Selkirk College closed out its 2012 schedule on Saturday night with a bang, tying the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League record for the longest regular season win streak at 12 games by defeating the University of Victoria Vikings by a 6-1 score at the Castlegar Recreation Complex.
The Saints’ offence came alive in the second period after Beau Taylor and Mark Prest had traded goals in a tight opening 20 minutes. Nick Cecconi started the rally, putting Selkirk ahead 2:16 into the frame when he banged home a loose puck from the side of the crease off a Matt Luongo feed. Connor McLaughlin tipped home a Justin Sotkowy point shot on the power-play midway through the period to extend the lead to two, and former Smoke Eater Logan Proulx added another just 1:23 later off a nice set-up from linemate Jackson Garrett.
Thomas Hardy, in his first game back from injury, and Mason Spear capped the scoring in the third period.
“We came out of the gates a little slow tonight but the guys found their legs in the second period and really dictated the speed and tempo of the game from there,” says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois. “It was good to close out the first half of our schedule with a complete team effort -- we got goals from all four of our forward lines and solid performances on the blueline and in goal.”
With the win, the Saints tied the BCIHL record for the longest regular season winning streak originally set by UVic during the 2007-08 season. They’ll have to wait for the opportunity to set a new record, though, as the team now breaks for college exams and holidays before returning to the ice on Jan. 12 against Simon Fraser University.
“As a group, coming into the season we knew we had all the ingredients to be a contending team,” says Dubois.