LANGLEY, B.C. – The Trinity Western Spartans fell 2-0 against the MacEwan Griffins on their home ice at the Langley Events Centre on Friday.
 
The Spartans (2-7-0) couldn't beat MacEwan (4-5-0) goaltender Natalie Bender. Bender was spectacular, stopping all 19 shots she faced to earn her first shutout of the 2021-22 season.
 
Mabel Maltais (Edmonton) and TWU's defensive core of McKenzie Mayo (Saskatoon), Chelsea DeBusschere (Lloydminster, Alta.), and Jaidia Pisani (Sturgeon County, Alta.) were outstanding, marshalling the Spartans penalty kill to a perfect 6/6 record.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The first period of action saw the Spartans get caught on their heels, taking three two-minute minor penalties. The Griffins were unable to catch the Spartans on the advantage, but they were still able to add a marker of their own while both teams were full strength. Claire Hobbs worked the puck down low, creating havoc in the defensive zone. The Spartans were unable to clear the puck as it came out to MacEwan defender Kyrelle Skoye put a shot on net for Rylee Gluska to tip it past Maltais. Spartans goaltender Mabel Maltais stood tall in net, stopping 12 of 13 shots faced throughout the first 20 minutes of play.
 
The second period saw the Spartans surge early, drawing a penalty while hemming the Griffins into their zone. TWU captain Neisha Germann (Lloydminster, Alta.) had a goal disallowed on their first power play of the game, beating MacEwan goaltender Natalie Bender. Although the puck made it past Bender, Germann's turn-and-shoot effort was denied by both posts before the game could be brought back to a tie. The Spartans looked strong for the remainder of the period until MacKenzie Dachuk put home a wraparound goal soon before the period's end to put the Griffins at a 2-0 lead.
 
The Spartans and Griffins both had spurts of brilliance in the third period, but no goals were scored to show the efforts of either side, ending the game at a 2-0 loss for the Spartans on home ice.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Jean Laforest
"We were all over the map. At times we had them hemmed in, but other times we struggled to get the puck out of our zone, so it is really hard to evaluate this game. They're a structured hockey club, they are basic, but effective in how they play. We didn't capitalize either.
 
"This is a team that we are competing against for that last playoff spot. Losing tonight puts a lot more pressure on us to split with them tomorrow. An optimal situation for us would have been to take both games to solidify that race for the last spot.
 
"We get to play them again tomorrow, so hopefully we rebound off of this. This was the first time we kept a team under 30 shots and that was one of our main focal points in tonight's game. Tomorrow is another day, and we'll be right back at them.
 
NOTABLE

• MacEwan goaltender Natalie Bender earned her first shutout of the 2021-22 season. This shutout stands as the second in Canada West women's hockey this year, with TWU goaltender Jadeyn Kastning (Medicine Hat, Alta.) being the first to blank an opponent this season. Kastning did so in TWU's historic victory over Saskatchewan on Nov. 5^th.

 UP NEXT
The Spartans are back at it against the Griffins (4-5-0) at the Langley Events Centre for part two on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.
 
-TW-