Streaking Saints look to corral unbeaten TWU in first place showdown

Trinity Western University will look to keep their perfect regular season intact this weekend when they head to the West Kootenays for a pair of games against second place Selkirk College on Friday and Saturday.

The Spartans, who are poised to join the CIS's Canada West conference next season, have dominated B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League opponents thus far this season to the tune of a +12 goal differential.

TWU's loaded roster features a pair of players who sit at two or more points per game in Evan Last (14 in five) and Logan Casavant (10 in 5) while another six skaters are above a point-per-game pace. That group includes three blueliners in Dustin Deugau, Travis Verveda and Elijah Vilio, who have combined for six goals and 15 assists so far this season. That level of offensive talent and depth on the back end is part of the reason the Spartans have been so tough to handle.

Veteran starter Lucas Mills and rookie addition Isaac Labelle have been splitting the net, with Mills performing at a 2.33 GAA, .920 save-percentage clip that closesly mirrors his career intercollegiate numbers.

The Saints, meanwhile, enter the weekend with momentum on the heels of four consecutive wins. The streak began on home ice on October 11th with the first of three straight wins over the University of Victoria, and continued with a dramatic 14-round shootout win over Vancouver Island University on October 26th.

Selkirk has had two full weeks to prepare for the Spartans and fine-tune a defensive structure that allowed 10 goals on their two-game Vancouver Island road trip.

Blake Sidoni has been a key addition up front for the Saints, and has combined with fellow Beaver Valley Nitehawks alum Dylan Heppler to form a potent 1-2 punch offensively. The pair have combined for 17 points (9 for Sidoni, 8 for Heppler), putting them ahead of veteran blueliner Parker Wakaruk and rookie forwards Johnny Foley and Jaiden LaPorte, who sit in a three-way tie with five points each.

Tallon Kramer has had a strong start to his second BCIHL season with four wins in six appearances and a strong .914 save-percentage. he has been the goalie of record in all four of Selkirk's recent wins.

Both games between the Saints and Spartans will be played at the Castlegar Recreation Centre and broadcast on Hockey TV with 7:00 PM start times on Friday and Saturday.