In this edition of the weekly roundtable, Penticton Vees voice Fraser Rodgers hosts a chat with Powell River Kings broadcaster Alex Rawnsley and the voice of the Nanaimo Clippers, Dan Marshall. The topic at hand is the possibility of a BCHL All-Star game, which was axed a couple of years ago after an unsuccessful event in Nanaimo. This nearly 20 minute roundtable focuses on how the all-star game can look in the future and how it can be marketed to make it a success:
In this edition, we talk to the "biggest" Centennial (in a good way), Jakob Reichert. His "size" does become a focal topic, as well as his upbringing by a couple of police officers:
I promised this before but haven't got around to it. I had a couple of very interesting chats with 2 of the stars and real "good guys" of this league.
Connor Reilly is one of 3 brothers on the league-leading Penticton Vees and currently tied for 3rd in BCHL scoring with linemate Mario Lucia. Him and Ryan are 20-year old twins, meanwhile 18-year-old younger brother Mike is a draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets and leads the BCHL in scoring for defensemen. As a matter of fact, Penticton now has 7 of the top 8 scorers in the league and 9 of the top 11. Before Wednesday's game in Merritt, I spoke with Connor Reilly about the success of his team, his relationship with his brothers and their future in Minnesota.
The other interview is with David Bondra, who, yes, is the son of former NHL great Peter Bondra. He's 3rd on the Chilliwack Chiefs in scoring, and has been a big part of the resurgence of that franchise in the movie from Quesnel to Chilliwack (ironically, the 2 players ahead of him in scoring are 2 of the very few Millionaires left, Malcolm Gould and Derek Huisman). He had a tough season in the USHL last year with Chicago but has exploded this season in Chilliwack. David hails from Maryland where he lives with his famous dad. We talked about all this and his move to Canada before the Cents game in Chilliwack this past Friday.
In this edition, I talk with a guy who has found his comfort in Merritt, after a stint in the WHL with Swift Current. Here's one of the more "serious" guys on the team, Brandon Bruce:
It was another strange game to make sense of, and one that Merritt probably thought they should have had, but the Chilliwack Chiefs were tactful in their approach in a crucial game for their 2nd place hopes
the first period was one of the strangest periods I've ever seen. Merritt fired everything towards the goal (and I think the Chilliwack shot counters were counting any puck that entered the Chiefs zone a shot on goal), and wound up outshooting the Chiefs 21-7, but I thought Chilliwack was the better team. Most of Merritt's shots were perimeter floaters with no traffic, and it was the easiest 21 save period that any goalie might ever see. You would think that the Centennials were all over the Chiefs, but this simply wasn't the case, and backup Bryton Udy wasn't as busy as he appeared to be on the boxscore. Out of 21 shots, I counted 1 mediocre scoring chance
meanwhile on the other end, the Cents were able to avoid getting pinned in their own zone, but a few defensive breakdowns/mental errors led to numerous quality scoring chances for the Chiefs. Despite just 7 shots, I think they must have had 5 or so grade A scoring chances, and they converted on 2 of them. The first was a wicked wrister from the top of the left circle by Hutchinson (his 1st of the season) to make it 1-0, and that was followed up by David Bondra getting set up on the doorstep by Malcolm Gould to make it 2-0 (could have been a Merritt tripping penalty on the play that wasn't called, and I think confused the Cents)
the 1st period wound down with Dylan Chanter trying to jumpstart his team. He instigated a fight with the smaller, skilled Bondra, and David (3 years older than Dylan) obliged him. I give both guys credit, as Chanter took on someone 3 years older, and Bondra took on someone significantly bigger. It was mostly a wrestling match with a few non-destructive jabs each way, but all in all, no harm done
the 2nd period, the Cents seemed to come out flying, as if inspired from the last minute fight by Chanter. Unlike the first period, they had the Chiefs pinned in their own zone for much of the time and applied some heavy pressure. They had plenty of scoring chances too, and outshot Chilliwack 15-6, but Bryton Udy and his defense held the door shut and held Merritt off the scoresheet, including an unbelievable last minute save by Udy off of Brandon Pfeil, who appeared to have half an open net from the slot
the 2nd period ended just like the first, with a scrap, as Billy Marshall took on Josh Hansen (who earlier tried to challenge Payton Schaefer), and although Marshall lost his footing at the end, he was able to throw some hard rights and efficiently block the punches coming his way, so I would give him the victory... another attempt to try and spark his club (this was the first time in 6 meetings with the 2 teams that the game got really emotional)
in the 3rd period, I think Merritt was a bit dejected from their lack of success in a dominant 2nd period. They had a big drop-off in emotion and intensity, but on the tail end of a power play, on a bit of a broken play, Regan Soquila (back in the lineup after missing just 1 game to injury) set up a streaking Evan Stack, who cut in down the right wing and snapped a wicked wrister past the stick side of Udy to spoil the shutout and get the Cents on the board. Chad Brears was given the only assist, and he should have had the 2nd one, but the first assists should have definitely gone to Soquila. This was the 1st goal in over 100 minute of hockey for Merritt, and only the 11th goal in 6 games (10 of them from the 1st line)
the early goal sparked the Cents and they seemed to have a lot of jump, buzzing in the Chiefs zone, sniffing out the equalizer... it looked like they had it when Reichert through cross-crease pass back-door for Low (who was very noticeable and dangerous tonight, but unlucky), and he fanned on an open net for a chance to tie it up. As I predicted at the time, that might be the best chance the Cents had to tie it, and it was
with just under 9 minutes left and the Chiefs on a power play, Spencer Graboski won a face-off back to Shay Laurent (best defenseman on the night at both ends of the ice, very noticeable in a good way), and then Graboski tipped Laurent's point shot down past the glove of Steel to restore the Chiefs 3-1 lead. At that point, Chilliwack stole back the momentum and never looked back, as the Cents didn't have much of a push-back. Less than 4 minutes later, with just 2 seconds left on a Chilliwack power play, it looked as though Chanter got tripped at the side of the goal, and before Merritt could protest, the puck was centered on top of the crease for Dhaliwal, and he made no mistake to make it 4-1 and put the game out of reach
the rest of the game (5 minutes) was an effective use of clock management by the Chiefs, as they didn't really give Merritt a sniff, and put it on cruise control for the 4-1 victory. Shockingly, after getting outshot 36-13 through 2 periods, it was Chilliwack who outshot Merritt 17-7 in the 3rd, though it didn't feel like the period was that lopsided (much like the 1st period didn't seem that lopsided for Merritt)
The coveted "Fred Page Cup", awarded to the BCHL Champions each year, was on display at the Prospera Centre, as it makes its way around all the buildings in the BCHL. This is what the Centennials are fighting for:
*The refereeing in this game was certainly not the "issue" of Merritt. They got the majority of the breaks and "got away" with more, but I thought both teams got away with far too many obvious "must-calls", and it made the game very tough for the players, to be able to read what they could or couldn't get away with. On two of the Chilliwack goals, there should have been penalties (once to Merritt, once to Chilliwack), and them not being called led to confusion and chaos
*Tyler Steel had a very underrated game for someone who gave up 4 goals on 30 shots. He might have faced less than Udy, but the amount of scoring chances he faced was much higher, definitely in the double digits again. I felt that once again the goalie was kind of hung out to try, not just with a lack of offense, but with too much indifference defensively, as evidenced when Anderson White was allowed to walk from the right point right into the slot for a point blank opportunity when it was already 4-1 (the last clip on the highlights)
*One of the most disappointing things for Merritt about losing this game is that, minus Sean Maktaak, they iced a full roster of healthy players. Meanwhile Chilliwack had 4 significant injuries plus a significant suspension to 1st-liner Derek Huisman. As a result, they were forced to play with 4 AP players (two of them 15 year olds, one a 16 year old), including an entire 4th line of AP's
*Ultimately, it's hard to blame the Cents for their recent struggles, which include 3 straight losses and 4 out of the last 5 games. It is almost unheard of at the junior level to play 9 games in 15 days, unless it's the playoffs. I'm not sure why the schedule worked out this way, but the Cents have been beaten down with hockey games and travel of late, and with 47 games, have now played at least 2 more than anybody else in the league, and at least 3 more than any playoff team on either conference. The fatigue really showed in the last couple games, especially the 3rd period vs Penticton and tonight vs Chilliwack. There was just no gas left in the tank, and that's something that's hard to blame the players for
*keep in mind that with Chilliwack winning tonight and holding 4 games in hand, if they win all 4, the deficit is just 2 pts (1 game), and all of a sudden this stranglehold on 2nd place for the Cents is on thin ice. With 3 of the next 4 games coming up against the Vernon Vipers, a bad stretch here could see Merritt fighting for their playoff lives instead of for home ice advantage
*the good news is, with a full week off now to rest and recuperate, come next Friday's game in Vernon, the Cents should be ready and hungry, and hopefully with the least busy schedule of anyone in the last month and a half, they can use that to their advantage and go on a bit of a run heading into the playoffs
In the meantime, here are the highlights from the 4-1 loss in Chilliwack:
(later this weekend I will try to post my interview with Peter Bondra's son David Bondra, as well as Penticton's sniper and the league's current 3rd leading scorer, Connor Reilly. Both were very well spoken and had some interesting things to say about their team and family background)
Merritt 26-13-2-5 (59 pts) - 2nd in Interior
LAST GAME: 9-0 loss to Penticton on Wednesday (lost 3 of their last 4)
Chilliwack: 22-17-1-2 (47 pts) - Tied with Prince George for 3rd in Interior (with 1 game in hand)
LAST GAME: 5-2 loss to Westside on Wednesday
*Chilliwack has 4 games in hand on Merritt. The Cents have 14 games left, Chilliwack has 18
Season Series: Merritt 4-1 vs Chilliwack (outscored them 15-7), but 1-1 in Chilliwack with just 1 goal in each game (2-2 overall in those 2 games combined)
there's no question the Centennials are in a bit of a funk right now, with 3 losses in 4 games, including against 2 teams (Alberni Valley and Nanaimo) that they expected to beat
from last Friday (when they left Merritt for the Island at 5:30am on a 7 game winning streak) to this Friday (where they're coming off 3 losses in 4 games, including an embarassing 9-0 blowout at the hands of Penticton), the team has been on both ends of the emotional spectrum
offense for Merritt has definitely dried up lately after scoring 7 on Salmon Arm and 5 on Chilliwack recently. The last 6 games, they have never scored more than 3 times and only 13 goals total during this span. 9 of the 10 goals scored in the last 5 games have been from the first line (the Cents are hoping to get Regan Soquila back in the lineup tonight). And with an average of just 3.07 goals per game, Merritt is the lowest scoring playoff team and tied with Alberni Valley for 3rd lowest overall in the league
it's funny how things work when it comes to goaltending. Lino Chimienti recently stole the spotlight with 5 straight wins (3 shutouts in that span) and being named the BCHL player of the week. Since then, he has lost 3 straight, giving up 15 goals during that span. Meanwhile, despite the minor skid the Cents are on right now, Tyler Steel, who watched Lino from the sidelines during his hot run, is now the hot goaltender, having won 3 straight, and giving up just 1 goal in all those games for a total of 3 goals against
For Merritt, you have to think that fatigue has played a factor in their recent drop-off. Tonight's game in Chilliwack caps off a ridiculous stretch of 9 games in 2 weeks (15 days), from Friday to Friday. This is a tough game to come into Chilliwack this tired and emotionally upset
the Chiefs are also on a bit of a funk... in December, they went on a tear winning 7 straight games and getting 15 of a possible 16 points during that stretch. Since then, they have really struggled to gain much consistency, as evidenced in the last 5 games where they have gone 2-2-1-0. And they are the coldest playoff team in the last 10 games, with just 3 victories in that span
like the Centennials, Chilliwack has been giving up more goals lately than they're used to, and are also struggling to keep up offensively with much of the scoring burden being on the top line
while both teams tonight will look to get on track, Merritt still has a decent cushion to work with and some breathing space in the 2nd spot. For Chilliwack, they want to get on track, but they also need points quite badly. Even though they still have a shot at 2nd if they win their games in hand on the Cents, their primary focus is to hold off the struggling Vipers for the final playoff spot. Vernon is currently 6 points back with 1 game in hand. But there is also the intense battle for 3rd. Chilliwack is tied in points with PG with 1 game in hand, but both teams will desperately want to at least sneak into 3rd in order to avoid the "hot-as-the-sun-itself" Penticton Vees
the key for Merritt tonight to try and generate some more offense will be to play a team game, stick to the fundamentals, and don't try and be a hero. A few times over the last few games, some guys have tried to do too much on their own and it's resulted mostly in turnovers rather than scoring chances.
With both teams heavily reliant on their top lines, I would expect lines 2-4 to cancel each other out, and the better top line will have a good chance of deciding this game
I'm sure the coaching staff will also emphasize team defense for tonight's game. The goaltenders have been far too busy the last few games, especially vs Penticton when the Cents gave up 51 shots, and quality scoring chances well into the double digits
*I haven't received the lineup for tonights game, but according to John O'Connor of the Merritt News (who spoke with coach Luke Pierce after Wednesday's game), there's a good chance that Regan Soquila could return to the lineup tonight. Unfortunately, Sean Maktaak may have suffered a broken bone in his foot when heroically blocking a slap shot from the point on Wednesday (he missed the entire 2nd and 3rd period), and he is out of the lineup indefinitely
Opening face-off tonight is at 7:00pm. Our pre-game show gets going on Q101 starting at 6:30. You can tune in on Q101 FM in Merritt or online at Q101.ca
It was a busy night for the 4 referees trying to keep control of this one
It was a night to forget, no doubt about it, but you can't judge a book by its cover. The score got out of hand on the Cents, but the boys showed heart and guts in the way they battled and competed right to the end.
when you're playing a team with 25 straight wins and three 1st lines that can beat any top line in the league, well you don't want to give them any sort of early life to give them a jumpstart. But unfortunately, that's what happened. Steven Fogarty made a nifty move out of the right corner to get around Billy Marshall and shoveled a backhander over the left shoulder of Chimienti to open the scoring just 17 seconds into the game (still don't get why they gave the goal to Benik and never changed it... he was nowhere near the puck when it went in)
a goal for Penticton that early could have easily opened the floodgates right then and there, but the Cents deserve credit for pushing back and generating some offensive chances of their own. They had a fair amount, and even looked pretty good on their first power play, but unfortunately, they just don't have the type of "finish" that the Vees do, and you have to give credit to Vees netminder Michael Garteig for being sharp and his defense/forwards for committing to defense in front of him and taking away many 2nd chances
while Merritt couldn't capitalize on their power play chance, Penticton only needed one to make the Cents pay. They looked extremely confident and dominant in their set-up and worked the puck around perfectly, not allowing the Cents to get it out. Not only is their puck movement crisp and fast, but they also have a high hockey IQ, as the players without the puck know exactly where to go when, and Ryan Reilly snuck in through a seam to get set up by Fogarty for an easy tap-in to make it 2-0
as the 2nd period began, I said it right away... the Centennials were still very much in it, but they HAD to have the next goal... that 3rd goal would be the one that decides which way this game goes... just as I made this comment, Fogarty set up Benik on the doorstep to make 3-0 just 22 seconds into the 2nd period. When you give up 1 goal seconds into the first period, that's deflating, when you give another one up seconds into the 2nd period, that's just devastating
to Merritt's credit, they didn't let the early goal in the 2nd phase them either, as they stayed hungry and tried to fight back. But again they were snake-bit and stifled by the Vees team defense (an underrated aspect of their game), along with the sharp tending by Michael Garteig (who leads the league in all goalie stats, including tying Lino now with 4 shutouts).
in the 2nd period, just like the first, Lino Chimienti was counted on a lot, and to his credit, he stood tall and did everything he could to keep the Cents in it. It'd be hard to blame him on any of the 3 goals anyways
the one area that the Cents were lacking in is just "helping out their goaltender"... on far too many occasions the Vees would get point blank chances in the high and low slot, whether it be one-timers or guys just being uncontested and being allowed to walk right in for a grade A scoring chance. This was simply too much of a burden on Lino, and eventually it got to him in the 3rd
the 3rd period the Centennials didn't seem to come out with a whole lot of energy, and they struggled to generate many scoring chances in the first couple minutes, to which Penticton responded with the figurative "nail in the coffin"
to back up my prior point, Bryce Gervais was allowed to walk out of the right halfwall right into the slot and snuck one through the legs of an exhausted Chimienti to make the game 4-0. This was the point where the Centennials seemed to play deflated and frustrated, more than anything else. There were again a few guys who, out of frustration, tried to do too much themselves and lost the puck without even a shot on goal, forgetting the whole "team" aspect of hockey, which tends to happen when a game gets out of hand
as another sprinkle of salt in the wound, and to back up "the kind of night it was", Steven Fogarty won a neutral zone face-off forward for his team into the Merritt zone, and Mancuso, backing up, tried to make a D to D pass to Marshall but fanned on it, allowed Fogarty to steal and bury the puck from the bottom of the right circle over the shoulder of a clearly beat down Chimienti. I think a lot of people expected, at this point, that Chimienti would get the mercy hook, but he was left in there the whole way, which turned out to be a mistake
out of sheer anger and frustration, the Cents lost their cool and started to get really chippy and violent with the Vees, and this culminated in Sabourin instigating a fight with an unwilling Bryce Gervais. Because Sabourin started the fight and threw the only punches, he received 2 minutes for instigating, 5 minutes for fighting and a game misconduct, resulting in a 7 minute Penticton power play with just 5:40 left in the game. And the Vees would make them pay...
Wade Murphy scored a wicked one-timer on the first power play for Penticton to make it 6-0. That was followed up by DJ Jones leaning into a slap shot at the top of the left circle to get his first goal and point as a Vee to make it 7-0, then Wade Murphy walked into the high slot and fired a shot stick side on Lino to make it 8-0, followed by Connor Reilly walking out of the right corner (again uncontested) and tucking the puck through Lino's legs on top of the crease to mercifully cap the scoring at 9-0 (I have no idea how the goal was awarded to Wade Murphy, who I don't even think was on the ice... 2nd bozo scoring play awarded). 4 power play goals in 1 and a half minutes was the end result, that was the damage, and it once again emphasized the need to stay disciplined against the top power play in the league from a literal "all-star team"
*Overall, the score was definitely not reflective of Merritt's effort. The scoreboard makes it seem like they didn't show up, when that simply wasn't the case. There were a few dominant shifts which the fans really appreciate. At the end of the day, they were overwhelmed by Penticton's skill, and it's simply not fair to expect any team to be able to keep up with an all-star team, which is what Penticton is
*Based on how fired up the Cents were before this game, I think had Lino made that first save off of Fogarty, and had the Cents scored the 1st goal (I know, coulda, shoulda, woulda), the tone of this game might have been a lot different. But the early goal in the 1st and 2nd was just too much to be able to overcome emotionally
*Despite the fact that Merritt gave up 51 shots, there were a lot more directed towards the net that never got through. As the game wore on and the score got out of hand, the Cents commitment to defense started to slide a bit, but especially in the 1st period and a few times in the 2nd, the guys would sacrifice their bodies in front of pucks and, as the saying goes, do everything it takes to get the job done. This included a heroic block by Sean Maktaak in the first period that saw him leave the game and not return (hopefully not that serious since he recently missed 5 games due a concussion and Merritt is already without Regan Soquila). But at least for the first half of the game, Merritt's heart and mind was in the right place, and they just couldn't buy a break offensively, or defensively, when you consider the timing of the goals to start the 1st and 2nd
*Lino Chimienti winds up being the scapegoat very unfairly. As you can hear in the highlight (if you can call it that) package, he made a lot of key stops, and he was extremely busy facing 51 shots. Eventually he was just out of gas (like most of the team I think) and hung out to dry. And he never got the mercy hook. I'm sure the players feel bad for him, because he really battled hard all night
*Michael Garteig also deserves lots of credit making 32 saves on 32 shots. His players helped him much more than Lino was helped, but he sometimes unfairly gets criticized for being a product of the teams he plays in front of (Penticton and Powell River last year). Though his league-leading save percentage speaks for itself, and with 3 shutouts in his last 4 games, he now ties Lino Chimienti for the league lead in shutouts with 4
*I understand the fans passion and loyalty to the team, which I think is great, and I understand their anger and frustration with the game tonight. But when things got chippy, during a few stoppages and even after the game was complete, I was surprised to hear some of the comments coming from the crowd directed towards the officials and the Penticton bench. Vocally supporting your team is one thing, but verbally assaulting the opposition is a whole different thing. Our fans are some of the loudest and proudest in the league, but I'm sure we also want a reputation of being classy. I think that line was crossed on a couple of occasions tonight, mainly during Penticton's marathon power play. And it seemed like all that negative attention only spurred on the Vees further and helped them feast with 4 power play markers. Any winning team is a hated team, especially when they have all but one of the league's top scorers and are on a 25 game winning streak. But you don't want to give them even more motivation than necessary, which is what I think a few of that fans did tonight with their comments. Remember, these type of teams "love" being hated and thrive on it. Keep that in mind if you think you're "helping" your team
Here are the highlights (yes, there are a few for Merritt too) from a pretty forgetful night vs the Vees:
........ the Centennials will get a serious practice day in on Thursday before traveling to Chilliwack on Friday to start a 4 game road trip. They won't return home for a game now until Valentine's Day on Tuesday, February 14th, when they host the Vernon Vipers
