EDMONTON, Alberta – Despite outshooting their opponent 33-28 the Trinity Western Spartans dropped a 4-1 decision to the MacEwan Griffins Friday night at the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton, Alta. The loss drops the Spartans to 5-5-0-1, while the win gives the Griffins a 2-9 record.
TWU third-year goalie
Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) made 24 saves in the loss, while MacEwan's Brianna Sank made 32 saves to earn the win.
TWU second-year forward
Olivia Leier (Regina, Sask.) got the lone goal for the Spartans. Ella Maternick, Makenna Schuttler, Joie Simon, and Jennifer Andrash each had a lone goal for the Griffins.
AS IT HAPPENED
Trinity Western was dominant in the opening period outshooting MacEwan 14-5, but the Spartans were unable to solve the Griffins' Sank.
The second and third periods were close to even in shots with MacEwan having a 10-8, and 13-11 edge.
Maternick got the lone goal of the second period at 13:26.
The third period opened with Schuttler scoring on the power play at 2:21. Leier got the Spartans within one goal at 9:18. But a pair of goals within 10 seconds at 18:22 and 18:32 by Simon and Andrash put the game away for the home team and made the final 4-1 for the Griffins.
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Peter Hay
"We played good enough to win. All systems were executed well. We outshot and outplayed them. We just couldn't score. A great job by their goalie. We need to capitalize on our power play when we get those chances, which we had plenty of tonight. Good news is tomorrow is another day to find a way to score. Today the bounces didn't go our way and tomorrow they will. We need to stay focused on our process and our process is good. We will keep our heads high and come ready again for another battle tomorrow."
NOTABLE
- TWU finished the night 0-5 with the extra skater, while MacEwan finished 1-3.
- Last week the Spartans split with the Manitoba Bisons losing 1-0 and winning 3-0 in Langley, B.C.
- Last week the Griffins lost to UBC 6-2, and 7-0 and home in Edmonton, Alta.
- The Spartans are 2-5 lifetime against the Griffins.
- In their last meeting, TWU lost to MacEwan 3-1 in Langley, B.C. on January 21, 2023.
- The Spartans' last win over the Griffins was 2-1 in Langley, B.C. on January 20, 2023
- It's MacEwan's first win since Sept. 29 when they beat the Dinos in Calgary and is the first time in 2023-24 they've celebrated a victory on home ice.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish off the two-game series with the Griffins tomorrow at 3 p.m. (MT). The game 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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