EDMONTON, Alberta –  Special teams prove to be the difference as Trinity Western Spartans drop a 7-1 decision to the Alberta Golden Bears Saturday night in Edmonton, Alta. The Spartans, who were outshot 42-19, finished the night with one man advantage goal, while the Bears finished the game with three power play goals and a short handed goal.
 
TWU's Isaac LeBelle (Saskatoon, Sask.) took the loss, while Alberta's Ethan Kruger earned the win. Alberta now sits atop the Canada West standings at 5-0-0-0-1, while TWU currently has a record of 0-5-1-0-0-1.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
Tyler Preziuso and Adam Hall scored twice each for the Bears, with Ethan Sakowich, Dylan Plouffe, and Jakin Smallwood also finding the scoresheet. Ethan Kruger stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced in his first career Canada West start.
 
Spartans goalie LeBelle gave up four goals on 21 shots, before being pulled midway through the second. TWU's Berk Berkeliev (Calgary) played the final 33:30 in net for the Spartans, and made 18 saves. Trinity Western's lone goal came from Jesse Pomeroy (Prince George, B.C.) late in the third.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Ben Walter
"Tonight through 40 minutes we showed that we still have a lot of work to do. Give them credit, they played well, they have a good team. We just could not match their intensity and the way that they are hard on pucks and just the way that they play."
 
"I was proud of our response in the third period. We played with some passion and showed a little bit, of what we are capable of, but just overall we still have some work to do.".
 
On individual player performances:
"Aidan Seinke (St. Albert, Alta.) gave us a lot of energy all game. He played hard. He's not our biggest player, but he played physical, made hits, blocked shots, so I was proud of his effort tonight."
 
NOTABLE
• The Spartans scored their lone goal on the power play finishing 1/8 with the man advantage. While the Bears scored three power play goals and a short handed goal, finishing 3/9.
• Trinity Western currently has 13 goals for, while giving up 37 (-24), while Alberta has scored 31 goals and given up 11 (+20).
• There were 28 penalties (14 each) called in the game.
 
UP NEXT
The 5-0-1 Bears will visit the 5-1-0 Saskatchewan Huskies next weekend in Saskatoon, while the winless Spartans will host the 2-2-0 Manitoba Bisons. All games can be seen live on Candawest.TV.
 
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 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.
 
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