Saints ring up nine on Clan to knock SFU from the unbeaten ranks
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The Selkirk Saints sent a message to the rest of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League the road to the title must come through Castlegar.
Selkirk scored nine times en route to a 9-5 pasting of previously unbeaten Simon Fraser University in front of a raucous crowd Saturday at the Castlegar Recreation Complex.
The win moved Selkirk into sole possession of top spot in BCIHL standings, two points ahead of Thompson Rivers and four in front of SFU.
However, the Clan has played three less games than Selkirk.
“We came out tonight with a ton of energy and desire, and we were rewarded on the scoreboard for the great number of offensive chances we created,” said Saints head coach Jeff Dubois.
“We built a quick lead in the first period and we weren’t happy about the ease with which we gave it away, but our guys regrouped at intermission and played probably our best 20 minutes of hockey this season in the second period.”
“We had a point to prove tonight and got the job done, simple as that,” Dubois added.
Cody Fidgett scored a pair of first period goals and assisted on three other later in the game to total five points on the night. His first goal opened the scoring midway through the first period when he broke in alone on Clan netminder Andrew Parent and scored on a deke to the forehand.
Beau Taylor doubled the lead less than a minute later, followed by a quick reply from SFU.
The wild scoring pace would continue for the remainder of the period, as Fidgett netted his second only to see Graham Smerek and Nick Sandor strike back for the visitors and send the game into the first intermission tied 3-3.
The Saints regrouped and dominated the second period, however, outshooting the Clan by a 15-4 margin and striking for a trio of goals.
Mason Spear got things started 2:43 into the frame when he took a cross ice feed from Markus McCrea and beat an SFU defender to the slot before beating Parent.
And it took less than two minutes for Selkirk to take another two-goal lead, as Fidgett found Jackson Garrett at the top of the crease for a one-time finish. Spear then closed out the scoring with his second of the frame, tapping home a rebound on a Saints power-play.
Thomas Hardy put the game out of reach early in the third on another Selkirk man-advantage, and the team went on to trade a pair of goals each over the reminder of regulation with Connor McLaughlin and Garrett Kucher tallying for the hosts.
James Prigione started the game in goal for the Saints but was replaced by Chris Hurry after allowing three goals on four shots in the first period. Hurry picked up the win in making 14 saves over the remainder of the game. Andrew Parent took the loss for SFU, allowing nine goals on 41 shots.
Saints captain Logan Proulx and centre Thomas Hardy each finished the night with three points each, while Garrett, McLaughlin, Spear and Scott Swiston all enjoyed two point nights.
The loss was the first of the season for SFU, who had entered the night with a 6-0 record.
Ironically, the nine goals scored by Selkirk on Saturday night were the most allowed by SFU in a BCIHL regular season game since February 16, 2008 — which also came against the Saints in Castlegar, albeit in an 11-9 Clan win.
Selkirk is next in action on Friday, (November 22) when they open a two-game series on Vancouver Island against the University of Victoria.
