Clan look for bounceback weekend with TWU and Selkirk on tap

The Simon Fraser University Men’s Hockey team will embark on its first two-game weekend of the season on Friday and Saturday nights in what head coach Mark Coletta calls “must-win” contests. 

The Clan head coach says his team needs all four points to climb out of the 1-2 hole and begin catching up with league-leading Okanagan College (5-1) who sit eight points ahead.

“You never want to fall behind, especially early in the season. We want to keep pace with the front-runners,” says Coletta. “We have a rabbit to catch. Our goal is to take two victories from this weekend and nothing less.”

The Clan will battle Trinity Western University on Friday at the Langley Events Centre -- the first visit since winning the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League championship last spring. But there are no sentimental feelings about returning to Langley, according to Coletta. The focus is on getting a key road win against the Spartans, who are competing in their first season as an official varsity hockey team at TWU.

“Anything that happened last year, as we’re finding out, doesn’t mean a lick this year as the standings would suggest. That shouldn’t even play in their heads,” he says.

SFU is coming off its first home loss since February 2008 and has dropped two straight games dating back to an early October defeat against the Coyotes.

Coletta says it has the players “a little more disciplined and a little more focused."

Trinity Western has also dropped two in a row after winning their season-opener against the University of the Fraser Valley. The Spartans then lost two close games in a home-and-home series against Okanagan College. The formerly-named Titans surprised many BCIHL followers in the playoffs last season as the host. TWU eliminated the Fraser Valley Cascades and pushed Okanagan College to the brink of defeat in a shootout.

The biggest addition was last year’s co-league MVP Robert Vos, who led the BCIHL in scoring with 23 goals and 52 points in 2009/10. Vos has two goals and an assist in three games this season.

Defensively, the Spartans recruited former Everett Silvertips blueliner Brenden Stephen, a 6’7” defenseman that’s bolstered their backend.

“Dwayne [Lowdermilk] did a good job of recruiting some guys and adding quality players to the program. The school’s on board supporting them with varsity status. They’re going to be better, they’re going to be a challenge at home,” says Coletta.

SFU will return home for a Saturday night tilt with winless Selkirk College (0-4) at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.

“From a team-building standpoint, and getting our mindset back to winning, I think it’s essential that we get both wins,” Coletta says. “It wouldn’t mean that we’re out of the playoff hunt. There’s a ton of hockey to be played, but psychologically and confidence-wise these are must-wins for us. We need to get two victories and anything less is unacceptable.”