Photo Credit: Tami Quan Photography
October 19th, 2019
WEST KELOWNA B.C. – The Merritt Centennials early start was enough to defeat the West Kelowna Warriors by a score of 5-2 Saturday night.
It was a rough first period for the Warriors, first a forced turnover allowed the Cents to move the puck all over the attacking zone giving Payton Matsui an open net making it 1-0 just over five minutes in. The Warriors would answer right back with Trevor Adams firing a wrist shot through traffic beating Tanner Marshall to tie it up. From there the Warriors would take over and pressure the Centennials zone for the next five minutes thereafter, but the Cents would find an opening. After a great save by Centennials goalie and Kelowna native Tanner Marshall, the Cents would then go on a 2 on 1 allowing Daneel Tkac to find an open Brett Roloson to regain the lead for the Centennials. Then a turnover created after Declan Douthart was hit from behind would allow Brett Roloson to find an open Rylan Van Unen to extend the lead and make it 3-1 after the first.
The Warriors would have a solid second period but couldn’t solve Tanner Marshall. Then another bounce went the Centennials way, a turnover in the neutral zone allowed Josh Van Unen to find Thomas Manty to extend the lead to 4-1 after the second.
Warriors needed a major push in the third down by three goals. It started with a Warriors power play with 15 minutes remaining. After some solid puck movement from the second unit, Nick Ardanaz would shoot the puck through a screen cutting the lead making it 4-2. The tally would be the first BCHL goal for Ardanaz. Down by two the Warriors would continue to pressure but Tanner Marshall stood tall making a couple goal saving stops. The Centennials would add an insurance tally late to make it 5-2 which would eventually be the final.
Final shots on goal: 39-34 Centennials
Three Stars:
- MER Brett Roloson (1G-1A)
- WKW Nick Ardanaz (1G-1A)
- MER Tanner Marshall (32 Saves)
Fortis Energy Player of the Game:
WKW F Brandon Dent
The Warriors next game is Wednesday, October 23rd versus the Wenatchee Wild. Puck drop 6:00pm from the Town Toyota Centre in Wenatchee. This game will be streamed on Hockey TV and will be broadcast on the Warriors radio network on Mixlr.
