The Selkirk College Saints Men’s
Hockey program will face their toughest test of the young season this
weekend when they put their unbeaten record on the line with road games
at Thompson Rivers University (Kamloops, B.C., 8:30 PM) on Friday and
Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, B.C., 7:00 PM) on Saturday.
The Saints will look to build on their strong play of late, which
resulted in four wins and a goal differential of + 31 (35 goals scored,
4 allowed) during their recently completed four-game homestand.
But the squad is expecting to find points tough to come by in two of the
B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League’s toughest road venues. SFU has
posted a league-best 36 wins in 39 games on home ice over the past three
seasons while TRU follows close behind with 31 home wins in 38
opportunities. Overall, the Saints’ weekend opponents have lost just
four games combined on home ice since 2008.
“There’s no question that this weekend presents us with the biggest
challenge we’ve faced as a group,” says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois.
“We had some good success against TRU at home two weeks ago but
everyone in our league knows they’re a team that performs their best at
home. They’ve got a tough, rugged team and games on the smaller ice at
Kamloops Memorial Arena are never fun or easy.”
“SFU has lost a single game at home in three seasons so it’s clear that
you won’t win in their rink unless everyone is on the same page and
playing hard, mistake-free hockey. Factor that in with the travel
between games, which isn’t ideal, and it’s going to be a physical and
mental test for us. But that’s a good thing – you want to face these
types of challenges and see how you respond under tough circumstances.”
The Saints outlook for a successful weekend will improve dramatically if
they can sustain their red-hot offensive attack, which has accounted for
29 goals in three games and resulted in eight players factoring in the
Top-10 in league scoring. Jordan Wood leads all BCIHL skaters in goals
and points with 8 and 14 respectively, while forwards Logan Proulx, Cody
Fidgett, Thomas Hardy, Scott Swiston and Connor McLaughlin and
blueliners Dylan Smith and Kam Crawford fill out the list along with SFU
forwards Chris Hoe and Ben Van Lare.
SAINTS NOTES: Both games this weekend will be webcast on
Forward Connor McLaughlin received an Honourable Mention for BCIHL
Player of the Week on Monday following his three-goal, five-point
performance against the University of Victoria on the weekend.
McLaughlin is the fourth Saints player in as many weeks to receive POW
recognition, as defenceman Lucas Hildebrand and forward Logan Proulx
were tagged with Honourable Mentions in weeks 1 and 2 while blueliner
Dylan Smith took home the award last week.
The Saints next home game is Saturday, November 24th against Eastern
Washington University. The match-up will be the first of the regular
season between Selkirk and their closest geographic rival.