Saints sniper McLaughlin blazing new trail in BCIHL
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Former Nelson Leaf and Fernie Ghostrider, Connor McLaughlin accomplished a lot during his Kootenay International Junior Hockey League career.
The Arizona native is now making his mark in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League.
McLaughlin was named BCIHL Player of the Week for the week ending October 20th.
“Connor has been tremendous right through training camp, the preseason, and now to start the regular season,” said Saints head coach Jeff Dubois.
“He’s always been tough to clear from around the net and hard to move off the puck, but this season he’s added another dimension to his game offensively.”
“He along with his linemates Scott Swiston and Beau Taylor have given us everything we’ve asked of them,” Dubois adds.
McLaughlin extended his regular season points streak to four games this weekend when he scored two goals in each of Selkirk’s home victories over Thompson Rivers University.
On Friday night, the 22-year old scored a pair of second period goals — including the game winner — on incredible end-to-end rushes. On the first, he beat a WolfPack defender 1-on-1 and deked past TRU starter Stephen Wolff.
And on the second, he evaded three opponents in the neutral zone before blasting a shot in from high in the slot.
In the rematch on Saturday, McLaughlin added two more goals to his league-leading total, which now stands at eight. Both came from in tight off passes from linemate Beau Taylor.
McLaughlin also currently leads all BCIHL scorers in points with 11 through four games. As a rookie, he finished tied for sixth in the league with 14 goals and 12th in points with 28.
