WINNIPEG, Manitoba – The Trinity Western Spartans scored four third-period goals to come from behind to earn a 6-3 victory over the Manitoba Bisons Friday night at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, Man. The victory snaps a 10-game winless streak and improves the Spartans to 3-15-0-1 while dropping the Bisons to 3-12-0-1.
Scoring for the Spartans were fourth-year forward
Aidan Steinke (St. Albert, Alta.), second-year forward
Christian Lowe (Port Moody, B.C.), fifth-year defence
Jesse Pomeroy (Prince George, B.C.), first-year forward
Matteo Lamoureux (Montreal, Que.), first-year forward Mykhailo Simchuk (Kyiv), and fourth-year forward
Luke Spadafora (Calgary, Alta.). Scoring for the Bisons were Riley Stotts with two goals, and Jackson Arpin.
Second-year goalie
Leon Sommer (Linz, Aust.) made 24 saves in the TWU win, while Braden Holt made 42 saves in the Bisons loss.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will look for the weekend sweep against the Bisons tomorrow at 2 p.m. (CT) at the Wayne Flemming Arena in Winnipeg. The game can be seen live on Canada West TV.
QUOTABLE
Trinity Western Head Coach Ben Walter
"I'm very proud of our effort tonight. Everyone in the lineup had a piece of that win and it was great to see different players contribute to the win. Misha Simchuk was exceptional in his first game for us and was a real difference-maker offensively.
Kade McMillen gave us a big game on D and
Leon Sommer made some important saves down the stretch to get the win. We will look to follow it up tomorrow."
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans outshot the Bisons 16-7 in the opening period, but Manitoba was the better on the scoreboard leading 2-1 with Stotts getting his first at 1:07, and Arpin scoring at 5:37. TWU's Steinke tied the game at 2:16.
TWU's Lowe scored the lone goal of the second period at 13:54, with the Spartans outshooting the Bisons 13-11.
Manitoba's Stott got his second of the night again at 1:07 to regain the one goal, 3-2, lead for the home team. But from there the game belonged to TWU with the Spartans scoring four unanswered goals to give TWU the 6-3 win. Pomeroy scored at 13:10, Lamoureux at 17:40, Simchuk and 19:05 and Spadafora at 19:15. TWU again had the better in shots with a 19-9 advantage.
NOTABLE
- The Spartans outshot the Bisons 48-27.
- Manitoba was 0-1 with the man advantage, while TWU was 0-2.
- In their final games of the fall semester TWU went 0-2 against the UBC Thunderbirds, losing 6-3 on both nights. While Manitoba finished the semester 1-1 against the Regina Cougars winning 5-0 and losing 5-3.
- TWU is currently 5-6 lifetime against Manitoba.
- Three Stars: TWU Mykhailo Simchuk, MAN Riley Stotts, TWU Christian Lowe.
- Prior to tonight the Spartans' last wins against the Bisons were on November 2-3, 2023, when they won 5-2, and 3-2 in Winnipeg. The Spartans lost their last two games against the Bisons at home in Langley, B.C last season.
- TWU has won four of the last five games that they have played against Manitoba in Winnipeg since entering Canada West.
- The top three teams in each division qualify for the Canada West playoffs.
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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