltender to make sure the puck stayed out.
STEEL DID RECEIVE HELP TONIGHT AS WELL, AS EVIDENCED HERE (Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
Against the flow of play, Merritt had a chance to ice the game, when Regan Soquila was set up on a partial break from the blueline in. He tried to beat Katunar low glove side, but Katunar (after not seeing action for a while) kicked out the left pad to make a very important save, keeping the lead at just 4-2.
After that chance, the Centennials hardly got a sniff in the offensive zone. They were limited to just 3 shots all period while the Vees had 11, and Penticton knocked on the door at least 4-5 times in the final 10 minutes, cleary smelling blood. They would get a huge goal from New York Rangers draft pick Steven Fogarty, who went inside out on Sabourin down the right wing and chipped a perfect shot over Steel's left shoulder, between the post and crossbar to cut the deficit to 4-3 with just inside 9 minutes left.
(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
This goal made the Vees even more hungry, but Steel was simply on another planet tonight, and he refused the Vees to complete the comeback. He made several more extraordinary saves, maybe none better than a save off Joey Benik, who cut from behind the goal right into the slot, and Steel dove out and stretched out his blocker to make the save, losing his goal-stick in the process. This was his night, and he wasn't about to let the Vees ruin it.
HOW ON EARTH DID THIS PUCK STAY OUT?! IT'S ANYBODY'S GUESS (Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
GREAT RELATIONSHIP! (Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
The nail in the coffin for Penticton was a tripping penalty to Wade Murphy on Chad Brears with 1:17 left. The Vees were all over Merritt, so when Brears stole the puck and was about to clear, Muphy wanted it back so bad that he made an obvious trip that killed any chance the Vees had to mount a comeback. Regardless, they were able to work the puck out shorthanded (they did have 17 shorthanded goals in the regular season after all) and pull Katunar to make it 5 on 5. Their dangerous-looking rush was stopped short by Cents defense, and then the puck bounced off the boards to center to a wide open Soquila, who appeared to have a partial breakaway down the right wing. He was being hounded from behind so he took a shot from the blueline, but just hit the outside of the post. The Cents though, wouldn't let the puck out. Shinkaruk and Soquila had another chance at the empty net, but even though the Vees denied them, they simply ran out of time and the clock ticked down to 0 with the puck still in Penticton territory.
*The win for the Centennials at the South Okanagan Events Centre marked the first time Penticton has lost at home in regulation this season. They lost once in the regular season to Merritt in overtime and once to Chilliwack in the playoffs in overtime. But this was the first regulation loss in 2011/2012 at the SOEC, and one that Merritt simply HAD to have to stay in this series.
*The Centennials were far more disciplined tonight that on Tuesday, taking just 1 minor penalty (even though it costs them) instead of 7, but at the same time, they didn't lay off their physicality
CHANTER SENDING A MESSAGE TO LUCIA AND THE VEES BENCH (Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)
*Despite being on their heels quite often, you can't deny the skill that the Vees have. And for what Merritt has, they battled like Warriors tonight. Everybody seemed to push just that little bit extra both with the puck and away from the puck. And when each player is going above and beyond and giving that extra 10%, in makes a big difference when all is said and done
*Merritt now has home ice advantage with 3 of the final 5 possible games to be played in Merritt, starting with game 3 on Friday and game 4 on Saturday. LET'S PACK THE RINK CENTS FANS!
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