The Simon Fraser University club hockey team learned a tough lesson at the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League playoffs this weekend.
The two-time defending provincial intercollegiate champions lost 4-3 in overtime to the University of Victoria in the championship final at the Kamloops Memorial Arena on Sunday.
The Clan held two-goal leads in both the first and second periods but let both advantages slip away before surrendering the game-winner to Dustin Taylor in the opening minute of extra time in the final.
Bill Smith and Todd Fletcher of New Westminster gave SFU a 2-0 first-period lead. Colton Graf made the score 3-1 midway through the middle frame.
SFU also lost 4-3 in a shootout to UVic earlier in the playoff round despite a two-goal outing by Tyler Mah of Burnaby.
"In the two games against Victoria I don't think that we battled as hard as they did," said SFU head coach Mark Coletta. "It's been a recurring theme with our team after the UBC series. We took things too lightly."
After its first-round loss to Victoria, SFU blanked Thompson Rivers University 3-0 on Friday before advancing to the final following a 4-3 victory over Okanagan College in the semifinals on Saturday.
Joey Pavone scored a pair of third-period goals, and Graeme Gordon posted the shutout against TRU.
Bill Smith scored the game-winning tally in a three-point effort against the Kelowna college in the semis.
"Four finals in four years is a good thing for our program, but I can't say it was anything but disappointing to lose in the final," Coletta said.
Coletta hopes to use the bitter loss as a motivation tool for improving the club moving forward, he said.
