Selkirk ties BCIHL win streak record with home ice victory over Vikes

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Selkirk College closed out its 2012 schedule on Saturday night with a bang, tying the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League record for the longest regular season win streak at 12 games by defeating the University of Victoria by a 6-1 score at the Castlegar Recreation Complex.

The Saints' offence came alive in the second period after Beau Taylor and Mark Prest had traded goals in a tight opening 20 minutes.

Nick Cecconi started the rally, putting Selkirk ahead 2:16 into the frame when he banged home a loose puck from the side of the crease off a Matt Luongo feed. Connor McLaughlin tipped home a Justin Sotkowy point shot on the power-play midway through the period to extend the lead to two, and Logan Proulx added another just 1:23 later off a nice set-up from linemate Jackson Garrett.

Thomas Hardy, in his first game back from injury, and Mason Spear capped the scoring in the third period.

"We came out of the gates a little slow tonight but the guys found their legs in the second period and really dictated the speed and tempo of the game from there," says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois. "It was good to close out the first half of our schedule with a complete team effort -- we got goals from all four of our forward lines and solid performances on the blueline and in goal."

With the win, the Saints tied the BCIHL record for the longest regular season winning streak originally set by UVic during the 2007/08 season. They'll have to wait for the opportunity to set a new record, though, as the team now breaks for college exams and holidays before returning to the ice on January 12th against Simon Fraser University.

"As a group, coming into the season we knew we had all the ingredients to be a contending team," says Dubois. "It's all come together a lot quicker than we expected, and now the challenge is to approach the second half of the season with the same work ethic and intensity that we saw over the past two months. You don't win championships based on how you play in October or November, but it's also satisfying to go into a long break with lots of positives."

In net, Alex Sirard stopped 26 shots to pick up his eighth win in as many appearances for the Saints. Sunny Gill took the loss for the Vikes, allowing six goals on 43 shots.

SAINTS NOTES: With BCIHL play completed until January, a total of six Saints feature in the Top 10 in league scoring. Jordan Wood and Logan Proulx lead the way with 26 and 24 points respectively, while Kam Crawford, Connor McLaughlin, Cody Fidgett and Thomas Hardy sit sixth through ninth.

Selkirk sits tops in the six-team BCIHL, seven points ahead of SFU. The Clan have a pair of games in hand, which they will make up on January 4th and 5th before heading to Castlegar to face the Saints on January 12th.