Cents Wrap the Regular Season Right vs Trail

Players salute their faithful fans after the game                 (Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)

It was another team effort with unique contributions, as the Centennials finished their regular season in front of 853 fans in Merritt with a 5-2 win over the Smoke-Eaters, their 3rd straight victory as they make the "leap" into the playoffs vs the Prince George Spruce Kings (after PG upset Penticton 5-2 in their final regular season game, snapping the Vees 42 game win streak)

• The Cents picked up right where they left off Friday in Trail, as they once again got just the start they were hoping for, and again it was the 4th line making a big difference

• Brendan Lamont, who was a man of destiny and seemed possessed in this game, was able to maintain control of the puck for an extended time in the Trail zone, then out of the right corner, he found Schaefer parked in front, and Payton slid the puck through the legs of James D'Andrea (making his first start against Merritt) to give Merritt a 1-0 lead less than 3 minutes in

• after continued pressure and controlling the pace of the game, the Cents would add to their lead on a quick play off the face-off, as Wilcox took a quick shot from the left point that was re-directed in front by Brayden Low, low to the stick side of D'Andrea to make it 2-0

(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)

• against the flow of play, the Smokies got back into the game on a power play, when Brent Baltus was allowed to walk in uncontested from the right point into the faceoff dot, and his snap shot deflected off a stick or skate in front, through the legs of Chimienti to make it a 2-1

• giving up the power play goal seemed to anger the Cents, as they were buzzing like bees the rest of the period, but couldn't regain their 2 goal lead, leaving the score at 2-1 through 20 minutes

*The shots were announced as 9-9, but it wasn't reflective of the period, as Merritt had the better chances and carried most of the play, but Chimienti looked pretty sharp as well in his crease

(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)

• the Cents started the 2nd period with a clear purpose, and the top line broke straight into the offensive zone, setting up a quick goal for Reece Wilcox... though this was an individual effort, as Wilcox saw a lane from the left circle, cut towards the goal, made a quick move to cut out front, and deked around the glove of D'Andrea to tuck it in, making it 3-1 Merritt just 26 seconds in the 2nd frame

(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)

• this was a period of pure domination, as the Cents kept coming at Trail, and the Smoke-Eaters were playing mostly "prevent" defense, often just trying to clear the puck from their zone to avoid more damage

• in one of the most memorable shifts of the game, Scotty Patterson (who appeared to be pumped full of confidence tonight) made a beautiful saucer pass on a 2 on 1 to Lamont, who's nifty deke was kicked out by the right pad of D'Andrea.... seconds later Schaefer had a chance for his 2nd when the loose puck came to him in front and he had a half open net... he missed the net, but seconds after that, the puck came free to Patterson at the side of the goal, and with D'Andrea still out of position, Scotty was able to bury it top shelf to make it 4-1 Merritt

(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)

• the damage could have been a lot worse, but Merritt looked very much in control with a 4-1 lead through 40 minutes, and with just 5 shots on net, Trail might not have had a single "scoring chance" in the middle frame

• the 3rd period was a little more evenly played than the first two, and for the 2nd straight night, the 3rd was Trail's best period, as Merritt took their foot a little off the gas pedal

• the Cents were able to put an exclamation mark on the game when Brears shot from the left circle was stopped by D'Andrea, but the juicy rebound was buried by captain Evan Stack to make it 5-1 less than 4 minutes into the 3rd

(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)

• there weren't a whole lot of scoring chances either way the rest of the game, as the Centennials were content to play the clock game and cruise to victory, while the Smoke-Eaters didn't appear to be as hungry as the night before, though they still didn't quit and gave it as much as they could with the limited "talent" left on the roster and 4 AP's in the lineup as well

• at around the halfway mark of the period, a broken play led to Trail's only other goal... Kyle Horsman won a loose puck battle at the top of the right circle in the Merritt zone, and he muscled his way past 2 Centennials to cut into the slot, firing a wicked wrister high over the left shoulder of Chimienti, off the crossbar and in

• like I mentioned, the Smokies showed a bit of fight the rest of the way, but the Centennials locked it down pretty effectively and cruised to a comfortable 5-2 victory to wrap up the regular season with their 3rd consecutive victory

*Lino Chimienti had a solid game turning aside 23 of 25 shots, but he didn't need to come up big nearly as often as Steel the night before, because the rest of the team were a huge help in breaking up plays, blocking shots and backchecking hard. It was a real team effort defensively

(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)

*the 1st and 4th lines were easily the best tonight for Merritt, not just offensively, where they both got 2 goals each, but in terms of overall energy and compete level. The 4th line took their game to a whole new level and were rewarded with plenty of ice time for their efforts, as they often took over the game on certain shifts and discovered abilities in themselves they might not have realized they had

*Forward Brent Fletcher was back in the lineup following a 2 game suspension for a hit to the head on Penticton's Wade Murphy, and with things working out well Friday in Trail, coach Luke Pierce decided not to mess with the chemistry, and so he left the lines as they were, and placed Fletcher on defense alongside Billy Marshall. Plain and simple, it seemed like a flawless, natural fit. Brent was very good at keeping to his position and not getting greedy. He played the point well, was the first man back on a few occasions, and even make effective breakout plays like a seasoned defenseman who's been playing that position for years

(Ian Webster/Merritt Herald)

*the one concerning aspect of the game was Merritt's power play that looked a bit uncertain at times and finished 0 for 6 against the 2nd worst PK in the league (including a long 5 on 3). The PK also gave up 1 goal, and I know the special teams is one of those inconsistent aspects of the Centennials game that they would love to get on a consistent role as they enter the playoffs. There's no momentum on either the PP or PK side, so they'll just have to find a spark in the playoffs themselves, starting Friday

*overall, the Centennials looked better and sharper throughout this night than the night before in Trail, despite winning by 1 less goal. This was a more complete game minus the special teams

*the Cents finish their season series with Trail with a 5-2-1-0 record (winning their last 5 games) and outscoring the Smokies by a total of 34-21 and 25-9 over the last 5 games

*the Cents finished their regular season with 3 point a game players, after Regan Soquila was the only one for most of the season. Soquila finished with 70 points in 59 games, Stack finished with 61 points in 60 games (his 32 goals matches his entire point output from last year) and Brears finished with 58 points in 58 games (his 28 goals is 7 more than his total point output from last year). They also finished with 8 players in double digit goal totals

*All the records the team wanted to achieve heading into the final weekend were achieved: they set a new franchise record for fewest goals against in a single season with 171 (originally held by the 78-79 team that gave up 176 goals). Their win total (34) is the highest since the 88-89 season, and their point total (76) is the highest of any Cents team since 78-79, over 3 decades. These are very special accomplishments that these players can brag about for years to come

*Despite a season nobody will soon forget, the Centennials actually would have missed the playoffs entirely in the Coastal Conference, as they finished with 2 less wins and 1 less point than the 4th place Coquitlam Express (granted it's an unfair comparison when you consider that the Conferences mostly played against each other, but it seems like the Coastal Conference was more competitive this season, so this reflects even better on Coquitlam... just a stat that makes you go "hmmmm")

Here are the 3 stars from the broadcast tonight:

1) Scotty Patterson- 1G, 1A
2) Evan Stack- 1G, 1A
3) Brendan Lamont- 2A

Here are the audio highlights from Merritt's regular season finale vs the Trail Smoke-Eaters:

Trail @ Merritt Mar 10 Highlights by agreb21