REGINA, Saskatchewan – The Trinity Western Spartans went 4-5 on the power play to secure a weekend sweep of the Regina Cougars with a solid 5-2 victory Saturday night at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, Sask. The win moves the Spartans to 3-0-1, while the loss drops the Cougars to 0-6.
Third-year goalie Mabel Maltais (Edmonton, Alta.) made 18 stops to secure the win for the Spartans, while Natalie Williamson made 28 saves in the Cougars loss.

The Spartans used a balanced attack with five different skaters finding the back of the Cougars' net. Scoring for TWU were: third-year forward Kailey Ledoux (Saskatoon, Sas.), third-year forward Brooklyn Anderson (Shellbrook, Sask.), third-year forward Kate Klassen (Chilliwack, B.C.), third-year defence Jace Scott (Lloydminster, Alta.), and second-year forward Olivia Leier (Regina, Sask.)

Regina's Paige Hubbard got both goals for the Cougars at 7:42 of the second and 12:49 of the third period.  

AS IT HAPPENED
Trinity Western's Ledoux opened the scoring on the power play at 13:18 of the opening period, with assists going to second-year defence Ella Boon (Vanderhoof, B.C.) and fifth-year defence Chelsea Debusschere (Lloydminster, Alta.). Spartans finished the opening period with a 2-0 lead after an even-strength goal by forward Anderson with assists to Leier and third-year cenre Jordyn Matthews (Okotoks, Alta.).

Klassen got the Spartans a three-goal lead with a goal at 5:50 of the second period with assists going to Boon and Debusschere. Hubbard cut the lead to two goals with a power play goal at 7:42, with assists to Olivia Leggett, and Shalee Scraba, as the period ended with TWU leading 3-1.

The Spartans put the game away in the third period with two power-play goals in just over three minutes. Scott scored at 6:19, with assists to first-year defence Presleigh Giesbrecht (Gretna, Man.)and second-year forward Kara Yackel (St. Paul, Man.). Then Leier finished off the TWU scoring at 9:36, with assists to Matthews and first-year defence Kasey Ditner (Fort St.John, B.C.)

Regina's Hubbard got her second of the game at 12:49, with assists to Scraba and Jenna Merk to make the final 5-2 to the Spartans.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Peter Hay
"The team finished the job of a four-point weekend sweep and every player contributed to the success including an incredible power play that scored four big goals. Special teams are going to be extremely important this season and it's good to see both the penalty kill and power play are looking good. We will enjoy the win but quickly get ready and prepared for a huge test for the team and program as we take on a talented UBC next weekend. Another strong goaltending performance by Mabel." 

NOTABLE

• TWU finished with a 28-18 advantage in shots.
• Trinity Western finished the night 4-5 with the player advantage, while Regina was 2-for-5.
• The Spartans entered the 2023-24 Canada West season ranked 7th in the Canada West preseason coaches' poll, while the Cougars were ranked 8th.
• The Spartans are 4-1 lifetime against the Cougars.

UP NEXT
The Spartans will return home to the lower mainland for a home-and-home series with the UBC Thunderbirds next weekend. The Spartans will go to Vancouver, B.C. for a game on Friday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m. and then return home for a game on Saturday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre. Both games 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 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
 
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