On “My First Hockey Game” night at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre, fans were treated to a great game between Simon Fraser University and Selkirk College on Saturday night. Simon Fraser won after a Mathew Berry-Lamontagna goal in overtime gave the Clan the 3–2 victory.
“I picked it up kind of funny on my backhand when I got it. I looked [to] pass first, I took a look at the net and I saw I had some space, and I took a shot,” said Berry-Lamontagna after the match. “I’ve never had an overtime winner before so that was pretty cool.”
The goal came in the overtime period, after Simon Fraser let in a goal from Selkirk College to tie the game 2–2 with less than four minutes to go in regulation. “You never want to lose a lead with three minutes left, but I don’t think we panicked too much,” said Berry-Lamontagna.
This was a big win for SFU considering the situation in which they played. Jayden Piattelli, Jaret Babych, Austin Adam, and Eric Callegari were all unavailable in this one, while captain Brandon Tidy (who usually plays forward) was forced to line up as a defenceman.
“I just told the boys, ‘Hey, sometimes in situations like that, opportunity arises. Certain guys are going to play different minutes, certain guys are going to be on the powerplay. If you do your job and rise to the occasion you’re going to get a lot of ice time,’” said head coach Mark Colletta.
The powerplay did not struggle due to these absences, as the Clan got two powerplay goals in the third period. The first came from Mac Colasimone, who was assisted by Daniell Lange and Berry-Lamontagna less than two minutes into the period. Two minutes later, Ian Mackey took advantage of his opportunity on the powerplay, netting his second goal of the season off of assists from Berry-Lamontagna and Mak Barden.
While Berry-Lamontagna had a fantastic game, the first star of the night was SFU goalkeeper Lyndon Stanwood who saved 31 shots for a .939 save percentage. “The team played really well in front of me, it was easy to see the pucks coming in,” said Stanwood after the game on his performance.
With the win, SFU hockey now sits at 6–3 on the season, good for third in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League. They will play their next game on Friday night as they host expansion team Vancouver Island University, who are fourth in the league with a 4–5 record. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.
