UPDATED: Saints stumble on the road, drop games to SFU and TRU
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The Selkirk College Saints found out what life was like on the road in the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League.
And it wasn’t the greatest feeling.
The Saints dropped two straight games 5-2 to Thompson Rivers and 5-3 to Simon Fraser University to fall into a three-way tie for top spot in the BCIHL standings.
Selkirk is tied in points with 4-0 SFU and 4-1 Trinity Western.
“The effort on Friday night in Kamloops was the poorest I’ve seen since
I’ve been here,” said Saints head coach Jeff Dubois in a team media release.
“The complacency and lack of focus were glaring, and to their credit TRU took full advantage of the chances they created.
“But for our part, it was an unacceptable performance in every aspect, which was surprising because we’ve done a good job avoiding these types of efforts in the past.”
On Saturday, the Saints rebounded with a solid effort but nevertheless dropped the decision to Simon Fraser University in their first meeting since Selkirk captured the 2013 BCIHL Championship in March.
Connor McLaughlin opened the scoring midway through the first period but left the game soon after when an SFU player’s skate cut him on the neck following a collision along the board. McLaughlin was taken to hospital for treatment but was able to rejoin the team for the trip home to Castlegar.
“Connor’s injury was a scary moment,” Dubois confessed. “He was able to make it off the ice, but once we saw the cut on the bench it was obvious that he was very lucky for it not to have been more serious.”
The Clan scored three times in the opening seven minutes of the game en route to a win Saturday in Burnaby.
Jono Ceci led the Clan with a pair of goals.
Jason Garrett and Darnel Dyck replied for the Saints.
Jamies Priglone made 20 saves to take the loss in the nets for Selkirk.
Friday in Kamloops, a goal by Tyler Jackson with two minutes remaining in the second proved to be the winner as the WolfPack made up for two losses the previous week in Castlegar.
Selkirk had outscored TRU 13-3 in during a two-game series in the Sunflower City.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first, Logan Proulx and Colin Minardi tied the game for the Saints.
However, the defending BCIHL champs had no answer for the WolfPack after Jackson regained the lead for the homeside.
Jackson Garrett score the final goal for Selkirk.
Chris Hurry was in goal to take the loss for the Saints, out shot 42-30 by TRU.
The Saints return to action Saturday at home against Trinity Western.
SAINTS NOTES: Selkirk captain Logan Proulx extended his point streak to
six games over the weekend, picking up a goal on Friday in Kamloops and
a pair of assists on Saturday in Burnaby. Proulx is the only Saints
player to have picked up points in all six games so far this season. . . .Winger Jackson Garrett missed Friday’s game after breaking a skate blade
in warm-up. Dubois described Garrett’s absence as a big loss: “Jackson
has been one of our most hard-working, competitive guys so far this
season and we really missed his presence. He’s developed into an
emotional leader for us.” . . . Former Ontario Hockey League defenceman David Mead is close to returning from a knee injury suffered in the team’s exhibition opener against the Trail Smoke Eaters on August 27th. Mead is likely to return to the line-up in one of the team’s three upcoming games against Trinity Western.
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