On Friday night, the Simon Fraser hockey team travelled to Vancouver Island to play the University of Victoria (UVIC) at the Ian Stewart Complex. Two special teams goals by star defenceman and assistant captain Mathew Berry-Lamontagna proved to be the difference, as SFU won 4–2. After a great first period and a poor second period by Simon Fraser, Berry-Lamontagna’s second goal put the icing on the cake for a solid SFU win.
He also opened the scoring as he scored a shorthanded goal assisted by first-year forward Ian Mackey in the first period. The goal, scored with 8:43 left in the period, gave Simon Fraser a 1–0 lead which they would continue to add to before the period ended. Jaret Babych was the next SFU player to score, as he scored the game’s only five-on-five goal assisted by Mac Colasimone and Brendan Lamont. The goal gives Babych his fifth of the season in only six games so far this campaign.
Just before the period ended, Austin Adam gave the Vikes more to worry about heading into the break as he scored a powerplay goal assisted by Tyler Basham and captain Brandon Tidy. With the assist, Basham is now tied with Berry-Lamontagna for the team lead in points with 12 points in 12 games. Adam’s goal gave the SFU team a healthy 3–0 lead heading into the first intermission.
The Vikes bounced back in the second period, although it wasn’t until late in the frame. UVIC’s Mike Janz and Liam Shaw both scored powerplay goals with less than 2:30 left in the period, making a game of it heading into the third. At this point, Simon Fraser had already given away seven powerplays to their opposition, which is always a way to let a team back into a game.
In the third period, however, the whistle started to go SFU’s way as UVIC was charged with five penalties, including four in the last 10 minutes of the game. Berry-Lamontagna capitalized on one of those, scoring a powerplay goal with 8:26 to go in the game, assisted by Eric Callegari and Mak Barden. The visiting team then rode the 4–2 lead for the rest of the game and claimed a big win to start the new year.
Lyndon Stanwood had a solid game for SFU, saving 19–21 shot attempts in the contest. This was his sixth win of the season.
With the victory, Simon Fraser are now firmly in third place in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League, with a 7–5–0 record. They will stay on the island to play fourth-place team Vancouver Island on Saturday night at 8 p.m. at Nanaimo Ice Centre.
