Simon Fraser University captures 2011 BCIHL Championship

The Simon Fraser University’s Men’s Ice Hockey team are B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League champions once again following a 5-2 victory over the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack on Sunday night on home ice at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.

The championship represents the second in as many years for SFU and the third in four seasons, following on the heels of Provincial titles in 2008 and 2010.

The Clan opened the scoring on a first period power-play when Bill Smith one-timed a slap show over the glove of WolfPack goaltender Anthony Manfredi. SFU then doubled their lead in the second period when Jas Rai found team captain Paul Moscone alone in front of the TRU net for a tap-in goal. And Moscone scored again midway through the third period to further extend the lead to three when he beat Manfredi with a wrist shot on a two-on-one rush.

Thompson Rivers finally solved SFU netminder Justin Mulholland midway through the third off the stick of Zac Rasmussen, but a quick reply from Ben Van Lare put the Clan back up by three. Joel Leonard and Van Lare traded late goals to close out the scoring.

"This win was a fitting end to a season that saw us make great strides as a team and build momentum from start to finish," says SFU head coach Mark Coletta. "Our top players came through in big moments this week and particularly in the final game, and we had some players who battled through injuries and refused to miss a shift."

Paul Moscone was named the game’s first star after scoring the winning goal for the second time during the five-day tournament. Mulholland picked up the win in net and earned second star honours after turning aside 26 of 28 shots. It was his second impressive performance in 24 hours after holding the University of Victoria to a single goal in the tournament semi-final a day earlier. Ben Van Lare was named the game’s third star after scoring a pair of third period goals to help seal the victory.

With the win, SFU broke a tie with the University of Victoria for the most titles claimed since the BCIHL launched in 2006. The teams had previously been deadlocked on two championship wins apiece.