Saints lose back-to-back for first time since March 2012 on SFU/TRU trip

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The Selkirk College Men’s Hockey program dropped back-to-back games for the first time since March 2012 this weekend, losing both ends of a Kamloops/Burnaby road swing to Thompson Rivers University and Simon Fraser University on Friday and Saturday respectively.

In the trip opener on Friday, the Saints were defeated 5-2 by a WolfPack squad that they had swept in Castlegar by a combined 13-2 margin the previous weekend.

TRU jumped out to a two-goal lead that the Saints would eventually match on goals from Logan Proulx and Colin Minardi, but it was downhill from there as the hosts would score three unanswered goals to solidify the victory.

Former Trail Smoke Eaters forward Tyler Berkholtz scored a pair of goals for the WolfPack, while Mark Menicucci picked up his first BCIHL win for TRU.

Saints netminder Chris Hurry gave up five goals and took the loss after picking up a shutout in his season debut against the University of Victoria.

"The effort on Friday night in Kamloops was the poorest I’ve seen since I’ve been here," says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois. "The complacency and lack of focus were glaring, and to their credit TRU took full advantage of the chances they created. But for our part, it was an unacceptable performance in every aspect, which was surprising because we’ve done a good job avoiding these types of efforts in the past."

On Saturday, the Saints rebounded with a solid effort but nevertheless dropped a 5-3 decision to Simon Fraser University in their first meeting since Selkirk captured the 2013 BCIHL Championship in March.

Connor McLaughlin opened the scoring midway through the first period but left the game soon after when an SFU player’s skate cut him on the neck following a collision along the board. McLaughlin was taken to hospital for treatment but was able to rejoin the team for the trip home to Castlegar.

"Connor’s injury was a scary moment," says Dubois. "He was able to make it off the ice, but once we saw the cut on the bench it was obvious that he was very lucky for it not to have been more serious."

SFU seized the momentum over the final minutes of the period, scoring a power-play marker and a pair of even strength goals in quick succession. The Saints received goals from Scott Swiston and Jackson Garrett over the final 40 minutes but were never able to close the Clan lead to fewer than two goals.

"We made a couple of really poor defensive errors late in the first period that were the difference at the end of the night," says Dubois. "SFU has a ton of offensive skill and for the most part we were able to limit their scoring chances in their rink, but the mistakes that we made cost us. The take away from Saturday is that the effort and compete level was much closer to what we expect, and we know now the high level that we’ll need to play at when SFU comes to Castlegar a few weeks from now."

James Prigione took the loss in Saturday’s game, turning aside 20 shots. Graeme Gordon faced 22 shots in the SFU net and recorded the win.

The Saints will look to bounce back from the disappointing weekend when Trinity Western University (4-1) pays their first visit of the regular season on Saturday at 7:30 PM.

The game marks the first of three straight between Selkirk and TWU, as a two-game match-up is on tap for Langley the following weekend.

SAINTS NOTES: Selkirk captain Logan Proulx extended his point streak to six games over the weekend, picking up a goal on Friday in Kamloops and a pair of assists on Saturday in Burnaby. Proulx is the only Saints player to have picked up points in all six games so far this season.

Winger Jackson Garrett missed Friday’s game after breaking a skate blade in warm-up. Dubois described Garrett’s absence as a big loss: "Jackson has been one of our most hard-working, competitive guys so far this season and we really missed his presence. He’s developed into an emotional leader for us."

Former Ontario Hockey League defenceman David Mead is nearing a return from a knee injury suffered in the team’s exhibition opener against the Trail Smoke Eaters on August 27th. Mead is likely to return to the line-up in one of the team’s three upcoming games against Trinity Western.