The Selkirk College Saints opened the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) regular season at home with a three-point weekend against the Simon Fraser University Clan.
With a balanced four-line attack, the Saints gave hockey fans plenty to cheer about at the Castlegar and District Recreation Centre on Friday night scoring seven unanswered goals and claiming a 7-1 victory over their visitors from Burnaby.
Newcomers played a starring role in the win as former Beaver Valley Nitehawks forward Dylan Heppler scored twice and added two assists, former Castlegar Rebels forward Edward Lindsey chipped in with a goal and three assists, and goaltender Tallon Kramer was terrific between the pipes stopping 39 saves.
Singles went to Nolan Percival, Josh Slanina, Kadrian Klimchuk and Parker Wakaruk. The Clan didn’t get on the board until just over five minutes remaining in the game.
In the rematch on Saturday night, the Saints looked poised to skate to another lopsided victory building a 4-1 lead late into the second period with goals from Tyler Hartman, Logan Styler, Jackson Bruce-Fuoco and Chris Breese. Saints starter Patrick Zubick was solid in goal turning away a strong Clan attack throughout the middle frame.
Late in the second period, Nicholas Holowko scored for Simon Fraser and then two more goals in the third period tied the score. Early in the overtime period, Eric Callegari notched the game winner when he beat Zubick, who faced 49 shots in the game. The Clan escaped back to the Lower Mainland with the 5-4 win.
Selkirk College now hits the road for four games in October where they will get a look at the three other BCIHL teams — University of Victoria, Vancouver Island University and Trinity Western University. The team returns home on the Nov. 2 and 3 weekend for a two-game set against the University of Victoria in Castlegar.