Selkirk Game 1 recap: Saints' offence finds the mark in BCIHL Finals opener

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The Selkirk College Men's Hockey team got the fast start they were looking for in Game 1 of the 2014 B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League championships on Friday night, as they jumped out to a three-goal first period lead en route to a 6-1 victory over Trinity Western University.

The win puts the Saints up 1-0 in the best-of-three series with a chance to capture the 2014 BCIHL championship with a similar result in Game 2 on Saturday. Faceoff is set for 7:30 PM at the Castlegar Rec Complex.

Selkirk knew heading into the series that one of the keys to success would be solving Spartans' star netminder Silas Matthys. And they wasted little time in that department, as Thomas Hardy, Stefan Virtanen and Beau Taylor all struck for goals over the course of a 16-shot first period.

TWU gained some ground in the second when Grange Gordon pushed home a rebound from a Trevor Beaupre shot, but Darnell Dyck quickly restored the Saints' three-goal cushion just 1:17 later when he picked the pocket of a Spartans defender and beat Matthys on a breakaway. Taylor's second of the night off a scramble in the visitors' crease pushed the Selkirk lead to four after two periods.

The Spartans had opportunities to close the gap in a back-and-forth third period, including a J.P Villeneuve penalty shot attempt that was sent wide of Saints starter Chris Hurry. And Taylor dashed any hopes of a comeback when he netted his third of the night on a power-play with 4:31 remaining.

"It was very important to get off to a great start tonight and put TWU in a position where they had to play catch-up," says Saints head coach Jeff Dubois.

"On top of that, we had gone through a bit of a funk in February and at the start of this month where we weren't executing at our highest level offensively and tonight we really put that in the rearview mirror. We knew coming in that we had to make it tough on Matthys to see pucks and put ourselves in a spot to capitalize on second chances around their net. The guys were focused and locked in, and we got the results we deserved."

Hurry picked up the win with a 24-save performance, while Matthys allowed six goals on 45 shots in the loss.

"Chris had a quiet first period and then had to make some big saves in the second when things were tight and another goal against could have really changed the complexion of the game," says Dubois. "He's been a rock for us all season and he answered the challenge again tonight."

Taylor finished the night with four points after assisting on Hardy's goal in the first period. Dyck and Connor McLaughlin were the other Saints players with multi-point games.

SAINTS NOTES: The win extended Selkirk's home winning streak to 28 games.