Preview: Clan looking to keep BCIHL repeat alive against Vikes

It's deja vu for the Simon Fraser University Men's Hockey team.

The host Clan are in the exact same spot as they were last spring, with a second chance to advance to the BCIHL championship game.

They can redeem themselves on Saturday night (7:00 p.m., BCIHL Broadcast Network) when they play the University of Victoria in the second BCIHL semi-final.

SFU had its shot at the final on Friday night, but a 3-0 loss to Thompson Rivers is forcing them to win Saturday if the team wants to keep the repeat alive.  

"Our guys know the prize at hand. We knew what day we wanted to be playing hockey on, March 27th, for championship Sunday," says Clan head coach Mark Coletta. "We experienced a bump in the road, but we'll take care of business and go at it."

The Vikes, on the other hand, are coming off a 3-2 overtime win against Trinity Western on Friday.

Coletta knows they'll be feeling good about their game entering Saturday's second semi-final.

"UVic's riding an emotional high, they're going to come out flying," says SFU head coach Mark Coletta. "They're going to be full of confidence and we're going to have to weather the storm early and get on them."

SFU took the season series 2-1-1 between the teams, winning the last meeting 6-0 on February 26 at Bill Copeland.

"We've got to get the puck deep, get our cycle game going, and get pucks to the net. Pucks have to bounce our way at some point," says Coletta.

The one Victoria win came on the Clan's home ice back in October, a 3-2 victory for the Vikes to hand SFU its first home loss in over two seasons.

The winner earns the right to battle the WolfPack in the championship game on Sunday night.