Saints take to road looking for points against UVIC
By Contributor
On the heels of a huge home ice win over Simon Fraser University on Saturday night, the Selkirk College Men’s Hockey program will travel to Vancouver Island this weekend for a pair of B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League games against the University of Victoria at the Ian Stewart Complex.
Both games are being streamed on live FastHockey.com. Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
“UVic is an honest, hard-working team that’s had some struggles early in the season, but their record to date isn’t a proper reflection of their talent level or competitiveness,” says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois.
“They play with a lot of pride and now with a couple weeks off they’re going to be healthy and ready to go. These are going to be much tough games than a quick look at the standings would indicate.”
The Saints will look to build off momentum gained in a lopsided 9-5 victory over the previously-unbeaten Clan when they take on a UVic squad that is still searching for their first win of the 2013/14 season.
The Vikes currently sit in sixth place in the BCIHL standings with a 0-10 record. They’ve been coming closer and closer to breaking into the win column, however, as their most recent outings were a pair of one-goal losses on the road to TRU and SFU.
Selkirk has had its fair share of success against the Vikes, including eight straight victories dating back to the team’s 2012/13 season opener. But only two of those wins have come in the uncomfortable confines of the Ian Stewart Complex, which houses the BCIHL’s smallest ice surface.
“There isn’t a lot of time or space to make plays in their rink, so if you go into those games without a sense of urgency you’re not going to get a good result,” says Dubois.
“Last season we put up some strong numbers on the road, but both games at UVic were one-goal margins and one of those was in overtime.”
The Vikes’ primary trouble to date has been in the goal scoring department, as the squad has scored just 13 times in 10 games.
But their roster does include a number of experienced BCIHL veterans, including 2012/13 league goals leader Shawn Mueller and a handful of proven point-per-game forwards in Eli Wiebe, Adam Klein and Evan Warner.
Selkirk, meanwhile, has been hitting the back of the net with regularity in recent weeks, as the Saints lead all BCIHL teams with 59 goals.
Cody Fidgett is coming off a five-point outing on Saturday against SFU and sits second in league scoring with 20 points, while linemate Logan Proulx sits just one point back and leads all BCIHL skaters in assists with 14.
Not far behind are Connor McLaughlin, with 18 points, as well as Thomas Hardy (15), Jackson Garrett (14) and Darnell Dyck (13).
Following this weekend in Victoria, the Saints will return home for their final game of 2013 against Eastern Washington University on Friday, November 29th.
