Vikes win 1st of season, take 3 of 4 weekend points at home to Selkirk

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The University of Victoria went into this past weekend with the daunting task of trying to steal four points from the top team in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League as Selkirk College paid a visit for a two-game weekend series in Victoria.

From the drop of the puck on Friday night it was evident that the Vikes squad was sick of being taken for granted as the league's last place team.

After heading into the dressing room down 1-0 after the first period, UVic finally found its scoring touch. In just 2:21 the Vikes managed to turn the game around with three goals, the first coming from Evan Warner and the next two on the power-play from Brad Robinson.

However, the action was just heating up as Selkirk would cut the lead to one with 37 seconds remaining in the period, setting the stage for a wildly entertaining final frame.

After the Selkirk Saints scored two goals in the first half of the third period to make it 4-3 it looked as if UVic had the wind taken out of its sails but instead the fans in Victoria were in for a treat.

On a late powerplay and with just 1:05 left in the game Brad Robinson would rip his third goal of the game past the Selkirk goalie sending hats onto the ice.

But Robinson wasn’t done his heroics just yet. Still on the power play and with just 7 seconds remaining in the game, Robinson slammed home a loose puck in the slot and sent fans into a frenzy.

The wild finish gave UVic a much needed 5-4 win and ensured that game two of the weekend series would be entertaining, with UVic looking to steal four points and Selkirk looking to recover from a shocking defeat.

In Saturday’s matchup the Vikes picked up right where they left off on Friday night, as the home team held a 4-1 lead midway through the game – two of those from the suddenly red-hot Robinson.

But Selkirk College showed why it holds the top spot in the BCIHL as the Saints refused to give up and managed to score two goals in the second period. Luckily for UVic, Chris Manhas managed to get the Vikes on the board late on the powerplay to keep the lead at 5-3 heading into the third.

With UVic providing the late surge on Friday, it seemed to be Selkirk’s turn on Saturday. The Saints capitalized on a powerplay with 5:28 left in the game and then, with the goalie pulled, sucked the life out of the Vikes with another goal at 1:18 to tie the game at 5-5 and send it to overtime.

Unfortunately for UVic it looked as though the Selkirk comeback was too much to overcome as the Saints scored 3:16 into overtime and salvaged two points for themselves.

Still, having earned three of a possible four points against the top team in the league was extremely encouraging for the Vikes who have been working tirelessly to turn their season around.

UVic heads out on the road next weekend to take on TRU and SFU in the final games before the BCIHL Christmas break, if the Vikes continue to score like they did against Selkirk and Robinson stays hot, a four point weekend certainly won’t be out of the question.