Over the last weekend the SFU men’s hockey team played two games, and it was a tale of two different results. The first was against Eastern Washington, which was won by SFU in a close 3–2 game. The second one was a 5–0 loss at the hands of rivals Selkirk College.
“We had real good energy friday night,” said Head Coach Mark Coletta on the weekend’s games. “We had good pace, and obviously we got the win. But Saturday we came out flat, and didn’t compete hard enough.”
Friday night’s game got off to a great start for the Clan: they were able to get up to a 2–0 lead, thanks to goals from Michael Sandor and newcomer Brandon Tidy, shorthanded. But after that, Eastern Washington forward Beau Walker scored both goals to tie it up at two.
“Obviously he’s a good player,” said Coletta about Walker. “He’s a good skater, he’s got great skill, and he’s a Division I transfer. We’ve had trouble identifying where he’s on the ice, and bumping him when he has the puck.”
The third period featured 13 shots by SFU, and they got the winning goal courtesy of Jesse Mysiorek, his first of the season. Goalie Jordan Liem made 28 saves on the night.
The second game was in stark contrast to the first one. The Clan were badly outshot and took twice as many penalties in this game compared to the first. So what went wrong in the second game?
“A lot of it is physiological,” remarked Coletta. “There’ still a stigma when we go up to Selkirk and play there. It’s part of the mental aspect of the game, and we still need to work on that.”
After Nelson Hurry gave Selkirk the 1–0 lead, the doors burst open in the second period. Selkirk scored three in the frame, including one early in the period on the powerplay. They rubbed salt in their wounds with a fifth goal in the third. Selkirk player Ryan Edwards ended the game with an incredible five assists.
With a goal over the weekend, new player Tidy has gotten off to a quick start in his BCIHL career. He now has three points in five games, and has become a regular in Mark Coletta’s lineup.
“He’s a character guy,” Coletta noted. “He plays a bold, hard, crashing style of game that has worked out well for us.”
The trip leaves the team 2–1 on the road on the season. Their next game is on the road against Trinity Western at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday.
