BCHL Roundtable Episode 6

In this edition of the roundtable, I host a discussion with Chris Wahl of the Trail Smoke-Eaters and Alex Rawnsley of the Powell River Kings on some of the top youngsters (16 and 17 year olds) in the BCHL, their impact now and potential down the road. We also talk about the rule of having to have a 16 and 17 year old on your roster: Enjoy!

BCHL Roundtable Episode 6 by agreb21

Deja-vu In Westbank: Rodrigue Stands On His Head, Warriors Extend Merritt's Losing Streak to 5

The storyline remained identical to the night before and the skid as a whole, as the Centennials fired plenty of shots on net but constantly got frustrated with no results:

• the first period saw the Cents come out on fire, seemingly having put the previous night in Vernon behind them, as they looked good in the first half of the period, and got even better as it went on. 

• Before the Warriors even got their first shot (around the 5 minute mark) Chad Brears set up Regan Soquila on a 2 on 1 for a wide open net, but as Soquila fanned on the one-timer and put it wide, it appeared to be the preview of another "one of those nights", which it turned out to be

• Merritt's 1st power play looking extremely dangerous and had multiple prime scoring chances, including a couple more empty net looks for Low and Stack, but somehow Warriors netminder Dwayne Rodrigue found a way to keep them out, and slowly built up Merritt's frustration

• the pace of the 1st period picked up as it went along, and even though it finished scoreless, it was very exciting for the fans at hand, including the enthusiastic crowd on the Cents fan bus

• the 2nd period was a little more evenly matched, and again the pace was very fast. But the storyline remained the same for Merritt, as they were constantly getting stymied on quality opportunities, which they were able to create for themselves all night long (to their credit, they never had an extended lull in this game)

• suddenly, against the flow of play, with Merritt still frustrated offensively, the Warriors had an extended shift in the Merritt zone, and finished it off with a pretty 3-way passing play that Basara capped with a one-timer on top of the crease on a set-up behind the goal from Pope... suddenly the tone of the game changed, as Merritt gave up the 1st goal for the 5th straight game (to coincide with the 5 game skid)

• to the Cents credit, they didn't let up and had a solid bounceback after giving up the goal against... after so much bad luck, they finally got some good luck, as it looked like Reece Wilcox' pass from the left halfboards was intended to go to the corner, but took a fortuitous bounce to Brears in the left circle, who surprised Rodrigue with a quick shot short side over the right shoulder, Merritt's 1st goal in 113 minutes of hockey overall, dating back to their game in Chilliwack

• the equalizer was a huge weight off their shoulders, and the Cents seemed to get a big boost off it, as they pushed the tempo for the remaining 3 minutes and came close to taking their first lead of the entire 5 game losing skid, but were once again thwarted by Rodrigue and the Warriors defense 

• Tyler Steel also settled down in the 2nd period after fighting the puck a bit in the 1st, and he made some big saves that gave his team a chance to break the ice first

• both teams actually made several great plays defensively, backchecking hard, blocking shots, and breaking up passes on the doorstep, so the effort and desperation was clear on both sides

• the 3rd period was much the same as the rest of the game... the Centennials carried most of the play and generated quality scoring chances, but continued to get snake-bit. They seemed to get more and more frustrated by the passing minute, but still held out hope in a 1-1 tie

• the turning point was the Warriors power play, which didn't look all that dangerous, but suddenly broke through with a Monk one-timer from the right point that beat Steel low to the stick side, a shot I'm sure he'd like to have back. You could sense the frustration on the Merritt bench, and this is a setback they weren't able to overcome

• the Warriors went into a very efficient lockdown mode from here as the Cents were unable to generate much of a buzz in the offensive zone, and then a great defensive play by Hochhausen led to a great offensive play at the other end as he got around Mancuso and tucked the puck through Tyler Steel with 2 and a half minutes left for the insurance marker

• the Centennials finished the game looking like a dejected bunch, and Hochhausen just about got his 2nd goal into an empty netter but was hooked by Soquila in the dying seconds to prevent the goal (not quite a breakaway, so it was only a minor penalty instead of an automatic goal awarded)

*It's hard to be critical of a team that outshot the opposition 38-22, but once again the Warriors were more clutch and received better goaltending, though Tyler Steel was by no means bad in this game

*The same issues continue to plague Merritt, which is the inability to score first, or even IN the 1st period at all, they were beat on the special teams again, they lost the battle between the pipes, and they couldn't find the "finish" they need to break out of their offensive funk (4 goals in the 5 game skid, 12 goals in 8 games overall, with 11 of those coming from the first line)

*In a cruel twist of fate, a 7 game winning streak has turned into a 5 game losing streak and 6 losses in 7 games, and literally all the things that made Merritt so successful earlier are contributing to their biggest slump of the season right now

I'm sure it won't be a very enjoyable week off for the coaches or the players, but they'll try again to work out the kinks in practice this week, before heading to Vernon for a rematch with the Vipers on Friday

Here are the highlights from the 3-1 loss in West Kelowna:

Merritt @ Westside Feb 4 Highlights by agreb21

PREVIEW: Merritt @ Westside

Merritt 26-15-2-5 (59 pts) - 2nd in Interior
LAST GAME: 4-0 loss in Vernon last night (4th loss in a row)

Westside: 14-26-2-5 (39 pts) - 6th in Interior (12 pts back of Chilliwack, but Chiefs have 2 games in hand)
LAST GAME: 4-2 loss to Alberni Valley last night (3rd loss in a row)

Season Series: Merritt 3-1-0-2 officially, but 2-1-0-3 without the reversed OT loss from earlier (Warriors have outscored the Cents 22-19)

• after a full week off before yesterday's game, you can't use fatigue as an excuse anymore, and judging by last night's game, it certainly wasn't a factor. The fatigue has turned into anxiety for goals and points, with players getting frustrated and gripping their sticks a little tightly

• with 5 regulation losses in 6 games, this is officially the worst slump of the season (they started the season with a 6 game winless skid after their first 2 games, but that included 3 overtime points). And what's more shocking is that this came on the heels of a 7 game winning streak, the longest for the franchise in a full decade

• it's hard to figure out the priority for the Centennials right now, because you can't point to one thing being the problem: during this 4 game skid, they have been outscored 20-3 (17-1 in the last 3 games), their power play has gone an ice cold 1 for 19, (5.3%, after a recent 10 for 21 stretch), and their once dominant PK (that went 55 for 60 recently) has given up 9 goals on 21 opposition power plays (57.1%). Overall, they are goalless now in their last 76 mins of hockey, and have just 1 goal in the past 190 minutes of game action. Surprisingly, this 4 game losing skid has seen Merritt average 40 shots a night. This is where the "quality over quantity" argument obviously comes in, though there were plenty of quality-looking shots from last night

• it's now been 4 straight games, and 3 seconds shy of being 8 straight games that Merritt hasn't scored a 1st period goal, so a good start (with an offensive reward) will be a huge key for Merritt to snap out of the funk tonight in West Kelowna

• if the reason for the 1st period funk was a lack of urgency due to comfort in the standings, that comfort is gone, and a peek at the standings indicates that it's time to get desperate. Should Chilliwack win their 3 games in hand, they would be just 2 points back of Merritt, and should Prince George win their 2 games in hand, they'll be just 3 points back. That's how close the Cents are to falling to 4th place and meeting Penticton in the 1st round. Then there's the Vernon Vipers, who have 2 more meetings with Merritt over the next couple of weeks, and are threatening to overtake 4th spot. It's not just a positioning race right now for Merritt, but a race to make sure they stay in the playoffs, period

• the Warriors were big sellers at the trade deadline but still had a solid stretch of hockey before their recent 3 game funk, and they gave Merritt a run for their money in their last meeting on January 18th (a 2-1 Merritt win), which was the last win in Merritt's 7 game streak. You can expect another tight, down to the wire contest tonight

• with the Warriors sitting 14 points out of the playoffs (and Chilliwack holding 2 games in hand), the players are playing without much pressure, and just for the "fun" factor, which is always a danger to the opposition that has lots to play for, like Merritt

• it's likely that head coach Luke Pierce will go back to Tyler Steel between the pipes for this one, and the Cents might need him to come up big, the way Halcrow did yesterday. With the guys struggling to score goals, it's unlikely they will have a sudden explosion. They need a hero of some sort to snap out of this funk and get some confidence going, and that hero often needs to be the goaltender

• the season series has been a very heated one through 6 games, and with this being the final meeting of the season between the two clubs, you can bet that the Warriors would like to send a final parting messages to the Cents and play the role of "spoilers". They also have plenty of players still playing for scholarships and jobs for next season, so it's unlikely that they will lack motivation and allow Merritt an easy time in their building tonight

Opening face-off from Royal Lepage Place is at 7 o'clock. The pre-game show gets going at 6:30. You can tune in on Q101 FM in Merritt, online at Q101.ca or on the BCHL fanzone

***UPDATE:
 The lines have been juggled up bigtime for tonight, at least lines 2 through 4, as coach Luke Pierce looks for the right combinations to get some offense. Here are the very different combinations for tonight, with Brandon Bruce the lone scratch (I imagine he suffered an injury in last night's game):

Regan Soquila (93)            Chad Brears (91)         Evan Stack (9)

Carter Shinkaruk (91)        Brayden Low (93)        Jakob Reichert (93)
     
Silvan Harper (92)             Brent Fletcher (92)       Brendan Lamont (94)
       
Payton Schaefer (93)                                          Sean Maktaak (92)


                       Reece Willcox (94)        Brandon Pfeil (92)   
           
                         Tyler Martin (93)        Ross Mancuso (92)   

                        Billy Marshall (91)        Dylan Chanter (95)   

                                         Richard Sabourin (92)    
           
      
                                              Tyler Steel (93)           
  
                                            Lino Chimienti (91)          

SCRATCHES:

Brandon Bruce (93)

Halcrow Steals the Show, Vipers Extend Merritt's Losing Streak to 4

After a week off, fatigue was certainly not an issue. The Cents fired 41 shots towards the Vipers net, but goaltender Kirby Halcrow handled all of them for his first shutout of the season, and the Centennials slump lives on with 4 straight losses, and 5 in their last 6:

• the 1st period was one that could have gone either way... both teams exchanged a fair amount of scoring chances and the period was evenly played... the difference was simply finish

• while Kirby Halcrow looked strong and confident from the outset, Chimienti seemed to battle nerves coming off a game where he got blasted for 9 goals vs Penticton. He fought the puck quite a bit, giving up many rebounds and losing the puck around his crease. It's hard to blame him on any of the goals, but he did have to battle a lot harder than normal tonight. Kirby Halcrow was able to make a difference in the 1st, allowing his team to take the lead

• the 1st goal was a strange play where John Knisley knocked down a puck in the slow that was high in mid-air, played it down to his stick, and buried it from the bottom of the left circle past a startled Chimienti. The 2nd goal was on a dominant-looking Vernon power play. It was actually a great save by Lino off a point shot deflection, but the rebound came to Tambellini for a wide open net. No goalie in the world would have made that save

• this was Merritt's 4th straight game without a 1st period goal, and 7th time in 8 games (only exception was the Mancuso buzzer beater in Victoria with 3 seconds left)

• the 2nd period was a fast-flowing one as well, with both teams pushing each other hard, but the goaltenders held the door shut. Halcrow was again the story making 13 saves... the pivotal point of the game was late in the 2nd, when the Cents had a shorthanded 2 on 1 (Fletcher and Stack)... Fletcher's low shot from the right wing created a wide open net rebound for Stack, who fanned on the shot, and on his follow through, actually managed to swipe the puck away that was fluttering towards the open net. This was the kind of night it was, and it was almost a signal that this was not their night

• Merritt looked a lot better on the power play in the 2nd frame, but their 2 best chances (Stack and Soquila point blank, back to back) were both denied by Halcrow who was simply "on" tonight and appeared, fittingly, unbeatable

• the 3rd period saw the parade to the penalty box continue, and the Centennials lack of discipline wound up hurting them. Payton Schaefer got a cross-checking penalty in the first couple of minutes, and it took the Vipers less than half a minute for Mike Zalewski to capitalize, getting one past a screened Chimienti from the top of the left face-off circle, which was followed up by the Jaromir Jagr salute. That was the unofficial dagger in the heart, but the official one came just 4 minutes later when AP call-up Eric Shore set up Jedd Soleway on top of the crease to make it 4-0, and the Cents just didn't have enough fight left in them after that

• Merritt would wind up getting one last dying chance when, with inside 9 minutes left, the Vipers took 2 back to back penalties on the same play to go down 5 on 3 for a full 2 minutes. But the Centennials looked confused, disorganized, and lacked the confidence to set up any sort of scoring chance. I believe they finished with just 1 soft shot on the entire 2 minutes. It didn't help that the line brawl which previewed the 2 man advantage saw the ejection of both Evan Stack and Regan Soquila, who were obviously unavailable for this power play. After this power play was killed, the Vipers fans gave their team a standing ovation, and the rest, as they say, is history

*outside of the obvious difference in goaltending, special teams was a big deciding factor, with Merritt going 0 for 7 on the power play and the Vipers going 2 for 6. Their first goal was shortly after their power play had expired, so it was almost 3 for 6. The Centennials had a chance to win the game on special teams, but faltered in the 1st period where Vernon succeeded. Combine that with untimely/undisciplined penalties, and that was much of the game story

*it's tough to be critical of a team that outshot the Snakes in their own building 41-29, but the Centennials are clearly lacking the "finishers" needed to make a difference and are not as sharp defensively as they need to be to keep the goals against down.

*with the result of this game, the Centennials remain 11 games above .500, but have now given up more goals against (143) than they've scored (142)

Here are the audio high and lowlights from tonight's game:

Merritt @ Vernon Feb 3 Highlights by agreb21

PREVIEW: Merritt @ Vernon

Merritt: 26-14-2-5 (59 pts) - 2nd in Interior
LAST GAME: 4-1 loss to Chilliwack on Friday (3rd loss in a row, 4th in 5 games)

Vernon: 21-20-1-2 (45 pts) - 5th in Interior (5 pts back of 4th place PG w/ 1 game in hand, 6 pts back of Chilliwack with even games played)
LAST GAME: 5-4 OT win in Prince George on Sunday (snapped a 12 game road losing streak)

Season Series: Merritt 3-0-1-1 (outscored Vernon 14-8)

• Merritt in the midst of their 1st official "slump" since the start of the season when they won 1 of their first 8 games. That included a 6 game winless streak (but 3 overtime points in that stretch)

• this situation is reflective again of what happened last season where Merritt had a tough start and a tough finish, but a strong stretch in between. The difference this season is that their struggles haven't lasted as long and they had success for a much longer stretch. With 13 games left, they also have more time than last year to right the ship

• the hope for the coaches and fans is that this slump is a simple reflection of fatigue, as the team just wrapped up a stretch of 9 games in 15 days. So it's no time to push the panic button. As of last Friday, with 47 games played, Merritt had played at least 2 more games than anyone in the league and at least 3 more of any of the playoff teams. Because Merritt now has the least busy schedule of anyone in the last month and change of the season, there is hope that they can find new life and re-energize themselves into a big run leading up to the playoffs

• if urgency was a problem in the past couple of weeks with a comfortable lead for 2nd, a look at the standings suddenly indicates a need for urgency (Chilliwack is 8 pts back of Merritt but with 3 games in hand, while Prince George is 9 pts back with 2 games in hand)

• when you break down the stats, the things that made Merritt so successful just a couple of weeks ago are not happening right now: they were scoring by committee, but now have just 11 goals in their last 6 games, 10 of which came from the 1st line. They're not getting the team defense they used to either, where they limited shots and scoring chances and made life easy for the goaltenders. Lino and Tyler have had a big burden on their shoulders in that past couple of weeks. The special teams (both power play and penalty kill) have struggled of late as well, and during the last 3 games, Lino and Tyler haven't been able to "steal" games between the pipes the way they have in the past

• Vernon is coming off their biggest, most important, momentum-turning win of the season in Prince George. Down 3-2 in the final 2 minutes, Prince George scored an empty netter with 1:11 left to seemingly ice the game at 4-2. But in the last minute, after Colton Sparrow was taken down on a breakaway, he got hurt, so Colton Cyr took the awarded penalty shot and scored (with 45 seconds left) to cut the deficit to 4-3. Then with the goalie pulled, Michael Zalewski tied the game with just 20 seconds left, which he followed up by scoring the overtime winner just 22 seconds into the extra session, snapping a 12 game road losing streak that dates back to November 12th. A loss in regulation would have all be sealed in the Vipers playoff hopes, but a win like that puts them just 5 points back (with a game in hand) and all sorts of confidence

• both teams tonight will be well rested and likely very focused and desperate for different reasons. Merritt has had 6 days off, Vernon has had 4 days off, and they're expected to get some important bodies back in the lineup (coach Jason Williamson indicated on Sunday's post-game show that John Knisley and Darren Nowick might return), so they will definitely look to use the last game as a turning point and go on a serious run in the last month here

•  Vernon's road record might be less than impressive (7-14-0-1), but their home record is nothing short of dominant at 14-6-1-1 (similar to Merritt's). Tonight they begin a 4 game home stand with 2 games vs Merritt, and two very winnable games against Alberni Valley and Trail. So this is definitely as good a time as any for the Snakes to make a run for the postseason

• For Merritt, 3 of their next 4 games are against the Vipers (capped off by their next home game which is Valentines Day, Feb 14), with a game in Westside in between (tomorrow night)

*In another unbelievable recovery, Sean Maktaak, who had a suspected broken foot and was on crutches last Friday in Chilliwack, is drawing back into the lineup tonight in his regular role on the 3rd line, leaving Ross Mancuso as the 7th defenseman healthy scratch. So it's great to see that the entire team is healthy once again, which is almost unheard of for any team at this point of the season (just ask Vernon or Westside, the next 2 opponents). Lino Chimienti is slated to get the start once again tonight.

Opening face-off from the Wesbild Centre is at 7 o'clock tonight. Our pre-game show gets going at 6:30 on Q101 FM in Merritt. You can also tune in online at Q101.ca or the BCHL fanzone

Here is the full lineup for the Centennials tonight:

Regan Soquila (93)        Chad Brears (91)           Evan Stack (9)
  
Silvan Harper (92)         Braydern Low (94)          Jakob Reichert (93)
                          
Carter Shinkaruk (91)     Brandon Bruce (93)       Sean Maktaak (93)
                         
Payton Schaefer (93)      Brent Fletcher (92)        Brendan Lamont (94)


                      Reece Willcox (94)        Brandon Pfeil (92)
       
                       Tyler Martin (93)        Richard Sabourin (92)

                        Billy Marshall (91)        Dylan Chanter (95)

       
                                             Lino Chimienti (91)       
 
                                               Tyler Steel (93)       

SCRATCHES:

Ross Manuso (92)

BCHL Roundtable Episode 5

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:

BCHL Roundtable Episode 5 by agreb21

"Meet the Cents" with Jakob Reichert

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: