The Selkirk College Men’s Hockey program will look to continue their hot start to the 2013-14 season this weekend when they head out on the road for games against Thompson Rivers University on Friday in Kamloops and at Simon Fraser University on Saturday.
The Saints currently sport a 4-0 record after four home-ice victories that have seen the squad outscore opponents by an overall margin of 25-5. Friday’s match-up with the WolfPack will be the third in as many games for both teams, as Selkirk is coming off a weekend series sweep of TRU that included 8-2 and 5-1 victories.
“Thompson Rivers has a skilled group of forwards and in their smaller rink that opens up counterattack opportunities if you let yourself get too concerned about the offensive side of the puck,” says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois. “We had some tough, tight match-ups in their rink last season, so I’m expecting a much different game from what we saw last weekend. We’ll be the team playing off a long bus trip and having to adjust to an unfamiliar facility. It’s never an easy place to grab points.”
The Saints will face off against SFU for the first time since defeating the Clan in the 2013 BCIHL Finals. Selkirk dominated the season series against Simon Fraser last year, winning all four regular season meetings and both playoff encounters.
“SFU has had a heavy roster turnover from last season and based on what I’ve seen they’ve gotten bigger, and tougher, and improved significantly on defence,” says Dubois. “They always have lots of depth and skill up front and you can count on them getting great goaltending from Graeme Gordon, so this will be a good opportunity for both teams to see how we stack up at the top of the league early in the season.”
The Clan is coming off a weekend that saw the team pick up back-to-back shutout victories over the University of Victoria. Up front, linemates Jono Ceci and former Smoke Eater Nick Sandor have already combined to notch 18 points in just three regular season games. Sandor played two seasons with the Smokies, 2008-10, where he racked up 43 goals and 63 assists in 104 games.
Saints winger Connor McLaughlin leads all BCIHL scorers with eight goals and 11 points while Trail’s Logan Proulx is in sixth at 3-4-7.
Cody Fidgett, Beau Taylor and Darnell Dyck also rank in the top-10.