Victoria looks to ride strong first half finish to further success in 2010

The University of Victoria Men's Hockey team is looking to begin the second half of the season the same way they ended the first.

UVic wrapped up its Fall semester schedule with a pair of strong outings against Simon Fraser University when the two clubs met in Victoria on November 27th and 28th. On the Friday evening, SFU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead early in the game. UVic managed to even to the score after a goal-tending change, and with Tim Manuel in net the clubs finished in a 5-5 draw.

The following night, it was all UVic. Tim Manuel allowed just one goal as the vikes defeated SFU by a 6-1 score. The home side was led by the play of forwards Brett Campbell, Dave Blake and Matt Bell. On defence, team captain Matt Schultz and Jeremy Beller were able to shut down SFU offensively.

Victoria head coach Harry Schamhart notes that his team has struggled with consistent play in the first part of the season, and says these two games before the Christmas break were very important. He says those games showed that if the team works hard, and plays consistently they can be successful.

UVic is looking forward to hosting one of the league's two new teams this weekend as Thompson River University from Kamloops visits the Ian Stewart Complex on January 6th and 7th.