LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western were shut out by the no. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds on Friday, falling 4-0 in front of their home crowd at the Langley Events Centre.
The Spartans (1-10-0) came out of the gate hot with the team's second line of
Josh Borynec (Parkland County, Alta.),
Logan Casavant (Melfort, Sask.), and
Jordan Bogress (Ladner, B.C.) were strong out of the gates, creating several threatening chances against UBC (9-1-1).
Even though the Spartans had their moments, UBC took the game, riding a four-point performance from team captain Tyler Sandhu and a 23-save shutout from Rylan Toth.
AS IT HAPPENED
An inspired group of Spartans took the ice to start Thursday's game, compiling numerous chances in UBC's defensive zone. The most notable chances came from TWU's second line, starting with
Logan Casavant nearly scoring a wraparound goal on Toth to put the game at a 1-0 Spartans lead. Toth was barely able to react to Casavant's move in time, keeping the game in balance. Just minutes later,
Jordan Bogress streaked down the right wing to get to the net before Rylan Toth shut the door once again.
The second period begun with
Talor Joseph (Sherwood Park, Alta.) stretching out to make a massive save, just stretching his left pad out to keep the game at a scoreless tie. Still, the Spartans were slowly being burnt by the penalties they were taking. These penalties soon compiled into golden power play opportunities for the visiting Thunderbirds. Given the strength of their power play, UBC quickly put away two markers on the man-advantage to go up 2-0. Tyler Sandhu soon followed with a third goal on even strength to put TWU at a 3-0 deficit.
Travis Verveda (Alix, Alta.) nearly put away a golden chance in the third, but Toth stood tall once again. Verveda, who had picked up the puck on the right wing with a lot of space to work with, was given nothing to shoot at from Toth. Verveda made his way around Toth, sweeping the puck across the crease to compensate for the bad angle he was given.
Hayden Guilderson (Chilliwack, B.C.) had been tied up by an opposing defenseman in front of the net, giving the Spartans no chance at breaking the seal.
NOTABLE
- Talor Joseph was solid in net once again, making timely stops on a consistent basis throughout the game. Joseph stopped 33 of 37 shots faced, earning himself a save percentage of .892 on the night.
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Barret Kropf
"That first five minutes of the game were great. It was tough to not get that bounce for the disallowed goal.
"They got a couple power play markers in the second period. Momentum is a real thing and they got that off of us.
"I thought our guys played well. We kept our shape in the neutral zone and we were effective on our forecheck. We need to find a way to get out of the box, that is our Achilles heel. If we can find a way to stay disciplined so we're not killing penalties for 12 minutes of the game then we can be more efficient. We can't be giving the no. 2 team in the country six power plays, they're too good for that.
"We need to get back on the discipline train and continue the process of playing really good five-on-five hockey. We can skate with these guys, just not when we're a man down."
UP NEXT
The Spartans will host UBC again on Saturday (7p.m., Dec. 4
th) at the Langley Events Centre. TWU hockey is partnering with the Fraser Valley Food Bank for Saturday night's game, offering free entry to anyone who brings an item of food for the food bank.
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.
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