A game that started so promisingly for goalie Cam Gorchynski and the Westside Warriors went sideways in the second half as the Merritt Centennials claimed a 4-3 victory in BCHL action Wednesday night.
Jordan Soquila pounced on an ill-advised clearance by Gorchynski and shot the puck past the netminder to give Merritt a 4-2 lead midway through the third. Colton Sissons scored for the Westside with seven minutes remaining but the Warriors could not get the tying goal.
The Centennials scored the only three goals of the second period, the backbreaker for the Warriors coming with less than a second remaining in the frame. An offside with five seconds remaining at the Merritt blueline was deemed intentional, so Warriors coach Darren Yopyk sent his best faceoff man, Alex Grieve, to take the draw in the Westside zone.
Grieve won the draw behind him to the end boards, but Dustin Johnson got there first and shoveled the puck out front where defenceman Matt Mazzarolo jammed it past Gorchynski, giving Merritt a 3-2 lead after two periods. Johnson and Alexander MacMillan also scored for Merritt in the second period.
Kyle Singleton scored the only two goals of the first period, both on the power play and both from in close as the Warriors crashed the net after point shots. Bret Mulcahey, a 16-year-old from Kelowna called up from the Okanagan Rockets major midget team, earned an assist on Singleton’s second goal. Mulcahey is the top point man with the Rockets this season (18 points in 12 games).
The Warriors played Wednesday without leading scorers Cam Reid, Grayson Downing (both at the World Junior A Challenge), Trevor Bailey (injured), Isaak Berglund (injured) and Michael Quinn (injured). The Centennials played without seven regulars due to illness and injury, including both of their regular goalies. Riley Wall, a call-up from the Junior B Chase Chiefs, stopped 42 Warriors shots. Gorchynski stopped 37 Merritt shots.
Westside missed an opportunity to move into a tie for third place in the BCHL's Interior Conference. The Warriors (12-8-0-0) trail Salmon Arm by two points for third, but have two games in hand. The Centennials improved to 7-13-0-1, good for sixth in the conference.
The Warriors host the Burnaby Express Friday at Royal LePage Place, a 7 p.m. start. The same two teams play Saturday in Burnaby.
