Washington nets first BCIHL goal as Clan dominate in win over Eastern

It was a case of deja vu as Eastern Washington took the lead twice in the first period, only for Simon Fraser University to end up on top in a dominant 6-2 win on Saturday night at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.

The last time these two teams met, SFU were down twice in the first period before winning 5-2 on the road.

The Eagles got on the board just under seven minutes into the game, however Robert Izsak answered back with his second of the year — he scored in the previous game and is riding a four-game point streak.

Beau Walker took back the lead for EWU with his 15th of the year, giving him the sole BCIHL goal scoring lead. SFU, however, scored two at the end of the period — from Brendan Lamont and Nic Holowko — to take the 3-2 lead and never looked back. Lamont’s eighth goal is a career best total, and all but two have occurred after the Christmas break.

The second period started fairly equally for both teams and was uninterrupted by whistles until Holowko scored his second of the night 5:37 in. From then on, SFU dominated the night. The game saw all four Clan lines rolling, with the bottom six contributing four of the six goals of the night. Nathan Washington, who suited up for his fifth game with Simon Fraser on the fourth line, scored his first BCIHL goal with 6:49 left in the frame.

"It’s a good feeling to get on the board," said the former Aldergrove Kodiak after the game. "It's been a lot of hard work over the last few months — it’s nice to get an opportunity to take advantage. Especially going down the stretch and going into playoff hockey, we need to have four lines rolling."

Mathew Berry-Lamontagna scored for the second game in a row to put the score at 6-2. His ninth goal sets a career best in his four years in the BCIHL.

Lyndon Stanwood started in net, and made 10 saves on 12 shots (.833 SV%). Ryan Sandrin played in the third period in his first game since starting in a 5-4 win versus EWU on October 27. Sandrin was perfect, making eight saves. SFU collected 47 shots.

"When you have all four lines going, it’s like the pressure is always there, and over time you’re going to put it in the net," said Holowko, who suited up on the third line with Spencer Unger and Eric Callegari, and has five points since joining the team.

SFU returns to the ice against Vancouver Island University on Family Day Monday. Puck drop is at 4:00 PM. The game will also be streamed live on HockeyTV.

Three Stars:

1st Star: SFU #11 Nic Holowko (2G, 0A, GWG)
2nd Star: SFU #7 Nathan Washington (1G, 1A)
3rd Star: SFU 17 Brendan Lamont (1G, 1A)