LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans dropped a tough back-and-forth game 7-6 to the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The loss drops the Spartans to 2-16-1, while the win improves the Huskies to 11-4-4.
 
The Spartans, who trailed 2-0 early, battled back to take a 4-2 lead late in the second period.
 
The Huskies responded with five straight goals to lead 7-4 with 3:19 remaining in the game.
 
TWU got two goals in 22 seconds to make it a one-goal game with 1:41 remaining. The Spartans pulled their goalie and finished the game with the puck in the Huskies' end. A couple of goal-mouth scrambles in the dying seconds would not see the puck cross the Saskatchewan goal line, as the Huskies held on to the one-goal victory.  
 
Both the Spartans and the Huskies split goaltending duties. TWU's Isaac LaBelle (Saskatoon, Sask.) started the game and made 31 saves, giving up six goals in 52:30 minutes, while Raphael Audet (Rimouski, Que.) made four saves and gave up one goal in six minutes in the Spartan loss. Saskatchewan's Jordan Kooy played 25:51 making 10 saves and giving up three goals, while Roddy Ross played 34:09 and made nine saves while giving up three goals.  
 
AS IT HAPPENED
 
Saskatchewan's Mark Rumsey at 1:50 and Jared Dmytriw at 2:35 gave the Huskies the early first-period lead. TWU's Daine DuBois scored at 11:52 to make it a one-goal game at the end of the first 20 minutes.
 
TWU had one of their best periods of the season as they outscored the Huskies 3-1 to take a 4-3 lead into the final 20 minutes. TWU's Josh Borynec (Parkland County, Alta.) scored at 5:01, Joshua Bruce (Surrey, B.C.) scored on the breakaway at 14:09, with Mitchell Joss (Winnipeg) scoring at 16:29 to give TWU a 4-2 lead. Saskatchewan's Carter Stebbings scored with 1:45 remaining to make it a one-goal game.
 
The Huskies looked like they broke the game open with four goals to open the third period. Connor Hobbs scored at 2:02 to tie the game. Jared Dmytriw got his second at 9:49, Carter Stebbings got his second of the night at 12:30, and Vince Loschiavo got the eventual game-winner at 16:41. TWU's Travis Verveda (Alix, Alta.) got his first of the year at 17:57 and Joshua Bruce (Surrey, B.C.) followed up at 18:19 to set up the exciting finish.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Ben Walter
"We obviously gave ourselves a chance tonight. At times, we played the best hockey that I've seen us play. But we had other times when we didn't. But at the end of the day, we are starting to prove to ourselves that we can play with any team in this league. We can compete and put up a fight, which is everything we have been trying to get to. So those are the positives."
 
On coming back after giving up five straight goals.
"It's part of what we have been building here. We talk a lot about belief, believing in the group, staying together, and staying positive on the bench. Maybe at the start of the year, if that happens to us we maybe fold up and we are done for the game. Where now our guys do believe that we have a chance every time we play and we keep fighting back and we keep pushing each other and believing in each other. For me, as a coach, it is what I want to see. Now it is just about taking away some of those tough spots in games that we seem to fall into from time to time. Take those out and we are going to be just fine."
 
NOTABLE
• The Spartans are 0-5 lifetime against the Huskies.
• Saskatchewan finished the game outshooting TWU 42-25.
• The Spartans were 0-4 on the power play, while the Huskies were 1-2.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Huskies will match up again tomorrow night at the Langley Events Centre. Game time is set for 7 p.m. PT and can be seen live on CanadaWest.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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