Unbeaten Saints preparing for first road test with trip to TRU, SFU on tap

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The Selkirk College Men's Hockey program will look to continue their hot start to the 2013/14 season this weekend when they head out on the road for games against Thompson Rivers University (Friday, 8:30 PM, Kamloops Memorial Arena) and Simon Fraser University (Saturday, 7:00 PM, Bill Copeland Sports Centre).

The Saints currently sport a 4-0 record after a foursome of home ice victories that have seen the squad outscore opponents by an overall margin of 25-5. Friday's match-up with the WolfPack will be the third in as many games for both teams, as Selkirk is coming off a weekend series sweep of TRU that included victories by 8-2 and 5-1 scores.

"Thompson Rivers has a skilled group of forwards and in their smaller rink that opens up counterattack opportunities if you let yourself get too concerned about the offensive side of the puck," says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois.

"We had some tough, tight match-ups in their rink last season, so I’m expecting a much different game from what we saw last weekend. We'll be the team playing off a long bus trip and having to adjust to an unfamiliar facility. It's never an easy place to grab points."

Then, on Saturday, the Saints will face off against SFU for the first time since defeating the Clan in the 2013 BCIHL Finals. Selkirk dominated the season series against Simon Fraser last year, winning all four regular season meetings and both playoff encounters.

"SFU has had a heavy roster turnover from last season and based on what I've seen they've gotten bigger, and tougher, and improved significantly on defence," says Dubois.

"They always have lots of depth and skill up front and you can count on them getting great goaltending from Graeme Gordon, so this will be a good opportunity for both teams to see how we stack up at the top of the league early in the season."

The Clan is coming off a weekend that saw the team pick up back-to-back shutout victories over the University of Victoria. Up front, linemates Jono Ceci and Nick Sandor have already combined to notch 18 points in just three regular season games.

Meanwhile, Saints winger Connor McLaughlin leads all BCIHL scorers with 8 goals and 11 points while Logan Proulx, Scott Swiston, Cody Fidgett, Beau Taylor and Darnell Dyck also rank in the top-10.

SAINTS NOTES: McLaughlin was named the league's Player of the Week after scoring four goals in two games against TRU on the weekend. The power forward has struck for two or more points in all four regular season games thus far.

All three Selkirk goaltenders have registered wins so far this season as the team rotated between James Prigione (2-0, 1.50 GAA, .942 SV%), Chris Hurry (1-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 SV%) and Aaron Oakley (1-0, 2.00 GAA, .929 SV%) over their four-game homestand.

"We've got a competitive situation in goal where we want all three guys to play and have the opportunity to grab the starting position going in to the second half of the season," says Dubois. "So far, each guy has been solid and earned their next start, so we'll continue to evaluate on a game-by-game basis."