UPDATED: Saints cruise to weekend sweep of TRU, crush Wolfpack 8-1 Saturday
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Cody Fidgett and Dylan Smith each had three points leading the Sellkirk Saints to an 8-1 thrashing of Thompson Rivers University in B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League Saturday day at the Castlegar Complex.
The win allowed the Saints to post a weekend sweep of the Wolfpack and better its undefeated record to a very respectable 5-0.
Selkirk took the opener of the two-game set 11-0 Friday.
“We knew heading into tonight’s game that TRU would make some adjustments and come out stronger than they had on Friday, and our group did an excellent job of handling some early pressure and dictating the play on their home ice,” said Saints head coach Jeff Dubois.
The Saints took the lead 23 seconds into the encounter on a goal by Dylan Smith.
Kam Crawford made it 2-0 with a power play marker.
Selkirk outscored the Wolfpack 2-1 in the second frame before putting the contest away with a four-spot in the third.
Connor McLaughlin had a pair while Mason Spear, Thomas Hardy, Beau Taylor and Fidgett completed the scoring for Selkirk.
Fidgett’s goal came on a penalty shot after a Wolfpack player was ruled to have placed his hand on the puck in the goal crease 43 seconds after TRU scored.
Colton DeFrias ruined the shutout bid by Selkirk netminder Sirard with a second-period marker.
“TRU is always a tough and competitive team in our league and I’m sure their best hockey is ahead of them, but this weekend our guys stuck to a simple gameplan and found success by being determined to out-work and out-skate a very capable opponent,” Dubois explained.
“We’ve seen very good team efforts every night out to start the regular season and we’ll continue to be successful if our work ethic and focus stays at this high level.”
The Saints close out their schedule for the month on Saturday, October 27th when the University of Victoria visits the Castlegar Recreation Complex. Faceoff is set for 7:30 PM.
The match-up concludes a four-game homestand for the Saints, who will then travel on back-to-back weekends in early November before returning to home ice on the 24th.
OVERTIME: The Saints have now outscored opponents by a margin of 25-2 in their three home games to open the regular season. Including a pair of home exhibition games against BCIHL opponents, that margin jumps to 35-6. . . . With Saturday’s victory, Selkirk moved to 5-0 and matched their wins total from the entire 2011/12 regular season. Last year’s Saints squad finished 5-19.
Saints set new records in 11-0 pounding of TRU, teams back on ice tonight in Castlegar
All that off-season recruiting has paid huge dividends for the Sellkirk Saints Men’s Hockey team.
The Saints continues to roll in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League Friday at the Castlegar Complex as the host pounded Thompson Rivers University 11-0 Friday.
The result marked the fourth consecutive victory — Selkirk also finished the exhibition season perfect in three attempts — to start the year for the Saints.
“As a group we’re obviously very pleased with tonight’s result, which came down to hard work and solid execution right through the line-up top to bottom,” said a very pleased Saints head coach Jeff Dubois.
“At the same time, we know that TRU is a much better team that tonight’s score indicates, and they’ll come out hard and hungry in (Saturday’s) rematch.
“The score doesn’t mean anything more than the two points in the standings, and for the weekend to be a success we need an equally strong effort tomorrow.”
Jordan Wood opened the scoring for the home side four minutes into the first period, accepting a slick pass from linemate Logan Proulx and firing past WolfPack starter Riley Wall.
The pair then combined to set up their team’s second goal minutes later, as the puck made its way to blueliner Dylan Smith and then to the back of the net off a shot through traffic from the point. The Saints dominated play throughout the opening 20 minutes, outshooting TRU by an 18-3 margin.
Selkirk continued to pressure their opponents in the middle frame and were rewarded with six goals in the period. Wood netted the first on a power-play with 14:21 on the clock and Beau Taylor, Cody Fidgett, Ben Starbuck and Mason Spear added even-strength singles before intermission.
The third period saw Wood complete his hat trick before Smith and Starbuck added their second goals of the night respectively. Assistant captain Scott Swiston netted his first of the season to round out the scoring.
In goal, former WHL product Alex Sirard turned aside 23 shots and picked up the Saints’ first shutout since the team joined the BCIHL in 2007.
The win was his second of the season after backstopping Selkirk in their season-opening win at the University of Victoria.
The teams return to the Castlegar Complex Arena Saturday with the puck drop at 7:30 p.m.
For more information on Saints single game tickets and passes, visit GoSaints.ca.
SAINTS NOTES: Team records set on Friday night included number of goals scored (11) and margin of victory (11). . . .Winger Ben Starbuck made a successful Saints debut with two goals on the night. He was a late addition to the line-up following an injury to Jackson Garrett. . . .Cody Fidgett’s goal with 7:21 remaining in the second period drew a particularly strong cheer from the crowd of over 250 fans. The reason? It took place during the “Big Mac Minute”, a promotion that rewards each fan with a coupon for a free Big Mac from McDonald’s when Selkirk scores with between 7:59 and 7 minutes on the game clock. It was the first “Big Mac Minute” win of the young season for Saints fans.
