LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western's women's hockey team earned its first-ever weekend sweep in Canada West after beating Alberta 4-1 Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
Coupled with their 3-1 win over the Pandas on Friday, the Spartans improved their record to 3-3, which sees them already surpass their win total from the inaugural season (2021-22), when they posted a 2-18 record.
Amy Potomak (Aldergrove, B.C.) and
Brooklyn Anderson (Shellbrook, Sask.) each scored twice to lead the Spartans offensively. Potomak now has a team-leading five goals on the season, as she put together back-to-back two-goal games this weekend.
Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) nabbed her second win in as many games, stopping 25 of the 26 shots she faced.
Alberta's Natalie Kieser scored the lone goal for the Pandas (3-3), while goalie Halle Oswald stopped 14 of the 16 shots she faced. TWU tallied two empty net goals.
The Spartans penalty kill was tested repeatedly, but TWU killed off five of six penalties and scored twice shorthanded. Alberta was whistled for just one penalty all night and held TWU off the scoresheet.
AS IT HAPPENED
Potomak opened the scoring in the first period when she stole the puck shorthanded behind Alberta net and spun out in front while rifling the puck past Oswald.
Fawcett made nine saves in the first period while Oswald stopped five of the six shots she faced.
TWU doubled its lead midway through the second when Anderson found a rebound in the slot and whipped the puck past the blocker of Oswald.
McKenzie Mayo (Saskatoon) and
Olivia Leier (Regina) picked up the assists.
TWU outshot the Pandas 6-5 in the second period.
Alberta pushed back in the final frame, outshooting the Spartans 12-6 in the third period and were rewarded with a power-play goal, when Kieser rifled home a shot from the slot at 9:12. Despite the Pandas getting two more power-play opportunities, the TWU penalty kill held strong and it was Anderson scoring shorthanded into an empty net that sealed the victory for the home side.
Potomak slotted home the Spartans fourth goal of the game into an empty net with 29 seconds to play.
QUOTABLE
Jean Laforest – Head Coach
"Alberta was all over us tonight, so I have to give credit to them. They played a great game. Our execution wasn't great and we weren't getting pucks deep. They did a great job. For us, when we had opportunities to score and take advantage of openings, we did, which is great. It wasn't the prettiest game that we've played but the result came up thanks to work ethic and determination. I thought Kate played a great game. She is definitely a player who we can put into big games. There was a lot of traffic and she made some great saves.
"Some of our younger players played well today.
Ella Boon (Vanderhoof, B.C.) played a great game on the back end. I thought our defence played well. Up front, we didn't generate as much offence as I would have liked, but at the end of the day a win is a win.
"Brooklyn and Amy are relentless hockey players. They're both great with the puck and they compete extremely hard and they have great determination. They lead by example. Every team needs those go-to players and they are those two for us."
NOTABLE
· TWU is now 2-2 all-time against Alberta.
· Potomak now sits fourth in Canada West scoring with five goals and two assists in six games.
· Fawcett is now second in CW in save percentage, at .935, and fourth in CW in goals against average, at 1.67.
UP NEXT
The Spartans travel to play the University of Manitoba Oct. 21-22.
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, as well as women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 13 U SPORTS team championships and 31 Canada West team championships.
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