In the Shaw Centre the Silverbacks are 1-1 against the Merritt Centennials. Now it’s time to see what they can do in the smaller confines of the Nicola Valley Arena.
Salmon Arm is coming off a weekend split beating Penticton in a shootout Friday night, and then getting shutout 5-0 in Prince George. Leading the Interior Division, Merritt blew out their opponents this weekend winning a pair of home games 8-4 and 9-1. The Centennials lead the BCHL in scoring with 64 goals, and are well ahead of the competition as the Coquitlam Express sit second with 53 goals. One stat helping the Cents is that they’ve played a league leading 15 games.
Another area Merritt is ranked high in is penalties this season. They are second in the league with 216 only behind the Cowichan Valley Capitals with 275. Not helping that number for Merritt is their penalty kill which is worst in the BCHL at 73.2%.
Saturday in Prince George, Salmon Arm was shutout for the first time this season. Not helping their offence was the fact they had 25 minutes on penalties to kill off. They went 5 for 5 on the kill in the first period, but the Spruce Kings eventually broke through scoring four of their five goals on the man advantage.
Salmon Arm is 3-2 in the last five games while Merritt is 3-1 in their last four. A win for Salmon Arm will tie them with Penticton for 3rd in the Interior and bring them within three points of Merritt in the Division. A win for the home side will extend their Division lead to three points over the Trail Smoke Eaters.
Road play has been a struggle for the Silverbacks this season with a record of just 1-4 away from the Shaw Centre. That lone win came at the BCHL Bauer Showcase against the Victoria Grizzlies. Merritt is 5-2 at home and has averaged over five goals per game with 38 in the seven games this far.
Players to Watch:
Silverbacks – Still hunting for his first point as a Silverback, look for Sam MacBean to make an impact. The big defenseman plays a shutdown role for Salmon Arm, and will need to be at the top of his game tonight against the high powered Cents. Up front, Wyatt Marlow has been looking good for the Silvebacks. He took a few penalties in the game against Prince George, so look for him to respond as he is searching for his first BCHL point.
Centennials – Leading the Cents in points against Salmon Arm, Matthew Kopperud had an assist in the 4-2 loss and in the 5-2 win over Salmon Arm he had one goal and assisted on the game winner. Leading the league in points (22), and third in assists (14) is Bradley Cocca. The Mississauga product is listed at 5’9 but has been a big player for Merritt this season. He was very noticeable in both games already this season against Salmon Arm despite picking up just one goal. He is on a four game point streak and had three points in each of his last two games. When he scores, he scores in bunches as 16 of his 22 points have come in just five games.
TUNE IN
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