LANGLEY, B.C. – Raphael Audet (Rimouski, Que.) made 61 stops as Trinity Western fell 5
-4 to UBC on Friday night at the George Preston Arena.
The Spartans faced a 5-1 deficit in the second period nearly bouncing back against an energetic Thunderbirds team.
TWU's (1-10-1) night saw goals from
Michael Spafford (Saskatoon), Mitchell Joss (Winnipeg),
Luke Spadafora (Calgary), and Boston Bird (Saskatoon), who earned his first at the Canada West level. The Thunderbirds (6-4-2) enjoyed a strong night from Josh Williams, who scored twice. Williams was joined by Sam Huo, Jake Lee, and Sasha Mutala as the UBC goal scorers on the night.
In UBC's net, it was Cole Schwebius earning third win of the season, making 32 saves on 36 shots faced.
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans were put at odds early with Sam Huo's marker finding the back of Audet's net only 1:21 into the first period. Soon after, Williams scored twice (5:46, 7:38), putting UBC up 3-0 less than 10 minutes into the game. Spafford interrupted the Thunderbirds' party 14:04 into the first, wrapping the period up at a 3-1 line favouring UBC.
Lee (5:20) and Mutala (9:37) formed a tally of unanswered markers before Bird, a first-year, earned his first goal of his U SPORTS career 15:49 into the second period, ending the frame's score at 5-2.
The Spartans started to find their way in the third period. Joss scored his third goal of the season 10:34 into the period, then Spadafora found his fifth goal of the season three minutes later (13:52). TWU had some notable opportunities near the end of the game, but UBC held the line at 5-4 to earn their sixth victory of the season.
QUOTABLE
Ben Walter – TWU Head Coach
"I don't think we prepared as well as we could have before the game. A lot of our players didn't come out in the way we needed to, and we didn't have much jump. We let them dictate the first 40 minutes – letting them play the way they wanted to. Raphael [Audet] held us in the game. He gave us a chance, and he was the reason we were still in the game after the first two periods. I'm proud of him. He's given us that effort every game he has played this year – he's been a huge positive.
"We weren't ready. We seemed surprised, and we didn't have an answer for them through 40 minutes. To give credit to our guys, they stepped up in the third. That's what makes it more frustrating – showing what we're capable of in spurts. Until we can put it together for a full game we're going to have games like this – relying on our goaltending and having to claw our way back into games."
NOTABLE
- The Spartans are 0-6-1 all-time against the Thunderbirds.
- Tanner Hopps (North Delta, B.C.) leads the Spartans with 10 points across 11 games played.
- Audet's performance stands as the third most saves of all-time in a Canada West game, and the most in a regulation game. Steven Sanford set the record on Feb. 26, 2016, making 77 saves in a 2OT victory over Saskatchewan.
UP NEXT
The Spartans host Calgary (8-3-0) next weekend (Nov. 18-19) at the George Preston Arena.
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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