The Selkirk College Saints came out of the gates slowly in their first game of 2013 but picked up momentum as the night wore on and eventually completed a dramatic 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Simon Fraser University on Saturday night at the Castlegar Recreation Complex.
The result marked the 13th consecutive victory for the Saints, setting a new record for the longest winning streak in B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League play.
The Saints struggled to shed some rust in the first period as they returned from a six-week layoff against the second-place Clan. And SFU capitalized on Selkirk's slow start early, as Trevor Milner slammed home from close range after a point shot had caromed off the end-boards and landed on his tape at the side of the net. The hosts couldn't convert on three power-play opportunities and headed to intermission trailing 1-0.
Milner netted his second of the night off the rush early in the second period to extend the SFU lead to two, but the Saints then found their rhythm and cut the deficit in half when Logan Proulx picked up a loose puck in front of the Selkirk bench, beat a defender and blasted a shot past SFU starter Graeme Gordon.
The Clan restored their two-goal advantage against the run of play with 4:36 remaining in the frame, but the Saints' special teams awoke on a late second period power-play, with team captain Jordan Wood banking a centering pass past Gordon with 52 seconds remaining.
And Selkirk poured it on in the third, but weren't rewarded until Thomas Hardy redirected a Sandro Moser point shot with 3:29 to play to even the game. The winner came moments later, as an attempted wrap-around by Connor McLaughlin found the stick of Mason Spear, who scored from the side of crease to give the Saints their first lead of the night.
SFU had the opportunity to tie the game on a late power-play, but Selkirk's penalty kill came through and preserved the win.
"We anticipated some rust coming out in the first and we didn't really get going until midway through the game, but once we found our legs we seemed to carry the play in the second and third," says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois.
"We have a confident and resilient group, and the feeling on the bench and in the room between periods was that it was just a matter of time before we got rewarded for our hard work. SFU has a very talented team and we know we're going to have some more battles with them down the road, but tonight the guys put in the type of effort that it takes to win a tight game and it paid off."
Selkirk outshot the Clan by a 12-1 margin in the third period and 38-22 overall. Saints netminder Alex Sirard turned aside 19 shots in the victory while Gordon made 34 saves -- including a number of outstanding stops in the latter half of the game -- in a losing effort.
Proulx and Wood each scored and added an assist on the night, while SFU's Bruin McDonald matched Milner's two-point effort.
The Saints return to their home ice on Friday, January 18th when Trinity Western University visits Castlegar. Face-off is set for 8:00 PM.
SAINTS NOTES: Saturday night's crowd set an all-time record for attendance at a Selkirk hockey game with 550.
The Saints (13-0-0) now boast a five-point lead over SFU in the BCIHL standings and also hold a game in hand over the 10-3-1 Clan.
The teams next meet on Saturday, February 2nd when the Clan returns to Castlegar. They conclude their four-game regular season on February 23rd in Vancouver.
VICTORIA
SIMON FRASER
OKANAGAN
LOGAN LAKE
VANCOUVER ISLAN.
