A third game in as many nights is a daunting task, but that’s what SFU faced when they played Selkirk College on Saturday night. Winning the previous two games against Trinity Western and Eastern Washington, a win would see the Clan go for perfect in this difficult stretch, and extend their lead on top of the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) to nine points. With another great performance from Lyndon Stanwood and the first BCIHL goal from Tim Chow, SFU was able to defeat Selkirk 3–1.
“I thought it was a great game,” said head coach Mark Coletta afterwards. “The second period we didn’t play that well, and I think it’s tough to play three games in three nights. You’re going to have a little bit of a sleepy period, but that was it.
“But in the third, the way the guys battled and played, it was tremendous.”
The first period saw the first career BCIHL goal for Tim Chow. The first-year player gave SFU a 1–0 lead with about three minutes to go in the opening frame. The walk-on was rewarded for his hard work throughout the season thus far.
“I got a really nice pass from Darnel [St. Pierre],” said Chow, explaining his goal. “I had some room, probably should have shot it, turned around. I was really looking for a pass the whole time, and there was four of their guys in front of the net. I just decided to throw it there and luckily it went in.”
The second featured no scoring from either team, but probably should have. Off a two-on-one break, Selkirk appeared to score. Not so, said the referee, and the goal was waved off.
Once the third got started, Selkirk finally got their tying goal, as Jack Mills put one home on the powerplay. However, a few minutes later, Jesse Mysiorek scored what ended up being the game-winner off a scramble in front. Mike Sandor scored the insurance goal off a strangle deflection in front.
Lyndon Stanwood got the start in goal, and was once again impressive, to say the least. He let in one goal on 20 shots, and improved to a perfect 9–0 on the year. It’s been a remarkable turnaround this year for Stanwood, who last season had only four wins and a save percentage of .870.
“I think it’s that competition side of him,” said Coletta on what has changed for Stanwood this season. “He’s a warrior out there, he battles. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’s a smaller goalie, he knows that he has to make himself look big; he knows that he has to compete. It’s fun to watch. Him and [Jordan] Liem are two really good goalies, so it’s fun to see the contrasting styles.”
SFU is now 15–3–2 on the year and have won four-straight.
Next Game: SFU takes on the University of Victoria (UVic) on Friday in Victoria, before they play Eastern Washington at Bill Copeland on Saturday. The Clan are 4–0–1 against UVic and 5–0 against Eastern Washington, scoring 33 goals and only conceding six against the Eagles.
