McLaughlin scores twice as Saints keep on marching in BCIHL
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The Selkirk Saints took another step in credibility after snapping the 25-game home unbeaten streak of the Simon Fraser University Clan Saturday at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre in Burnaby.
Connor McLaughlin’s two first period goals powered the Saints to a 5-3 B.C. Intercolligiate League victory over the Clan.
Selkirk College now holds a commanding eight-point advantage over the Clan in BCIHL standings.
The win comes on the heels of a 7-4 win over Thompson Rivers University Friday at the Kamloops Memorial Arena.
“We’re very pleased to have beaten an excellent team in a rink where it’s been as tough as it gets to come away with points,” said Saints head coach Jeff Dubois.
“The effort we saw tonight from our whole group, top to bottom, is exactly what you need to be successful on a regular basis in our league.”
Brodie Gibbon, Logan Proulx and Jackson Garret also scored for the Saints, which led 5-0 midway through the game.
But SFU began to battle back on a power-play goal by 2011/12 BCIHL MVP Ben Van Lare, who went on to score twice more in the third period to pull SFU within two.
That was as close as the game would get, however, as the Saints bore down late to secure the win.
Netminder Alex Sirard shone for Selkirk in collecting his fifth win of the season, turning aside 39 shots on the night.
His teammates chased SFU starter Graeme Gordon midway through he second period. He was replaced by Evan Kurylo, who stopped the nine shots he saw over the remainder of the game.
Friday, two late second-period goals by McLaughlin, with nine seconds left in the frame, and Kam Crawford, snapped a 4-4 tie powering Selkirk to the win.
Jordan Wood scored twice for the Saints with single going to Thomas Hardy, Cody Fidgett and Garrett.
The Saints, 8-0, are next in action on Friday (November 9) when they return to the Lower Mainland to face Trinity Western University.
