Fontaine caps TWU comeback over Selkirk with overtime winner in Castlegar

Trinity Western University’s Jarrett Fontaine scored on a breakaway in overtime to cap a 3-2 comeback win for the Spartans over Selkirk College on Saturday.

Scooping up the puck near his own blueline, Fontaine skated in alone and snapped a quick shot from the slot that beat Selkirk goalie Patrick Zubick with 2:21 left in the extra session.

With the win, the Spartans earned a road split in their two-game weekend series with Selkirk and improved to 6-1 on the season. The Saints, who beat TWU 4-2 Friday, drop to 4-3-0-3.

“The guys played really well, bouncing back from last night’s loss," says TWU head coach Barret Kropf. "In terms of a road win, I thought the guys were really effective in moving the puck and creating a lot of chances, while still taking care of things in our own end. It was a hard-fought battle between both teams."

Trailing 2-1 in the third period, the Spartans Gary Mahesh knocked home a loose puck from in close to tie the game at 4:40 of the final frame. After Dylan Cusmano was sent in on a breakaway with a long stretch pass, a Saints defenceman broke up the play only to have Mahesh jump on the chance and bat the puck past Zubick.

TWU’s Jordan Bogress also scored for TWU, tallying his first as a Spartan with a shorthanded marker that tied the game 1-1 late in the first period. Selkirk’s Chris Breese and Josh Shatford scored for the Saints.

After Bogress evened the score, Shatford put Selkirk ahead with at 11:54 of the middle frame. Breese opened the scoring at 13:10 of the first period.

"It was good to see Bogress chip in. I thought he had probably his best game of the year. He was moving the puck well and being effective and making good decisions. And it was nice to have Gary come up with a big goal as well. Then in overtime, it was really nice to see Fonzy get rewarded for all the hard work he puts in. It was a really nice winning goal to give us a weekend split in a tough place to play."

The Spartans' Lucas Mills made 22 saves to pick up his sixth win of the season. Mills was back in net after Allistair Duncan started in Friday’s game. Zubick finished the night with 19 saves.

Mills now leads the BCIHL in goals against average (1.33), save percentage (.949), goals saved above replacement (9.01) and he’s the only netminder in the league to have recorded a shutout this year.

Neither team scored on the power play, with TWU going 0 for 2 and Selkirk going 0 for 5.

The Spartans are tied with Simon Fraser and Vancouver Island with six wins apiece. However, TWU’s .857 winning percentage is the best in the BCIHL, bettering both VIU (.650) and SFU (.600). TWU is 2-1 against Selkirk in three games this year. The Spartans were 4-1 against the Saints in the regular season last year.

The Spartans are on the road next weekend and will play Victoria (Nov. 23) and Vancouver Island (Nov. 24).