Last weekend, the men’s hockey team travelled to Victoria to play two back-to-back games against the University of Victoria Vikes. While the first game was a convincing 4–1 win, the second game resulted in a disappointing 5–1 loss.
“We definitely played well on Friday, [a] total team effort,” explained Head Coach Mark Coletta. “A lot of intensity, good forecheck, [. . .] but we didn’t have our whole game with us Saturday night, and the result ended up 5–1 their way.”
The loss on Saturday was made even worse by some injury news. Forward Graham Smerek is “going to be out for a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury,” according to Coletta, and Adam Rossi is out with a “mild concussion,” while Lamont is serving a one-game suspension for fighting. As well, Jaret Babych is still on the sidelines and “probably won’t be ready” for Saturday night’s game against Trinity Western.
Perhaps the biggest storyline of the weekend was SFU forward Jono Ceci tying the BCIHL’s all-time scoring record. He got three points in Friday’s game to tie the record.
“Obviously we would have hoped he got three more points on Saturday, but it’s a great accomplishment,” said Coletta. “He’s been a great player for us, he’s proven his worth in our league, and now all he’s got to do is get one more to break it. It’s a tremendous feat, and it couldn’t have happened to a better person. He’s a quality guy on and off the ice.”
Friday’s game featured a goal and an assist from forward Tyler Basham. He’s off to a terrific start this season, with 12 points through nine games, and is only a point off from matching his point total from all of last season.
“We always knew Tyler was an explosive player,” noted Coletta. “We told him during the offseason that if he can consistently put it together, he’s going to get a lot of goals and a lot of point in our league. He’s so fast, he’s got a great shot, but he’s got to get constant looks at the net, and make sure he’s taking sure he’s taking advantage of these prime goal scoring opportunities.”
Jono Ceci and Tyler Basham both led the team on the road trip with three points, with Basham scoring in both games. Both Liem and Stanwood split the starts, with Liem getting the win on Friday, stopping 30 shots.
