LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans held their own with the No. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds, but the final outcome went to the No. 2 ranked Thunderbirds 4-1 Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The Spartans, who are in third spot in the Canada West West division fall to 10-11, while the first-place Thunderbirds improve to 18-2-1-0.
 
Scoring for the Spartans was fourth-year forward Chloe Reid (Leduc, Alta.) (9:29-2) with her 2nd of the season.
Scoring for the Thunderbirds was Mia Bierd (5:07-1), with her 4th of the season, Grace Elliott (6:50-2), with her 16th of the season, Chanreet Bassi (5:27-3) with her 8th of the season, and Mya Healey (17:44-3, EN) with her 2nd of the season.
 
Making her first start of her career first-year goalie Olivia Davidson (Edmonton, Alta.) made 37 saves in the TWU loss, while Mya Lucifora made 24 saves in the T-Bird win.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will look to earn a split with the Thunderbirds when they match up again tomorrow night in Vancouver at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Game time is set for 4 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Trinity Western Head Coach Peter Hay
"We prepared all week for UBC. We know that we have very little room for any air. But I thought we played a really good game, and we executed what we wanted to. Unfortunately, we gave up two breakaways, which is definitely not in the game plan that caused two goals. Other than a couple of brain cramps, I thought that our team played really well. On special teams, our penalty kill stopped one of the best power plays in Canada West, and on our power play, we had lots of chances and created many scoring opportunities, which unfortunately we didn't bury. We're right there, we're close. It's a great learning opportunity for us to play the best and see where we're at and test ourselves. I thought we did an excellent job of being right there with the top team. Take away a lot of learning opportunities for us to grow. We're going to stick together and try again tomorrow."
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans had their hands full against the Thunderbirds in the first period but only trailed 1-0 at the end of 20 minutes. UBC's Mia Bierd scored the lone goal at 5:07 marking her fourth goal of the season, assisted by Mya Healey and Meadow Carman. The Spartans incurred two penalties, both resulting in power play opportunities for the Thunderbirds, while UBC had one penalty called against them.
 
In the second period, both TWU and UBC scored one goal each, bringing the score to 2-1 in favor of the Thunderbirds. TWU's Reid scored her second goal of the season at 9:29, assisted by fourth-year centre Jordyn Matthews (Okotoks, Alta.) and fourth-year forward Kyra McDonald (Inuvik, NT). The period saw the Spartans successfully kill two penalties, while also going on a power play twice, although they were unable to capitalize on those opportunities.
 
Trinity Western was unable to find the net on their power play opportunities in the third period either, despite having two chances against the Thunderbirds. UBC's Chanreet Bassi scored her eighth goal of the season early in the period, and Mya Healey added an empty net goal, her second of the season, near the end of the game to make the final 4-1 for the T-Birds.
 
NOTABLE 

• The Thunderbirds outshot the Spartans 41-25.
• TWU was 0-4 on the power play, while UBC was 0-3.
• Last week the Spartans split with the Manitoba Bisons in Langley, B.C. Losing 4-1 and winning 3-2 in a shootout.
• Three Stars: UBC Elliott, TWU Reid, UBC Lucifora
• Last week the No. 2 Thunderbirds defeated the No. 6 Mount Royal Cougars 5-0, and 5-1 in Calgary, Alta.
• TWU lost 3-0, and 3-1 to UBC in the first semester.
• TWU is currently 2-21 lifetime against the Thunderbirds.

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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