Merritt at Trail Game Day

It's Fan Appreciation Night at the Cominco Arena. $3 tickets and drinks, lots of prizes and a whole lot of stuff happening. We'll conclude the Ferraro Foods $25,000 Shoot Out and one fan will have a chance at all that money. Ultimately what really matters is that the Smoke Eaters need a victory tonight. After seven straight losses this game gives Trail an opportunity to get out of their funk and start getting their confidence back. However, if they take Merritt lightly or start pressing too hard and making mistakes, this game could turn into a disaster.

It's easy to look at the season series and the overall records and think Trail will destroy Merritt. However, since the new year their records are actually quite similar. Trail is 3-13-0-1 Merritt actually has more wins at 4-14-0-1. I should note that the Cents have had a much easier schedule with all four of those wins against one of Prince George or Merritt. That being said, Merritt has been tougher to play against after the trade deadilne. Their roster is full of guys who are fighting for their place in the league, work hard and have absolutely nothing to lose.

By the way if you want some more information on Merrit check out Brian's Making Cents blog for a summary of their year end awards.

Here's how the season series breaks down...

Sept 12: Trail 4 at Merritt 3
Sept 21: Trail 8 at Merritt 2
Oct 8: Merritt 4 at Trail 5
Oct 9: Merritt 2 at Trail 8
Nov 18: Merritt 2 at Trail 7
Jan 4: Trail 9 at Merritt 1

Trail has dominated this series. There have been a couple of close games, but for the most part the Smoke Eaters have had their way with the Cents. The times that Merritt has had some success against Trail are when the Smokies get impatient and try to press for goals. The Cents generally have played a simple defensive game to try and keep the score down and capitalize on mistakes. Whenever Trail has matched that with their own smart, simple play they have used what is honestly superior talent to take over the games. However, there is a risk that a team in the midst of a long losing streak could get caught pressing for goals and start making mistakes. That would play right into Merritt's hands and put Trail in a potentially dangerous situation.

Play their game and the Smokies should get the W.

POWER PLAY

Trail: 10/27 (37.04%)
Merritt: 1/21 (4.76%)

TOP SCORERS

1. F Ryan Bulach (TRA) 7-6-13
1. F JF Boisvert (TRA) 5-8-13
3. D Steve Koshey (TRA) 2-8-10
4. F Paul Mailey (TRA) 3-4-7
4. F Nick Sandor (TRA) 3-4-7
6. D Danny DeKeyser (TRA) 2-4-6
7. F Paul Forster (MER) 3-2-5
7. F Colton Sobchak (MER) 2-3-5
7. F Travis St. Denis (TRA) 2-3-5
7. F Jadon Porterfield (TRA) 1-4-5

GOALTENDERS

1. Marco Raimondo (TRA) 3-0, 2.00GAA, 0. 948%
2. Paul Barclay (TRA) 3-0, 2.67GAA, 0.873%
3. Harrison May (MER) 0-4, 6.34GAA, 0.841%
4. Kyle Nielsen (MER) 0-1, 8.23GAA, 0.771%

LINE UP

TRAIL

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MERRITT

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BROADCAST

Thre is no home radio broadcast, but the game is available on BCHL PPV with the my broadcast and in the BCHL Fanzone with both home and road feeds.