MERRITT, BC — SFU Hockey are looking to keep a perfect series record against the Okanagan Lakers, as they continue exhibition play on the road this Saturday.

SFU opened up exhibition play on September 11 with a 4-3 shootout win at home against the expansion Lakers, who were playing their first ever game.

The Lakers put up a tough fight. SFU held a 3-2 lead for much of the third period, but Lakers forward Marshall Porteus forced overtime with his third goal of the night with just 1:16 left in regulation. Third-year forward Kyle Bergh finished the job for SFU with the shootout winner.

“They came out and they played hard,” Bergh said of the Lakers. “You’re not coming out of a puck battle without a hack or a whack. They have lots of grit and sandpaper to their game.”

SFU are also looking to rebound from a tough loss last weekend against UBC to open Captain’s Cup action. Despite Jacob Lacasse scoring the first goal of the night, UBC ended up taking it 8-2.

“We have a couple games under our belt now, so we’re a little bit more prepared. We’ve got to dictate the pace of play, and we think we can do that Saturday,” said head coach Mark Coletta.

SFU went 2-for-6 on the power play against the Lakers, and Mateo Coltellaro scored on the power play versus UBC. Converting on the man advantage will play a big part against a chippy Lakers team.

“We’ve got to punish teams when they do take penalties. We’re trying out a lot of new faces. Guys are really trying to put their best foot forward, so they know they can compete for a spot,” continued Coletta.

This game will see SFU and Okanagan — who are based in Kelowna — play on neutral grounds in Merritt at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena. It’s a familiar rink for SFU forward Hunor Torszok and assistant coach Scott Patterson who played 38 regular season games and 115 regular season games respectively for the Merritt Centennials of the BCHL.

Puck drop is 4 pm, free for all spectators to attend.