Skip to content

Smokies, Saints set for preseason schedule

It will be a first for the Selkirk College Saints and the Trail Smoke Eaters as they get set to play an exhibition matchup on Aug. 27.

It will be a first for the Selkirk College Saints and the Trail Smoke Eaters as they get set to play an exhibition matchup in pre-season action on Aug. 27.

The Smokies and Saints released its 2013/14 preseason schedule, with their first ever match kicking it off at the Cominco Arena. The Smokies then follow that with games in Penticton versus the Vees on Aug. 28 and in Merritt against the Centennials Aug. 30.

“It will give us a chance to look at some kids for sure,” said Smokies coach Bill Birks. “They (the Saints) will all be over 20 I would think, so there’ll be a lot of older kids, but it’ll be a good test for us.”

The Saints meanwhile enjoy an eight-game preseason against teams from the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League, Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, and the Smokies.

“Our players and staff are very excited for the game against the Smoke Eaters and the opportunity to hopefully work towards making this game an annual event,” says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois. “We also have a pair of ex-Smokies (Logan Proulx and Darnell Dyck) who I know are looking forward to a fun and competitive game against their old team.”

Selkirk will play its first home games of the preseason two weeks later when they host ACAC’s  Keyano College from Fort McMurray on Sept. 13,  at 8 p.m. at the Nelson Rec Complex and Sept. 14 at 4 p.m. at the Castlegar Rec Complex.

The Saints travel to Edmonton Sept. 20th for a game against Concordia University before meeting the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and MacEwan University on Saturday and Sunday respectively. The NAIT match-up will be much-anticipated on both sides, as it will be a meeting of the 2013 ACAC and BCIHL league champions.

It will also see the Saints face off against last season’s team captain and Christina Lake native, Jordan Wood, who has moved on to complete his Business degree while competing for the Ooks.

Selkirk will face Trinity Western University in its final preseason games on  Sept. 27  in Nelson and Sept. 28 in Castlegar both at 7:30 p.m.

The Saints’ 2013/14 regular season schedule will be released in the coming days. For more information about the team, visit GoSaints.ca.