Weekend Preview: Spartans look to stay perfect in weekend trip to Selkirk

It hasn't been your typical start to the season for the Selkirk College Saints. Through eight games, the four-time B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League champions have picked up three wins, with two of those coming in an early November sweep of fifth place Victoria on home ice in Castlegar.

The good news is that the Saints are coming off a bye week and have another pair of home games on tap this weekend, with only three points separating themselves from first place Vancouver Island University. The bad news: it's an unbeaten Trinity Western squad coming to town.

The Spartans are just about the only team in the BCIHL in recent seasons that hasn't had trouble beating Selkirk College on their turf. The Saints boast a tremendous 27-5-0-4 record in their 36 regular season home games the past three seasons, but have only three wins in nine tries when Trinity Western has visited.

They'll look to reverse that trend beginning Friday, when the two-game weekend series opens at the Castlegar Recreation Complex.

Forwards Landon Walters and Tyler Hartman, and blueliner Brayden McCartney led the way for Selkirk in their two-game sweep over the Vikes as the trio each chipped in four points in a pair of games. Hartman and McCartney are amongst a small group of BCIHL veterans on this year's Saints team, and both have stepped up their offensive games as sophomores. The pair, who combined to play 47 games between them last season, are both just one point back of their respective point totals as rookies with the season just a third complete.

Meanwhile, the Spartans have been firing on all cylinders since the puck dropped on their season October 5th. They swept VIU at home on opening weekend and spoiled SFU's home debut the next weekend before heading south for a pair of games against NCAA competition. They returned to league play at the end up October and surrendered just a single goal in home wins over Selkirk and SFU.

TWU features the league's only players who are averagin 2.0 points-per-game in Evan Last and Dustin Deugau. Both have played a big role in a power-play that has capitalized at a mind-boggling 36.59% success rate. Last has picked up five of his 10 points with the man-advantage while Deugau has five special teams points including a shorthanded assist.

But the true eye-popping numbers for Trinity Western lie between the pipes, where Lucas Mills has posted a 1.08 goals-against average and .955 save-percentage. Both those totals extrapolated over a full season would blow away existing BCIHL records.

Both Friday and Saturday's games are set for a 7:00 PM puck drop from Castlegar and will be broadcast live on Hockey TV.