LANGLEY, British Columbia – Trinity Western scored five goals, but it wasn't enough as the Spartans fell 8-5 to the UBC Thunderbirds Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.. The loss drops the Spartans to 3-23-1, while the win moves the Thunderbirds to 17-6-1.
 
TWU split the goaltending between starter Raphael Audet (Rimouski, Que.), who played 52:07, and Isaac LaBelle (Saskatoon, Sask.), who played 7:44, stopping 38 of the UBC shots between the two of them in the Spartans loss, while the Thunderbirds Cole Schwebius made 28 saves to earn the win for UBC.
 
The Spartans had five different skaters find the back of the Thunderbirds net. Daine DuBois (Williams Lake, B.C.), 1^st at 11:50, Jonathan Krahn (Chilliwack, B.C.), 2^nd at 15:20, Jordan Bogress (Ladner, B.C.), 2^nd at 18:26, Tanner Hopps (North Delta, B.C.), at 3^rd at 14:27, and Jeremy Klessens (Red Deer, Alta.), 3^rd at 19:51.
 
The Thunderbirds finished the night with Sam Huo, at 2^nd at 5:47 and 19:44 on the power play, and Tian Rask 2^nd at 11:32 on the power play, and 3^rd 2:06, each scoring twice. While Jack Wismer, 1^st at 3:53, Jake Kryski ,2^nd at 7:09, Josh Williams, 3^rd at 12:07, and Liam Kindree, 3^rd at 14:50, all had single markers for UBC.
 
The first period ended with the two teams tied at 1-1 and the Thunderbirds holding an 11-8 edge in shots on goal. In the second period UBC took control of the game outscoring TWU 4-2, and outshooting the Spartans 23-12 to take a 5-3 lead into the final 20 minutes of play. UBC put the game away in the third period, outscoring TWU 3-2 and outshooting the Spartans 8-5 to cement the 8-5 win.
 
QUOTABLE
Ben Walter – TWU Head Coach
"I thought we came out strong, and we did what we wanted to do. We made a few mistakes, but we put ourselves in the right spots to get chances. A few mental mistakes and a lack of game awareness was where we weren't good enough. After we score – which we've been doing well lately – our next shift needs to be as big of a push. UBC pushed hard after we got on the board, and it's tough to gain momentum when that happens. It's all stuff that you learn through experience, and we'll get better from this."
 
On TWU's graduating seniors:
"It was a special night for two guys who have been here for a lot. The COVID year, transitioning to U SPORTS, it was good to see them recognized for what they've done here. [Jordan Bogress] scoring was awesome – I'm really happy for him, and he really deserved that."
 
NOTABLE
• The Spartans finished the night 1-3 on the power play, while the Thunderbirds finished the night 2-2 with the man advantage. TWU's Luke Spadafora (Calgary) had a penalty shot at 6:41 of the second period, which was saved by UBC's Schwebius.
• UBC had a 42-34 edge in total shots on goal.  
• TWU is 0-9 lifetime, 0-4 this season, in conference match-ups with UBC.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans travel to UBC tomorrow night Friday, February 3, for a game at 7 p.m. which 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.
 
-TW-