I was at tonights BCHL game as Merritt defeated Vernon 5-4 in double overtime in front of 1,405 fans at the Wesbild Centre.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Bryton Udy
Merritt: Tyler Steel
1st Period: Off the opening faceoff Merritt come out hitting with some big checks in the Cents zone. Just 20 seconds into the game, off a faceoff in the Centennials zone the Vipers won the draw throwing the puck towards the front of the net with a scramble in front of former Vernon Viper tryout goaltender Tyler Steel, Vernon couldnt bang away at the loose puck as a pile of players all scattered in the crease before Steel covered the puck. Shortly after the Vipers with a great chance, Colton Sparrow in the crease at the side of the net couldnt get the puck past Steel who made a nice save. Darren Nowick then cut in towards the middle and ripped a shot but couldnt beat Steel. Just a minute or so later Vernon would open the scoring, Dylan Walchuk would bang in the loose puck past Tyler Steel at 3:34 giving the Vipers the early 1-0 lead. Marcus Basara & David Robinson collected the assists. The Vipers carried the edge of play in the opening few minutes outshooting Merritt 6-1 as the Cents took almost the first five minutres to record their first shot on net. Off the faceoff Merritt would get the first powerplay of the night and capitalise on just their second shot on goal. Regan Soquila beat rookie goaltender Bryton Udy at 5:50 on the powerplay tying the game 1-1. Stephen Wall with the lone assist. The Vipers carried the better of the play for most of the opening period, in a some what scrambly period at times. The puck was taking some funny bounces all night. Vernon with some good presure in the Centennials zone for several minutes couldnt capitalise. The Vipers with alot of shots towards Tyler Steel missed the net several times on some good shots from the slot. Merritt with very little offence and shots did get a great chance after Jeff Jones & Max Vallis went in two on one, Jones kept and fired but couldnt beat Udy. Vernon was having troubles holding onto the puck, several passes or shots were either misshandled or hoping over the players sticks making for a not so pretty 1st period. The Vipers would go on their first man advantage of the night but couldnt seem to get much of anything going as Merritt killed off the minor. Late in the period Chad Brears & Max Vallis on a two on one before newcomer Max Mowat making his Vipers-BCHL debut showed good hustle breaking up the Cents scoring chance. The Centennials would get a late powerplay, but it was all Vipers. Dylan Walchuk & Captain David Robinson with some good penalty kill ragged alot of the Cents man advantage by eating up some of the clock. The Vipers penalty kill couldnt hold off the Cents though as with just under 15 seconds remaining Dustin Johnson on the wrap around beat Udy at 19:44 on a goal Udy would like to have back. The Centennials with their first lead of the game. Vallis & Jeff Jones with the helpers. The Cents were 2-2 on the man advantage. Merritt was up 2-1 after 20 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Centennials 11-5.
2nd Period: In the opening few minutes Elliott Richardson misshandled the puck just inside the Vernon blueline allowing for Kameran Crawford to step into a shot but thankfully for Richardson and the Vipers Crawfords shot went into the mesh behind the end glass. Merritt would get an early man advantage but unable to score as the Vipers would kill off the minor. Just over a minute later Vernon would get a powerplay but struggle not getting a single shot on net as the Cents penalty killers did a great job at blocking shots, keeping the Vipers shooters to the outside and frustrating them with a very aggresive forecheck. Merritt would kill off the minor. Not much action in the 2nd period with both teams looking very scrambly at both ends of the rink. Again the puck was taking some funny bounces. Some sloppy plays from both teams. Just before the midway mark the Vipers would get another shot at the powerplay and this time take advantage. Assistant Captain Steve Weinsteins point shot found the back of the net at 11:17 tying the game 2-2. Bryce Kakoske and Kyle Murphy with the assists. The puck looked to have been tipped in front but they credited the goal to Weinstein. Former Vernon Vipers tryout David Sabey made a nice move inside the neutral zone before going around the Vernon d-man cutting towards the goal and going in all alone on the breakaway but couldnt beat Bryton Udy who was making his Vipers-BCHL debut tonight. Late in the period the Vipers with two back to back chances on the same shift, Aaron Hadley with a blast from the right faceoff dot was stopped by Steel who had to stretch out and make a nice blocker save on the Viper rookie, seconds later Mike Zalewski with a chance from the corner was stopped by Steel. Lots of whistles slowed the play down making for a very boring 2nd period with very little action as the game was tied 2-2 after 40 minutes of play. Vernon outshot Merritt 9-6.
3rd Period: The Vipers opened the period with a great chance as John Knisley on a parcial wrap around was stopped by Tyler Steel as the puck went through the crease on the rebound as no Vernon player was their for the rebound. Dylan Walchuk and David Robinson setup Marcus Basara at 3:53 giving Vernon its second lead of the night 3-2. Walchuk and Robinson with the assists. But just over two minutes later Merritt would go on the powerplay, 2-3 tonight the Cents with some good puck movement tied the game. Veteran Dustin Johnson with a great pass into the slot to a wide open Jeff Jones who beat Udy at 6:44 Jones was cut from the Vipers training camp last season, before joining the Cents a few days later. Johnson and Max Vallis with the assists. This line was killer for Merritt all night. A bit of a better period compared to the 2nd as both teams carried the play back and forth. Merritt with a great chance on a three on two but the Cents couldnt hit the net. Dylan Walchuk at the other end with a great chance at the side of the net, couldnt put the bouncing puck past his former teammate Tyler Steel. Merritt was winning all the one on one battles giving Vernon a good run. The Cents who have a very big team didnt really use their physical play to their advantage but were the ones coming out with the puck along the boards. Max Vallis with a great chance for the Cents but Bryton Udy with a nice save. Late in the game with Merritt putting on some presure in the Vipers zone, the puck was in the crease and looked to be rolling past Udy before Steve Weinstein covered his hand on the puck while in the crease. The Centennials were rewarded a penalty shot. Dustin Johnson with already a goal on the night put a nice move on the Vipers rookie goaltender going upstairs at 16:52 giving Merritt the 4-3 lead as the Cents bench was very excited. In the final minute and a half the Vipers would call a timeout and shortly after get Bryton Udy to the bench for the extra attacker, Regan Soquila with a great chance flipped a long shot from the neutral zone but couldnt hit the empty net. The Vipers were forced to put Udy back between the pipes and then try for a second shot at getting him back to the bench for the extra man, well it worked and with a good rush up ice the Vipers on one shift powered their way through the Merritt zone, Kyle Murphy drove hard towards the goal but couldnt get the puck past Steel before Jon Knisley setup Dylan Walchuk in front to beat Steel at 19:28 tying the game 4-4 as the Vipers bench erupted. Knisley and Murphy with the helpers. It was 4-4 after 60 minutes of play. Vernon outshot Merritt 11-10.
Overtime: Some good flow to the extra frame but very few real good quality scoring chances. In the final two minutes Max Vallis with a hard shot from inside the circle forced Bryton Udy to come up with a big save from in close. This was the only real good chance of ot. It was tied 4-4 after 65 minutes of play. The Vipers outshot the Centennials 3-2.
Double Overtime: Off the draw Vernon carried the play in over the Cents blueline but was unable to hold onto the play as back come the Cents, Merritt would then lose posetion of the puck before Brett Corkey was knocked off the puck in his own end forcing a turnover wich could have cost the Vipers the game. Vernon could get nothing going offensively as the Vipers were hemmed in their own end as Merritt was slowly coming on. On the next play Jeff Zmurchyks shot took a bounce off the ice before going shelf high and over Bryton Udys glove at 2:20 as the Centennials bench erupted onto the ice as Merritt knocked off Vernon 5-4 in double overtime. The Cents outshot the Vipers 1-0. With the win Merritt picks up its first win of the season (1-4) while the Vipers drop to 2-3.
Top Players: (Vernon)
Max Mowat made his Vipers-BCHL debut tonight after signing with the Vipers yesterday. Mowat a Vernon product was cut last week by the WHL Kamloops Blazers looked very impressive in his debut. Not the biggest kid but for 17 years old played a solid game on the Vernon blueline. I thought Mowat was the Vipers best d-man. This kid can skate, likes to jump up into the play at times, laid out a few checks tonight. Overall played a pretty good game in a tough loss.
Dylan Walchuk (2 goals & 1 assist) Has been one of if not the Vipers best player this season. Another strong game from the secon year Viper. Walchuk played very well at both ends of the rink, showed alot of hustle tonight, was skating hard and going to the net. Put on some nice moves through out tonights contest.
Darren Nowick played a great 1st period looking very good but as the game went on I didnt really notice him as much.
Kyle Murphy (1 assist) I thought Kyle played a good game up front for the Vipers. A good skater showed some good hustle tonight.
Top Players: (Merritt)
The line of Max Vallis (2 assists), Jeff Jones (1 goal & 1 assist) & Dustin Johnson (2 goals & 1 assist) was by far the Centennials best players on the ice. This line was very dangerous all game. Anytime this line was near the puck they created chances and scored some real nice goals. Max Vallis had some good chances, really read the ice well, always seemed to know where his linemates were at all times. Jeff Jones, I was sad to see this kid get cut from the Vipers training camp last year. Very quick, good skater, and stick handler, quick shot. This kid can score goals. What can you say about Dustin Johnson scored a PP goal and a goal on the penalty shot. Johnson looked very strong tonight.
Regan Soquila (1 goal) Played a pretty good game up front for Merritt. Was involved in a few plays.
Jeff Zmurchyk (Scored the ot winning goal) Played a very solid game on the Cents backend. Played his position very well, & skates well. Was the Cents best d-man tonight.
Tyler Steel (30 saves) It was the battle of the former Viper backsups tonight. Tyler Steel and Bryton Udy were the final two left battling it out for the Vipers backup job this summer, as you know Udy won while Steel who is from Vernon joined the Cents just a few days later. You can bet both were pumed for tonights game and maybe even a little nervous. Tyler Steel must have felt extra thrilled when he saw Jeff Zmurchyks shot go past Udy. I thought Steel played very well, didnt have to stand on his head or make any real huge saves but made the saves when needed and helped pick up the win.
Kameran Crawford also had a good game on the Centennials blueline.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
I dont think this was Vernons best game. The team just didnt look sharp through out tonights game. It didnt help the puck was all over the ice, taking some funny bounces, hoping of players sticks etc. Vernon had troubles in their own end most of the night. The Vipers didnt win alot of draws after looking very good over the weekend. Several passes were off, guys out of position etc. This just wasnt the Vipers night. Give the guys credit they battled back to tie the game twice, once in the 2nd and then late in the 3rd. Had alot of shots, but also missed alot of shots, especially from in close. The Vipers also have to remember no matter who they are playing, everyone wants to try and knock off the defending National Champions. Alot of scouts at tonights game. Very very small crowd on hand tonight, pretty sad. The Vipers now head out on a four game road trip starting Friday in Prince George.
Game Thoughts: (Merritt)
Before tonights game, The Cents were 7-36-0-2 in the last six seasons against Vernon & on a 21 game winless skid (0-20-0-1) against the Vipers. The last time Merritt defeated Vernon was on January 14, 2007 by a final score of 3-2 Wade MacLeod scored the winner while Casey Fratkin and Tyler Halliday also scored for the Centennials. Nick Stermer, Mike Naito, Nick Kang, Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Jason Wright and Cody Butcher each had an assist in the win. Brad McInnis made 45 saves in goal for the Cents.
Is it just me or does it seem like everytime Merritt comes to town they somehow make the game very boring, and slow things down. Well they sure did that tonight. Give Merritt full credit for coming into Vernon and stealing 2 pts with a huge double ot win for the teams first win of the season. This was the Cents second game of a current five game road trip. This will give the team a big boost for the remainder of the treck. The Centennials have a very big hockey club but dont really use their size to their advantage. Merritt does how ever win alot of battles and force alot of turnovers with a very aggresive forecheck. The Centennials may play a very boring style of game but got the job done even if they went to overtime. I thought Merritt worked hard and didnt give the Vipers alot of room to use their speed tonight. They didnt record alot of shots on goal but seemed to score on their chances. I was very impressed with the powerplay, as they went 3-4. Dont forget Merritt has five former Vipers on their team. David Sabey, Jeff Jones and Tyler Steel all who were cut from the Vipers training camp (last year and this year) & Steve Tresierra & head coach-gm Luke Pierce who both played in Vernon, so you knew these players and Luke Pierce would want some revenge and knock off their former team.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Malcolm Lyles (Injured)
Patrick McGillis
Gus Correale
Adam Thompson (Injured)
Merritt:
Reece Wilcox
Alex McMillan
Justin Lachance
Evan Stack
3 Stars:
1st Star: Dustin Johnson (2 goals & 1 assist)
2nd Star: Dylan Walchuk (2 goals & 1 assist)
3rd Star: Jeff Jones (1 goal & 1 assist)
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