By: Dylan Webb
At the Bill Copeland Sports Centre on Friday night, SFU hockey bested the visiting Selkirk Saints to secure their playoff positioning and increase the likelihood of home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs for the Clan. With the win, SFU can now only finish third place or higher, which almost guarantees a match up with the Saints in the first round. The 4–1 win itself demonstrated the importance of home ice advantage in the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) playoffs, especially against a team like the Selkirk Saints who are much harder to play against in their own barn as demonstrated by the fact that the season series between the two teams thus far has seen the home team win every game. SFU will seek to break this trend and take a key step toward securing home ice advantage next weekend in Castlegar when the Clan face the Saints for the final time this regular season in what is undoubtedly the most important matchup of the BCIHL season thus far.
The first period saw the Clan set a tone of dominance over the Saints that would be enough to carry them to victory. Breaking a trend of allowing the first goal of the game early, the Clan immediately jumped out to a 2–0 lead early in the first period on goals from veteran forwards Spencer Unger and Mak Barden. This was a lead the team would not relinquish at any point in the game as a total team effort on the defensive side of the puck, led by one of starting goaltender Lyndon Stanwood’s best efforts of the year, would suffocate the Selkirk offence and limit them to one goal in the game. The win sets up an epic showdown next Saturday night as the Saints will host the Clan for an all important matchup that will preview the likely first round playoff series for both teams as well as determine which team enjoys home ice advantage in the series.
The second period of the game was marred by a litany of whistles and questionable officiating that resulted in the pace of play being slowed to that of a snail. There was no scoring in the period as SFU’s team defence kept chances to the outside and rebounds controlled, as the disjointed nature of the period prevented either team from building much momentum. The Clan cemented their winning effort early in the third period with goals from Austin Adam and Mathew Berry-Lamontagna. Adam sniped a beauty from the point top corner with one of his signature floating, precision point shots. Berry-Lamontagna’s goal, a quick hard shot off the back bar and out, was initially ruled a cross bar and no goal until minutes later, after the play had been whistled down, the referees decided the puck had actually entered the net. This offensive contribution from the back end gave the Clan all the separation they would need to secure the win as they defeated the Saints for the second time in four games this year. While SFU’s domination in time of possession and shots was not as pronounced throughout the rest of the game as it was in the first, a strong team effort resulted in SFU’s 15th win of the year.
Between the pipes, Stanwood, starting for the 21st time this season, had one of his best games of the year as he held Selkirk at bay throughout the evening. Stanwood will need to continue to perform at this level as the Clan faces the likelihood of playing the Selkirk Saints in the first round of the playoffs. Without question, he will be a key ingredient in any recipe for playoff success that the Clan cooks up in the coming weeks.
The win over Selkirk sets the Clan just one point back of the Saints for second place in the league. On top of this, the two teams will square off once more in the remaining three games of the season. Playoff positioning is likely to be decided in this game as, barring an extraordinary collapse by the league-leading Trinity Western Spartans, the Clan and Saints are likely to finish second and third with second place and home ice advantage in the first round on the line in Castlegar on Saturday night.
Forward Tim Chow, scratched for the game due to a nagging injury, agreed that this was one of the Clan’s best efforts throughout the season. “The boys, as a whole, played really well, especially on the defensive side of the puck,” he said, adding that it was unquestionably a huge win that sets up another huge game next weekend. When asked about the likely matchup with the Saints and the enormous implications for playoff positioning the game Saturday in Castlegar holds, he emphasized the importance of securing home ice as the Castlegar Recreation Centre is considered the hardest building in the league to play in. The next game for the Clan is in that very building, a showdown with the Saints, on Saturday February 24 at 4 p.m.
The final home game of the season for the Clan is scheduled for March 3 at Bill Copeland Sports Centre vs. the University of Victoria Vikes. As it is the final home game of the regular season, it will be seniors night at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre as the Clan celebrates the contributions of its graduating players. Come out and support the Clan and their graduating seniors as they chase a BCIHL championship. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
