Selkirk College took an early lead and held on late to run their season-opening winning streak to eight games, topping previously undefeated Simon Fraser University by a 5-3 score at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre in Burnaby.
The victory was the first-ever against SFU for the Saints hockey program. It also snapped a 25-game home unbeaten streak in BCIHL regular season play for the Clan.
Connor McLaughlin scored a pair of first period goals in helping the visitors establish a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. And the Saints put the foot on the gas in the second, with Jackson Garrett and Jordan Wood scoring 25 seconds apart to extend the lead to five.
But SFU began to battle back on a power-play goal by 2011/12 BCIHL MVP Ben Van Lare, who went on to score twice more in the third period to pull SFU within two. That was as close as the game would get, however, as the Saints bore down late to secure the win.
Netminder Alex Sirard shone for Selkirk in collecting his fifth win of the season, turning aside 39 shots on the night. His teammates chased SFU starter Graeme Gordon midway through he second period. He was replaced by Evan Kurylo, who stopped the nine shots he saw over the remainder of the game.
"We're very pleased to have beaten an excellent team in a rink where it's been as tough as it gets to come away with points," says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois. "The effort we saw tonight from our whole group, top to bottom, is exactly what you need to be successful on a regular basis in our league."
The Saints are next in action on Friday, November 9th when they return to the Lower Mainland to face Trinity Western University.