LANGLEY, British Columbia – In a battle for third spot in the West Division the Trinity Western Spartans used a strong start and solid goaltending to defeat the visiting Calgary Dinos 3-1 Friday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The win improves the Spartans to 8-7, while the loss drops the Dinos to 6-7-1-1.
           
Scoring for the Spartans were third-year forward Kara Yackel (St. Paul Man.) with her fourth of the season, fourth-year forward Kailey Ledoux (Saskatoon, Sask.) with her first goal of the season, and fourth-year forward Chloe Reid (Leduc, Alta.) with her first of the season. Calgary's lone goal came from April Klarenbach.
 
Trinity Western's fourth-year goalie Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) made 21 saves in the Spartans' win, while Amelia Awad made 20 saves in the Dinos loss.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Dinos will finish the two-game weekend series tomorrow at 1 p.m. (PT) at the Langley Events Centre. The game can be seen live on Canada West TV.

QUOTABLE
TWU head coach Peter Hay
"We knew it was a big game with playoff implications, and we came out flying and were rewarded with the first goal on a beauty pass from Anderson that Yackel buried. Calgary pushed back but big saves from Fawcett kept them from getting back in it while Kailey Ledoux scored a huge goal at the end of the 2nd to give us some breathing room. It was good to finish it off after some big penalty kills. A great team effort but we have some things to learn in the video session tomorrow to get the sweep."

AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans had a strong start and a dominant opening period with Yackel's goal coming at 1:08. TWU ended the period with a 9-7 edge in shots but spent a significant amount of time in the Calgary end of the ice.
 
TWU again had the advantage in the second period, but needed Fawcett to make a couple of key saves to keep the Dinos off the scoresheet. The Spartans Ledoux got the eventual game-winner at 19:30 to send TWU into the second intermission with a 2-0 lead. The Spartans had a 10-7 edge in shots on goal in the second period.
 
The Dinos had two power play opportunities in the final 20 minutes allowing them to outshoot the Spartans 8-4 in the period. Calgary's Klarenbach scored at 15:52 to make it a one-goal game. In the final four minutes, the Dinos had a two-player advantage when they had a power play at 16:33 and pulled their goalie. But TWU kept Calgary from tying the game, with the advantage. The Spartans Reid got the insurance goal at 19:30 to make the final 3-1 for Trinity Western.
 
NOTABLE 

• The Spartans outshot the Cougars 23-22
• Calgary was 0-3 on the power play, while TWU did not have any power play opportunities.
• Three Stars: TWU: Kailey Ledoux, Kara Yackel, and Kate Fawcett
• This weekend's match-up is for third spot in the West division with the top three teams making the postseason.
• TWU is 7-3-0 in their last 10 games, while Calgary is 3-6-1-0.
• Last weekend the Spartans lost to the No. 4 Mount Royal Cougars 3-2 and 2-1 at home at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
• Last weekend the Calgary Dinos were swept 3-1, and 3-2 by the Manitoba Bisons at the Wayne Flemming Arena in Winnipeg, Man.
• TWU is currently 4-8 lifetime against the Dinos. Last season TWU was 1-3 against the Dinos, with the lone win being 3-1 on October 25.

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.
 
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in U SPORTS. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
 
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