Saints' top line does the damage to top Eastern Washington in home opener

Selkirk College rebounded from a slow start to their regular season in a big way on Friday night, leaning on their top line of Logan Proulx, Jackson Garrett and Darnell Dyck to the tune of 11 combined points in a 5-1 victory over Eastern Washington University.

The Saints raised their 2014 B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League banner to the rafters of the Castlegar Recreation Complex in a pre-game ceremony and then got to work on their extending their league-leading 24-game BCIHL home winning streak.

Garrett opened the scoring early in the first period off a set-up from Dyck and Proulx, and the line struck again in the second when Proulx and Dyck played give-and-go on a two-man breakaway to leave Eagles netminder Austin Brihn with little chance to make a save.

The Saints quieted any hopes of an EWU comeback early in the third period when Garrett completed a hat trick with back-to-back goals in a span of 2:02. Chase Wharton put EWU on the board on a power-play minutes later, but Alex Milligan's first BCIHL goal with 5:12 remaining in regulation capped the scoring.

Tempers flared late in the third period in what is likely to be a heated rivalry between a pair of geographic rivals that meet a total of 10 times in regular season play over the coming months.

EWU's attack was most often led by second-year forward Beau Walker, who created a number of chances for the visitors but couldn't manage to beat Saints goaltender James Prigione.

Brihn made 32 saves on the night and was particularly impressive during a 15-save second period, while Prigione made a number of key stops on the 24 shots sent his way.

Not surprisingly, the trio of Garrett, Proulx and Dyck were named the game's Three Stars.

Selkirk now travels to Langley on Friday, October 24th looking to avenge an early-season loss against Trinity Western before returning home the next night for another visit from the Eagles. Face-off at the Castlegar Rec Complex is set for 7:00 PM on October 25th.