LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western fell 5-2 to Manitoba on Friday afternoon at the George Preston Arena.
The Spartans (0-6-1) got goals from
Mitchell Joss (Winnipeg) and
Kolby Johnson (Kerrobert, Sask.) while the Bisons (3-2-0) were led by a two-goal from Devon Skoleski as Michael King, Colton Veloso, and Jackson Arpin also found their way onto the scoresheet.
In net, TWU goaltender
Isaac LaBelle (Saskatoon) stood tall, stopping 21 of 26 shots faced, but U of M goaltender Ross Hawryluk earned the victory in Friday's tilt, stopping all but to of the 17 shots he faced for his third victory of the season.
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans went down early with Skoleski finding the back of the net only 1:17 into the first frame of play. Joss would tie things up only four minutes later, but Veloso reeled in a feed from Skoleski to give Manitoba a 2-1 edge heading into the second period.
The Bisons kicked off the second period with two more unanswered goals. Skoleski scored his second of the night on a power play opportunity, connecting with Brett Davis and Chase Hartje to give U of M their first multi-goal lead of the night (9:40). Manitoba potted their fourth marker only one minute later as Michael King knocked in his first goal of the season, bringing the score to a 4-1 Bisons advantage. Still, the Spartans refused to give up as a point-shot from
Travis Verveda (Alix, Alta.) was tipped by Johnson into Hawryluk's net for TWU's second goal of the night.
The third period took some time to get going, but Manitoba ended up being the only team who had a goal in them as Jackson Arpin batted the puck out of the air for his first of the season (11:28).
QUOTABLE
Ben Walter – TWU Head Coach
"Not the start we wanted. We knew they had some players who can make plays and move their feet, but we let them dictate play – especially in the first period. I thought we had times where we pushed back and showed what we're capable of. When we get teams on their heels, using our speed to get on the forecheck, then we can be an effective team. We haven't been able to do that for a full 60 minutes yet.
"[Isaac] LaBelle played solid – he gave us a chance again. There were a couple breakdowns in our end. Right now, it seems like us making a questionable decision in our zone ends in the other team scoring more often than not. We know that we can do better, and the players know what we need to do in order to have success. A lot of our success depends on continuing to work on our pace in practice. We need to get used to making plays quicker with pressure being faced. We have 27 guys, so we need to find the right mix to get the results we need.
"I thought the [Josh] Borynec, [Kolby] Johnson, and [Jordan] Bogress line gave us energy today. They scored one for us, and they played the way they need to play."
NOTABLE
- TWU's all-time record against the Bisons now stands at 1-2. The Spartans won their second Canada West match against the Bisons on Jan. 29, 2022.
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 32 Canada West team championships.
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