SFU scores early and often in OT win over Express

It was the first matchup between teams from B.C.'s Junior A league and their Intercollegiate counterparts, and Simon Fraser took control early with four first period goals. Jas Rai opened the scoring, taking a breakaway pass from Warren Gardner and beating Express netminder Mark Trousdell through the five-hole at just 2:46 into the first period.

Paul Moscone doubled the lead just 47 seconds later when he converted a pass from blueliner Adam Chapman, beating Trousdell with a wrist shot from the high slot. Former Express forward John Bokla then added to his old team's defensive woes at 6:05 of the opening frame, rifling a wrist shot just under the crossbar for a 3-0 SFU advantage.

After a decisive start, play settled down until Jaime Laprise freed Jackson Friesen in alone with a breakaway pass that last season's scoring leader deposited past Trousdell on a backhand deke.

Burnaby got on the board with less than four minutes remaining in the period when 2009 Coastal Conference Rookie of the Year finalist Garrick Perry beat Simon Fraser netminder Justin Borsa, and then pulled within two just 20 seconds into the second period when Perry scored his second of the night. It took less than a minute for SFU to regain a three-goal lead, however, when David Kim deflected a Chris Bond point shot low into the net.

The Express then took control for much of the second period, eventually drawing even after tallies from Sean Dinsmore, Jared Chernoff and Luke Challier. But Bokla struck again just 15 seconds after Challier's tying marker to stake SFU to a 6-5 lead heading into the third.

Following a five-goal first period and a six-goal second frame, it seemed as though the teams were setting themselves up for a high-scoring third. But a goal by recent WHL pick-up Matt Ius just 47 seconds in was the final goal of regulation, setting up an overtime winner by SFU rookie forward and defending PIJHL scoring champ Bill Smith.

Smith picked up a loose puck high in the zone, wound into the slot and beat Trousdell high to the glove side to bring a wide-open offensive match-up to an appropriate close.

"I'm very happy with the way we performed, particularly early in the game and in the third period," SFU head coach Mark Coletta said. "We took advantage of some great opportunities in the first period and the guys showed they were ready to play from the first shift."

"Burnaby has a strong squad and some very talented players, so it wasn't a surprise that they fought hard to get back into the game. But we dealt with that well and from the time they tied things up in the third it seemed that we took control and had the better chances."

The line of Rai, Smith and Bokla combined for seven points in the game, while netminder Justin Borsa also stood out with a 39-save performance. SFU's lone shot in overtime gave them a 46-45 shots on goal advantage for the evening.

Perry and former Trail Smoke Eaters forward Patrik Martin, a rookie at SFU, sparked the game physically when they were  ejected at the 14:05 mark of the second period following a brief fight initiated by the Express forward.

"We saw some very good things from our first-year players, both offensively and through a willingness to play hard and not step down from a very physical team," Coletta said. "Justin (Borsa) was excellent in net in a game where our defensive zone play was definitely a work in progress. If you look at the boxscore you may just see the six goals allowed, but he made some excellent stops at key points in the game."

Simon Fraser will now ready themselves for a three-game road trip to Alberta to face ACAC competition from Augustana, Grant McEwen and Portage Colleges beginning Friday, September 18th. The team's 2009/10 BC Intercollegiate Hockey League season begins a week later on September 25th when they face defending league champions University of Victoria at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.