Saints face Spartans Friday in home opener at Castlegar Complex
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Two up and two down.
After struggling through most of last season the Selkirk Saints is the early surprise in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League.
The Saints look to make it three-for-three Friday at the Castlegar Rec Complex Arena when the squad hosts Trinity Western University Spartains at 7:30 p.m.
“TWU is a hard-working, defensively strong team who will come out hungry on Friday night as they go after their first win,” said Saints head
coach Jeff Dubois.
“Their 8-6 loss to TRU (last) weekend was uncharacteristic; they tend to be a tough, no-nonsense group that plays the game smart. They’re well-coach by a former NHLer (Dwayne Lowdermilk) and I’m sure they’ll make us work for whatever we get.”
The Saints, completing the exhibition season 3-0, are coming off a pair of dramatic one-goal victories against the defending BCIHL champion, University of Victoria.
Selkirk won the opener 4-3 before capturing the back-end of the series in dramatic fashion, 5-4 in overtime.
Trinity Western, meanwhile, will be looking for their first win of the
season following a pair of home ice defeats to Eastern Washington (by a
3-0 score) and Thompson Rivers (8-6).
The Spartans boast a pair of former BCHL captains in Tyler Miller (Chilliwack) and Brad Bakken (Langley) on their blueline, while forwards Jamie Russell (Miramichi, MHL) and Jamey Kreller (Sicamous, KIJHL) each potted a pair of goals during the team’s opening weekend homestand.
The Saints received contributions from throughout their line-up against
UVic, as no less than nine players put up multiple points during the
weekend.
Their offence was boosted by solid contributions from the back-end, as Dylan Smith and Sandro Moser combined for five points and rookie Lucas Hildebrand fired home the game winner in overtime on Saturday.
“We’ve got a deep group of forwards and we’d like to roll our lines and keep everyone involved, but spending six or eight minutes killing penalties in a period means that certain guys aren’t getting on the ice,” Dubois said.
“We can chalk up the high number of penalties against UVic to having so many guys adjusting to BCIHL officiating, but we need to see a quick improvement in our discipline.”
Tickets for Friday’s game will be available at the door for $8 (Adults)
and $5 (Selkirk students & staff, seniors, children 6 & older).
Season passes will also be available at special rates on Friday night. For more information on Saints single game tickets and passes, visit GoSaints.ca.
SAINTS NOTES: Selkirk defenceman Lucas Hildrebrand was named an Honourable Mention for the BCIHL’s Player of the Week award on Monday after his OT tally two days earlier. He also played a steady, physical game in both of his team’s wins.
