LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western rookie netminder
Olivia Davidson made 31 saves and three more in the shootout as she came off the bench to make her university debut and helped lift the Spartans to a 3-2 come-from-behind shootout win over Manitoba Saturday at the George Preston Arena.
Davidson entered the game midway through the first period with TWU already down 2-0, but the first-year keeper from Edmonton shut the Bisons down the rest of the night, giving the Spartans a chance to bounce back from an early deficit and earn a key victory.
TWU's
Kara Yackel scored the lone goal of the shootout to set the table for Davidson to make the game-winning save on Manitoba's leading scorer Aimee Patrick, who had scored earlier in the game.
Trailing by two late in the second period, TWU scored twice inside the final two minutes of the middle frame to the tie the game.
Olivia Leier tallied her third of the season at 18:05, with Yackel and
Ella Boon assisting, before
Kyra McDonald evened the score with her fifth of the year, converting from the slot off a feed from
Jordyn Matthews.
The win sees the Spartans improve to 10-10 on the season as they remain in third place in the West Division after a weekend split with the Bisons. Manitoba falls to 10-6-2 and is tied with Regina for second in the conference. TWU now has a six-point cushion on fourth-place Calgary for the third and final playoff spot in the West Division.
Patrick opened the scoring for Manitoba at 4:31 of the first period before Kylie Lesuk doubled the visitor's lead at 10:04.
Emily Shippam made 27 saves for Manitoba and two more in the shootout.
The Spartans are now 7-1 against the East Division this year.
Mabel Maltais started in net for TWU but was replaced by Davidson after Manitoba scored their second goal of the game.
QUOTABLE
Peter Hay, TWU Head Coach
"This was a great character win by this team. We didn't play very well yesterday and then we let them get two quick goals in six shots early in this game. It would have been easy to call it quits, but our character group fought hard and we responded well, battling our way back with both great offence and big saves by Davidson. It was fun to watch Olivia get her first chance in net and stop so many high-quality shots. She looked like a veteran in there. She was definitely our MVP helping us win in shootout. It was a big night for our program. I go to sleep a very proud coach tonight after a great team game."
NEXT UP
TWU will play UBC in a home-and-home series Jan. 16 at the Langley Events Centre and Jan. 17 at UBC's Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
NOTABLE
• TWU is currently 4-8 lifetime against Manitoba.
• Prior to Saturday's victory, the Spartans last win against the Bisons was 3-0 on November 4, 2023, in Langley, B.C.
• The win snaps a three-game losing skid for the Spartans.
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 and women's and men's disc golf. 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 CIS 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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