Grayson Leahy, Heat Sports Information
KELOWNA, B.C. - After having scored three goals to date on the season, and never having scored more than three in a match since joining Canada West six seasons ago, the UBC Okanagan Heat men put away the Saskatchewan Huskies by a final score of 5-1 under the lights at Nonis Field.
The five-goal Friday night outing for the Heat men featured scoring from throughout the roster with forwards, midfielders, and defenders all getting in on the action. The first half saw Heat defender Hamish Walde get the scoring started with an early goal in the 9th, and midfielder Cole Kingzett sacrificed a shoe to beat a defender and score in the 27th.
In the second half it was forward Andrei Stalfort (70'), defender Shaun Pilcher (75'), and forward Wyatt Gilbert putting the Okanagan side into new high-scoring territory.
On the other side it was Marcello Gonzalez scoring for the Huskies in the 22nd minute, his third of the season. Aside from that goal the best opportunity for Saskatchewan came late in the first half, as Heat keeper Mitch McCaw had to make a leaping save to put a Gabriel Buatois shot over the crossbar.
Career Milestones:
Fourth year defender Shaun Pilcher and freshman forward Andrei Stalfort both earned their first career goals with the Heat in the Friday night win, scoring just five minutes apart in the second half to help the Heat set a new program record for scoring in a game.
Excellent finishes: The highlight of the night had to be first year forward from Romania Andrei Stalfort's goal to extend the Heat lead to two goals. Stalfort after subbing into the match just minutes prior scissor-kicked a pass from Corbin Beauchemin past the Huskies keeper to open the UBCO floodgates and extend the home team's lead to 3-1.
Defender Shaun Pilcher scored his first goal by showing some burst and blowing by his defender and muscling a shot into the back of the net. Nikhil Reddy
Key Performance:
Fifth year Heat midfielder Corbin Beauchemin was all over the pitch Friday night. Contributing offensively with three shots and an assist, his defence may have been even more impressive as he showed no quit whatsoever in shutting down a number of Huskies attempts to break up the wings, and putting his body on the line to force turnovers and block shots.
In the net: With the win, Mitch McCaw evened his Canada West career record at (8-8-2) and with the seven saves tonight he now has 22 on the season, fourth best in the conference. McCaw is third in the conference with a .815 save percentage.
What's Next:
The UBC Okanagan Heat (2-3-0) have just the once game scheduled for this weekend, and so will play next on the road on Saturday, September 23 against the Calgary Dinos (2-2-0). For the University of Saskatchewan Huskies (4-2-0) their next matchup will be against the Trinity Western Spartans (2-1-3) tomorrow night, September 16, in Langley, B.C.