Love may have been in the air, but it certainly wasn’t on the ice when SFU played host to Trinity Western last Saturday. The Valentine’s Day game was the third one straight against the local rivals, and a total of 74 penalty minutes were recorded between the two teams. The vast majority of these were for scrums after the whistle.
Oh, and there were goals as well. After Trinity Western took a 1–0 lead on a two-on-one break with Brandon Tidy on the powerplay, Brendan Lamont scored for SFU to take the lead, before Russell of Trinity Western scored in the third to tie it up. The game needed a shootout to decide things, where Lamont scored the only goal, giving SFU both the 3–2 win and the two points in the standings.
“I think Tom Spencer said it well. Anytime you play three games in a row against the same team, regular season wise, it’s going to get chippy,” said Head Coach Mark Coletta afterwards. “[When] it’s a regular season game, three in a row, you’re going to get that.”
The Clan are going through a bit of an injury crisis at the moment. Jordan Liem, Jesse Mysiorek, Jesse Williamson, and Jared Babych were all out of tonight’s contest. Despite that, SFU has gotten solid contributions from players such as Dustin Cave, who have come in and done a great job filling in for players. It raises the question of whether the injured players will get their spot back after they are back to full fitness.
“I like the [idea] that you don’t lose your spot because of an injury,” explained Coach Coletta. “If they’re healthy enough, and they’re fit enough, they’re going to jump right back into where we think they serve the team the best.”
Goaltender Lyndon Stanwood, who was named first star after a 42-save performance, was the surprise starter on the night. He was the game day choice after Jordan Liem was not able to play due to an illness.
“Yeah, I felt good,” said Stanwood. “I think I’ve struggled a bit throughout the beginning of the year, haven’t been getting the bounces I want, but I played a lot better today, saw the puck, kept them out of the net, and got the win.”
After the win, Stanwood and teammates celebrated very emphatically, more than the usual business-like approach that has become a part of the team.
Said Stanwood, “they were giving it back to our team so I thought I’d just overexpress my emotions on how happy I was. I didn’t even think about it, I just did it. It was pretty fun.”
SFU sits in first place in the league, two points up on Selkirk College. The rest of the season will be about keeping hold of that first place to ensure home ice advantage, as the Clan has already clinched a playoff spot.
“One hundred percent, home ice advantage is huge,” explained Coletta. “When you can play two out of three at our own rink, especially how we play at home with our team speed, it’s a benefit for us and it’s our goal. We’re only thinking that way right now, to get first place.”
