SFU returns to the ice for the first time this season with a preseason game against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m. at Thunderbird Arena.
Though the two teams are in separate leagues — SFU in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League and UBC in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport — the two teams have competed against each other in an annual showcase each year since 2011.
With an offense, including returning fifth-year forward Jono Ceci, who is 10 points away from becoming the B.C. Intercollegiate league’s all-time leading scorer, and new additions, including B.C. Hockey League champion Brendan Lamont, who notched 63 points in his final junior campaign with the Coquitlam Express, SFU looks to avenge a 6-0 loss last year to the varsity Thunderbirds.
This match-up will also mark the first game for UBC’s new head coach Adam Shell, succeeding former bench boss Tyler Kuntz, who accepted a position as an assistant coach with the Western Hockey League Vancouver Giants.
The Clan are coming off a season in which they made the league finals, falling just short of the league title to the Selkirk College Saints. SFU are three-time BCIHL champions, sharing the record for most championships with the University of Victoria.
Founded in 2005, SFU hockey is celebrating its 10th anniversary throughout this season with a variety of special events, including hosting the BCIHL Showcase in January 2016.
SFU will also head east in October to face off against reigning NCAA Division I champions, the Providence Friars, before playing fellow Div I contenders, the Northeastern Huskies.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Arena. The Clan will return home on Friday for a preseason matchup against crosstown rivals Trinity Western Spartans at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre. Game time is also at 7 p.m.
