LANGLEY, British Columbia– Led by first-year goalie Leon Sommer (Linz, Austria), who turned away 52 shots, and a goal by third-year forward Jarrett Penner (Saskatoon, Sask.) the Trinity Western Spartans were able to earn a 2-1 shootout (2-1) win over the No. 9 Saskatchewan Huskies in an early morning match up Tuesday at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
 
The win, which was TWU's first-ever over Saskatchewan, improves the Spartans to 3-22-1, while the loss drops the Huskies to 18-6-2.
 
Saskatchewan's Roddy Ross made 27 saves for Saskatchewan in the shootout loss.
 
Penner's goal was his sixth of the season. Scoring for the Huskies was Liam Keeler, with his sixth goal of the season as well.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Huskies controlled much of the first period outshooting TWU 19-8, but the Spartans' Sommer was up to the task and matched Saskatchewan's Ross as the two teams remained scoreless after 20 minutes of play.
 
With a power-play goal, TWU third-year forward Jarrett Penner (Saskatoon, Sask.) got the second period off on a good note when he put the Spartans on the scoreboard just 34 seconds into the second period. Fourth-year forward Tanner Hopps (North Delta, B.C.) started the scoring play with a shot from the right circle, Saskatchewan's Ross went out to cut down the angle and make the save, the rebound went to third-year forward Luke Spadafora (Calgary, Alta.) in front of the net. Spadafora took a shot from close range but his shot was blocked by Saskatchewan's Vince Loschiavo, who was in the blue paint. Penner was there to put the rebound into the net and give TWU the 1-0 lead. Third-year forward Josh Borynec (Parkland County, Alta.) almost put the Spartans up two, but his breakaway shot at 10:05 just missed as it went off of the left post. The Spartans finished the second period outshooting the Huskies 12-7.
 
At 10:35 of the third period, the Huskies Liam Keeler got the equalizer on the five-minute power-play. The Saskatchewan goal came when the Huskies worked the puck around the outside until Keaton Sorensen sent a pass across the blue paint to an open Keeler who tied the game at 1-1. TWU was able to kill off the rest of the power play and keep the game tied at 1-1 with just under six minutes remaining in the third period. TWU withstood the rest of the Saskatchewan pressure over the remainder of the period. With the five-minute power play, the Huskies dominated the play outshooting the Spartans 24-4 in the third period. But the Spartans held on and forced overtime with the two teams tied at 1-1.
 
In the three-on-three four-minute overtime both teams had good chances, but neither team was able to find the back of the net. The Spartans fourth-year defenseman Jesse Pomeroy (Prince George, B.C.) had the best chance but his shot midway through the overtime that escaped Ross bounced across the blue paint and out of harm's way.
 
After TWU second-year forward Mitchell Joss (Winnipeg, Man.) and Saskatchewan's Landon Kosiour each scored in the three-shooter phase of the shootout the Spartans Borynec put the Spartans up 2-1 in the sudden-death phase. TWU's Sommer then got the win on the next Huskies' shooter when he stopped Saskatchewan's Carter Stebbings to secure the TWU win.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Ben Walter
"I'm really happy for our players today.  It's a huge win and I believe that we got what we deserved.  I really liked our confidence and our sense of calm through the 60 minutes, overtime, and the shootout."  
 
"Leon Sommer was incredible today.  He made a lot of saves and kept us going and he was solid in the shootout. I'm happy for Borynec and Joss scoring two big goals in the shootout for us but everyone contributed today."
 
NOTABLE

• The Huskies outshot the Spartans 53-28.
• The Spartans finished the night 1-2 on the power play, while the Huskies finished 1-6.
• This week's Monday and Tuesday games are make-up games for the January 12-13 games that were postponed.
• The Huskies defeated the Spartans 4-1 Monday afternoon.
• The Spartans are now 1-9 lifetime against the Huskies.
• This past weekend the Huskies split with the Mount Royal Huskies in Calgary, Alta. Losing 3-2 on Friday and winning 4-3 on Saturday.
• This past weekend the Spartans dropped two games to the Regina Cougars. Losing 8-0 and 4-1 in Regina, Sask.

 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish the Canada West season next week at home against the Alberta Golden Bears.  Friday's game is at 7 p.m. (PT) at the Langley Events Centre, and Saturday's game is at 7:15 p.m. at the George Preston Recreation 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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