Weekend Preview: Mariners, Vikes meet Saturday looking for bounceback wins

What a difference a week makes. When October ended, Vancouver Island University was riding high on a four-game win streak that included a trio of home victories. But a pair of lopsided defeats in Burnaby at the hands of Simon Fraser University has the Mariners back at the drawing board ahead of hosting the University of Victoria on Saturday.

The losses to the Clan hurt as much for how they happened as for the end results. On Friday, VIU got out to an early 3-0 lead before being victimized for eight unanswered goals in an 8-3 loss. And they fell behind 4-0 on Saturday and scored two late goals in a 6-3 defeat. A total of 120 minutes of hockey included a stretch of four periods in which the Mariners were outscored 12-0.

On the bright side, the team gets to return to the friendly confines of the Nanaimo Ice Centre, where they have an 18-10 scoring advantage along with a perfect record through three games. Two of those wins came over the Vikes, who are 0-3-0-0 against their Vancouver Island neighbours.

VIU scoring leader Garrett Dunlop has been particularly dangerous against Victoria with five goals and four assists from those three meetings. He is tied with teammate Brett Witala for the BCIHL goals lead with six and sits alone in top spot with 13 points. Witala is just one point back, good for second in league scoring overall and first amongst rookies. The former Kelowna Chiefs sniper is riding a six-game point streak.

Netminders Brett Clark and Matt Huber each took a loss against SFU and have combined to give up a league-high 37 goals behind a team that emphasizes a high-octane offence. Clark is 3-1-0-0 on the year and has collected all three of his team's wins over the Vikes.

Meanwhile, Victoria is coming off an equally disheartening weekend sweep at the hands of Selkirk College in Castlegar. A shorthanded Vikes lineup lost by 5-2 and 6-2 scores and were on the wrong end of a lopsided shot clock in both contests.

First-year forward Otis Goldman has been a welcome addition for the Vikes, as the transfer from NCAA Division III Castleton University scored three goals against the Saints and now has five in seven games on the season. He's formed an effective partnership with third year Landen Matechuk, who is on a point-a-game pace.

Victoria has been the lone squad left behind early in a BCIHL season that has been heavy on goal scoring. At 3.29 per game, the Vikes sit almost a full goal behind the rest their closest opponent. Much of the lack in production can be blamed on a tough stretch of injuries that has limited the options for head coach Harry Schamhart, but the team has thus far lacked a gamebreaking threat offensively.

Alec Dillon has thus far played most often amongst the team's three netminders, and his .891 save-percentage is respectable on a team that has given up an average of nearly 45 shots per game.

A win for Victoria on Saturday would provide a big boost to their hopes of chasing down Selkirk for fourth place in the league standings, as the Saints currently sit six points ahead. A VIU win combined with an SFU loss on Friday would put the Mariners back in top spot.

Saturday's game is slated for a 7:15 PM puck drop and will be broadcast live on Hockey TV.