I was at tonight's BCHL game after a 4-4 tie between Merritt and Vernon in front of 1,619 fans at the Wesbild Centre.
Starting Goaltenders:
Vernon: Kirby Halcrow
Merritt: Lino Chimienti
1st Period: Regan Soquila just a minute into the hockey game with a chance in close just missed the far corner as his shot went through the crease on a good opening rush by the Centennials. John Knisley a few minutes later with a chance cut towards the net before being stopped by Lino Chimienti
the puck would pop loose with a mad scramble in front of Chimienti the puck was bouncing around before Billy Marshall come across the front of the goal making a huge block saving the Cents from an early goal before finally Chimienti would cover the puck to stop the play on a wild scramble inside the Merritt zone. On the next play Aaron Hadley would be stopped by Chimienti who was keeping the Centennials in the hockey game early as Vernon was outshooting Merritt 5-0. The Cents would get the games first powerplay with some good pressure Merritt moved the puck around but it was the Vipers penalty killers who were doing a good job at keeping the Cents to the outside killing off some valuable time off the clock. The Centennials would get two late shots on the man advantage but were unable to capitalize. It took the Cents almost seven minutes to record their first shot on Kirby Halcrow. Just after the powerplay Merritt seemed to gain a little momentum and slowly started to come on just before the midway mark. The Cents really moving the puck well were really skating hard. Regan Soquila with a nice heads up pass fed Chad Bears who turned on the jets going in on the parcial breakaway beating Kirby Halcrow at 10:08 giving Merritt a 1-0 lead. The Centennials kept coming getting some pressure deep inside the Vernon zone, a quick wrap around from in close just about put Merritt up 2-0 but Kirby Halcrow was sharp making the save. Chad Bears would burst down the wing getting a close shot on Haclrow who made the save but Marc Hetnik who come in towards the net hard either lost an edge or bumped into Halcrow before falling and sliding into the net taking the puck with him putting Merritt up 2-0 on a lucky goal at 13:52 Bears was rewarded with the unassisted goal. This was a bad break for the Vipers who now down two goals couldnt recover. Vernon who was outshooting Merritt 6-2 at one point was now being outshot 7-6 as the Cents took control of this game and in a hurry. The Centennials would get their second powerplay of the night in the final minute of play, as the Cents would carry the remainder of the powerplay into the 2nd period. The Vipers got off to a good start before Merritt slowly got their game going and carried the better of the play in the opening period. The Cents with a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play. Merritt outshot Vernon 10-9.
2nd Period: Just thirty seven seconds into the middle frame Vernon would go down two men giving the Cents an early two man advantage. A strong penalty kill by Vernon would kill off the first penalty before Merritt would get their first penalty of the night sending both teams to a little four on four action before the Vipers would get a late powerplay but couldnt capitalize. Lino Chimienti who seemed to be knocking his net off on several occasions caused several stopages in play. Not alot of action over the next few minutes with neither team really pressing. A little emotion boiled over through out tonights game as some pushing and shoving took place after several whistles with both teams trying to get a glove in the face on the other team. Mike Zalewski would feed Darren Nowick for his first of the night at 10:08 cutting the Merritt lead to a goal as a small delay in the game would take place with the Vipers annual teddy bear toss. Zalewski and Max Mowat would collect the helpers. The Cents would come right back shortly after a quick shot from the point was tipped in front by Chad Bears who was stopped by Halcrow on a great chance for Merritt to re-gain their two goal lead. Some more action after the whistle as more pushing and shoving as tempers heated up as the game went along. Vernon would get their first full powerplay of the night and Darren Nowick with a great chance down low saw shot shot go through the crease, as Merritt would kill off the minor. A minute after the powerplay Darren Nowick would setup Adam Tambellini in front who beat Lino Chimienti fivehole as Vernon would tie the game 2-2 at 18:08 with Nowick and Brett Corkey picking up the assists. Not a whole lot of scoring chances in the second period with the Vipers turning over the puck on several occasions. The Centennials would get a late man advantage wich would carry over into the 3rd. Not alot of action at both ends of the rink with some scrambly play at times saw a 2-2 tie after 40 minutes of play. Vernon outshot Merritt 11-10.
3rd Period: The Cents would start the 3rd with a short powerplay that was carried over from the end of the 2nd period. Merritt setup early before ripping two hard shots from the point but missed the goal, Kirby Halcrow then had to make a quick glove save from in close as Vernon killed off the minor. Just after the powerplay Evan Stack with a quick shot from the slot just missed the far corner. Sean Maktaak then with a nice pass setup Dustin Lebrun in front who went upstairs over Halcrow giving Merritt a 3-2 lead at 1:53 with Maktaak picking up the lone assist. Just over two minutes later on wich looked like a broken play Aaron Hadley went through two Merritt defenders, somehow the puck landed on the stick of Darren Nowick who tied the game 3-3 at 4:04 with Mike Zalewski and Aaron Hadley collecting the assists. Adam Tambellini and Lino Chimienti would hit the ice as Tambellini was mixing it up with the Cents goaltender as Merritt would get a powerplay out of the mini scrum. But off the faceoff Ryan Renz fed Mike Zalewski who setup Darren Nowick on a two on one who beat Lino Chimienti shorthanded at 4:31 giving Vernon their first lead of the night. On the play Nowick went hard into the end boards before getting up slowly. Nowick seemed to be fine as he stayed in the game. A strong penalty kill by the Vipers would kill off the minor. Just over a minute later Vernon would get a powerplay but unable to capitalize the Centennials would kill off the minor. Vernon who played very well for most of the third seemed to carry the play at times and was really moving the puck well at times. The Vipers creating some chances were forcing Chimienti to make some good saves. Merritt would get another man advantage just past the midway mark but it was Darren Nowick who shorthanded tried stuffing his shot fivehole on Chimienti who made a nice save. Brett Corkey who played very well come up with a huge shot block before leaving the ice slowly but stayed in the game. Vernon with another strong penalty kill would kill off the minor. Merritt who didnt get alot of scoring opportunites come the third period would tie the game late after Brandon Bruce stepped over the Vernon blueline before dishing off to Sean Maktaak who put a soft goal past Halcrow at 18:07 forcing overtime. Bruce with the lone assist on the goal. The Vipers were the better of the two teams in the 3rd heading to their third overtime in the last four games. Merritt outshot Vernon 12-9.
Overtime: Brett Corkey with a nice rush two and a half minutes into the extra frame would get the lone chance of the period coming very close to winning it but Lino Chimienti made a big save keeping the game tied. Both teams went back and forth at times but the Vipers seemed to have a bit of an edge in ot outshooting the Centennials 4-0. Merritt would get late powerplay after Jedd Soleway was tossed from the game for checking from behind. The Vipers would kill off the last few remaining seconds forcing a second overtime period. Vernon outshot Merritt 4-0.
Double Overtime: A strong penalty kill by the Vipers didnt allow Merritt to generate any real chances until a quick shot from the corner late on the man advantage was stopped by Halcrow who kicked out a huge rebound to a wide open Sean Maktaak but the puck bounced over his stick on wich would have been an easy tap in goal. Mike Zalewski would get a breakaway in close but couldnt beat Lino Chimienti who stayed with the Vipers assistant captain making a huge save in overtime. Kirby Halcrow had to make two pretty good saves at the other end before the dying seconds a win by Vernon deep in the Cents zone allowed Zalewski with another breakaway from in close but again Lino Chimienti stayed with the Vipers sniper making his second biggest save of overtime. The Vipers with two great chances couldnt win it ending the game in a 4-4 draw. Merritt outshot Vernon 5-2.
Top Players: (Vernon)
Brett Corkey (1 assist) Played a heck of a game on the Vernon backend. Corkey looked very strong and very confident tonight rushing-moving the puck on several occasions.
Riley Hunt played with alot of energy and worked hard all night. Hunt who played very well in the Vipers 3-2 loss in Penticton Wednesday didnt see alot of icetime late in the game or overtime tonight.
Darren Nowick (3 goals & 1 assist) Along with Brett Corkey were the two best Vipers tonight. Nowick who was really skating seemed to have alot of puck luck tonight.
Game Thoughts: (Vernon)
The Vipers who battled and competed hard tonight were 1:53 away from snapping their seven game losing streak. Vernon who is now winless in eight straight games played well at times but also struggled a little at times. Vernon's penalty kill was very good tonight killing off all seven Merritt powerplays. After a good start the Vipers fell behind 2-0 and then were outplayed for the remainder of the opening period. Give Vernon credit they battled back in the 2nd scoring twice to tie the game in a period with not alot of scoring chances with both teams turning over the puck in a very emotional game. I thought the 3rd was the Vipers best period, after a big penalty kill they give up an early goal to start the period but again battle back to tie the game and then take their first lead of the night scoring shorthanded. The Vipers really skated and battled hard for most of the 3rd come up with some chances and didnt back down from the after the whistle activities. Some great chances in overtime couldnt get the win but overall a pretty good game. The Vipers with still four regulars out of the lineup used three "AP" tonight. This team has really been hit by the injury bug this year and just cant seem to ice a full roster.
Top Players: (Merritt)
Billy Marshall played very well on the Cents blueline.
Evan Stack (1 assist) Carried the puck lots, was a threat at times especially in the 3rd coming up with a few chances.
Sean Maktaak (1 goal & 1 assist) also played very well up front for Merritt.
Chad Bears (2 goals) Was the Centennials best player this evening, didnt stand out as much in the 3rd and overtime periods but was all over the ice in the first two periods. Had several good chances in the first two periods.
Dustin Lebrun (1 goal) Also played well up front for the Cents. Carried the puck often and was a threat with the puck.
Brandon Pfeil played well on the backend, played phsyical.
Lino Chimienti (31 saves) Dindt see alot of action but was forced to making some pretty big saves, especially the three in both overtimes. Played his position well and didnt give out alot of rebounds.
Game Thoughts: (Merritt)
Former Vernon Viper Luke Pierce has his club playing some very good hockey this year. I was fairly impressed with the Centennials, they have some good size, move the puck well and play well defensively. Alot of emotion in a game where both teams havnt played each other since early October, it will be interesting to see what happens with the re-match in Merritt. Merritt who went 0-7 with the man advantage needs some work on the powerplay, the Cents could have burried the Vipers on specialty teams.
Scratches:
Vernon:
Peter McMullen (Injured)
Patrick McGillis (Injured)
Luke Juha (Injured)
Colton Sparrow (Injured)
Merritt:
Tyler Martin
Vipers energy player of the game: John Knisley
3 Stars:
1st Star: Darren Nowick (3 goals & 1 assist)
2nd Star: Mike Zalewski (2 assists)
3rd Star: Chad Bears (2 goals)
For more on tonight's game please visit the boxscore,
http://www.bchl.ca/leagues/hockey_boxscores.cfm?clientID=1413&leagueID=2393&gameID=977547&link=bchl
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