Season Series
October 7th: Merritt 1 at Penticton 5
October 8th: Penticton 4 at Merritt 3 (OT)
October 21st: Penticton 4 at Merritt 2
November 19th: Merritt 2 at Penticton 3 (OT)
December 30th: Merritt 2 at Penticton 4
January 13th: Penticton 2 at Merritt 3
February 1st: Penticton 4 at Merritt 2
Playoff Schedule
GM 1: Merritt 1 at Penticton 4
GM 2: Merritt 1 at Penticton 4
GM 3: Penticton 1 at Merritt 5
GM 4: Penticton 2 at Merritt 1 (OT)
*GM 5: March 23rd at SOEC, 7 pm
*GM 6: March 25th at Merritt, 7 pm
*GM 7: March 27th at SOEC, 7 pm
* If necessary
The Penticton Vees have a chance eliminate the Merritt Centennials in Game Five of their Interior Division Semi-Final tonight at the SOEC; the Vees currently lead the best-of-seven series 3-1.
Penticton put themselves in the driver’s seat after a 2-1 overtime win in Game Four Tuesday back in Merritt. Captain Nicholas Jones scored his second goal of the game, 4:25 in OT, as the Vees split the two games at Nicola Valley Memoria Arena. Jones opened the scoring, 9:42 into the first period, to give the Vees a 1-0 lead, which held up late into the second period, before Merritt’s Tyler Ward tied it short-handed.
Penticton’s penalty-kill was excellent in Game Four, as they killed-off seven Merritt power-plays, including a late man-advantage in the third period with four and a half minutes left in a 1-1 tie.
President, General Manager and Head Coach Fred Harbinson knows tonight’s won’t be a guarantee, “It’s not easy to win in this league,” said Harbinson. “And it’s really hard really hard to get that fourth win in a playoff series. We’re just trying to get to four. If for some reason we come up short (tonight), we’ll go back to their building where we’ve won already this season. The guys are feeling pretty good right now.”
The Vees likely won’t make any changes to their line-up ahead of Game Five, meaning Mat Robson will start in between the pipes. Robson is 3-1, owning a 1.73 goals-against average and sports a .935 save percentage. Merritt’s Jake Berger has been as been equally as impressive in the last two games, and in this series has a 2.46 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage.
Jones leads the Vees in playoff scoring in both goals (3) and points (6). Behind him is Chris Klack (1-4-5), Gabe Bast (2-1-3) and Duncan Campbell (1-2-3). The Vees’ line of Campbell, Jones and Klack have accounted for five goals and 14 points in this series.
Merritt has been led by Tyler Ward who has goals in back-to-back games and four points in this series. 20-year-old Stephan Seeger also has a pair of goals and four points through four games. Merritt will likely want more from their top line, as Ward’s line-mates, Michael Regush and Brett Jewell, have just one goal between them.
One line the Vees will want more out of is the trio of Ty Amonte, Grant Cruikshank and Owen Sillinger. In the regular season, that lined combined for 66 goals but so far in this series they have just one goal between them and that was into an empty-net.
Good starts have been critical in this series, as neither side has come back to win after surrendering the opening goal. The Vees are 3-0-0 when scoring first in this series and the Centennials are 5-0-0 in the playoffs; Merritt has not won yet when giving up the first goal. Speaking of starts, the Vees have outscored the Centennials 4-1 in the first period of this series.
Vees’ Playoff Scoring:
| Nicholas Jones | 3-3-6 |
| Chris Klack | 1-3-4 |
| Gabe Bast | 2-1-3 |
| Duncan Campbell | 1-2-3 |
| Jamie Armstrong | 1-1-2 |
Centennials’ Playoff Scoring:
| Tyler Ward | 9-5-14 |
| Stephan Seeger | 4-5-9 |
| Michael Regush | 3-4-7 |
| Brett Jewell | 3-3-6 |
| Mike Faulkner | 1-5-6 |
If there is a Game Six, it will be tomorrow March 24th, back in Merritt at Nicola Valley Memorial Arena; face-off is scheduled for 7 pm. In the other Interior Division Semi-Final, the Vernon Vipers host the Trail Smoke Eaters at 7 pm tonight and also have a chance to closeout that series in five games. The Chilliwack Chiefs swept the Wenatchee Wild in the Mainland Division Final Wednesday. Powell River and Victoria play Game Five of their series tonight in Victoria; they’ve split the first four games.
