Merritt, BC. – The Wenatchee
Wild battled from behind all night long, tying the game three times, before
dropping a 4-3 contest to the Merritt Centennials at the Nicola Valley Memorial
Arena in Merritt, British Columbia.
Merritt opened the scoring late in the first, as Nick Fiorentino
lit the lamp, assisted by Colin Grannary at 14:55, giving the Centennials a 1-0
lead after one.
Wenatchee would pull into a 1-all tie at 5:47 of the second, as Daniel Nachbaur (Seattle, WA) cut
through the right circle and put a short shot in the goal at the end of a power
play. The tie lasted just a tick under two minutes. Zach Court scored from
Michael Faulkner and Tyler Holz at 7:46, putting Merritt back on top, at 2-1. Kyle Stephan (Barrie, ON) scored for
the Wild from Colin Burston
(Winnipeg, MB) at 8:56, tying the game 2-2. But the Cents would grab the lead
back on a Brett Jewell goal, assisted by Nick Jermain and Henry Cleghorn at
14:33, giving Merritt a 3-2 lead after two.
Wenatchee scored early in the third to tie it for a third time. Mike Coyne (Buffalo, NY) scored from
along the right wing wall, assisted by Stephan and Alex Bates (Highlands Ranch, CO) just 30 seconds into the final
period, tying it 3-3. However, the Centennials’ Jermain scored from Zak Bowles and Court at
16:06. Merritt would hold on from there for the 4-3 win.
The Centennials outshot the Wild 47-28 for the game. Garrett Nieto (Yorba Linda, CA) made 43
stops for Wenatchee, while Merritt’s Cole Kehler had 25 saves for the
Centennials. The Wild went 1-for-2 on the power play and 2-of-3 on the penalty
kill. “Played well, deserved a better outcome.” said Wenatchee Wild Head
Coach/General Manager Bliss Littler. “Looking forward to a great series with
Langley.”
With the loss, Wenatchee finishes the regular season with a 34-16-4-4;
the Centennials finish 23-40-4-1. The Wild opens up the Fred Page Cup Playoffs
on Saturday, March 5th at 7:05pm and Sunday, March 6th at
5:05pm at the Town Toyota Center, against the Langley Rivermen, in a
best-of-seven series.
Battle For The Border
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