EDMONTON, Alberta –The No. 4 Alberta Golden Bears needed a late third-period goal to defeat the No. 9 Trinity Western Spartans 3-2 Friday night at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, Alta.
 
Scoring for the Spartans were third-year forward Christian Lowe (Port Moody, B.C.) and first-year forward Matthias Bessey (Carstairs, Alta.)
Scoring for the Golden Bears were Alonso Tapia Ruiz, Adam Hall, and Alex Thacker.
 
Third-year goalie Leon Sommer (Linz, Austria) made 37 saves in the Spartans' loss. Alberta's Ethan Kruger made 14 saves in the Golden Bears' win.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Golden Bears will match up again tomorrow at 7 p.m. (MT) at the Clare Drake Arena. The game can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Ben Walter, TWU Head Coach
"I think that was a great first game of the regular season for us.  We stuck to our game plan for a full 60 minutes, brought effort all night, and showed a ton of resilience coming back to tie the game from being down 2-0 after two periods.  Definitely a lot to build on, and we are all excited to get back at it tomorrow night. Leon Sommer played exceptionally well in net tonight.  He gave us a chance to win and was a very calming presence for the team."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first period, Alberta took control in the second. Tapia Ruiz opened the scoring at 7:03, burying a feed from Dylan Ruptash to give the Bears a 1–0 edge. Adam Hall extended the lead late in the frame, finishing a setup from Dawson Davidson and Marcus Pacheco at 16:52 as Alberta carried a two-goal advantage into the intermission.
 
Trinity Western clawed back in the third. Christian Lowe cut the deficit to one at 4:47, converting a pass from Connor Farren with Artem Hrabovetskyi also assisting. The Spartans kept pressing and found the equalizer midway through the period when Matthias Bessey scored his first of the season at 11:56, assisted by Mikhailo Simchuk and Jonathan Krahn.
 
With overtime looming, Thacker netted the game-winner at 18:48, set up by Davidson, who finished with two assists on the night. The goal sealed a narrow 3–2 win for the Bears in front of a loud 1,279 fans.
 
NOTABLE

• The Golden Bears outshot the Spartans 40-17.
• The Spartans were 0-1 on the power play, while the Bears were 0-3.
• TWU was ranked No. 9 in the Canada West preseason coaches poll, while Alberta was ranked No. 4, with Saskatchewan ranked No. 1, Mount Royal No. 2, and UBC No. 3.
• The Spartans finished preseason at 4-2. Alberta finished 3-3 in preseason play.
• TWU is currently 1-12 lifetime against Alberta.
• Trinity Western's lone win against Alberta was 4-3 on February 9, 2024, in Langley, B.C.
• TWU finished the 2024-25 season 3-22-0-0-2-1 and in fourth place in the West Division. Alberta finished last season with a record of 21-6-1-0-1-0, placing them in second place in the East Division.
• Alberta is the defending Canada West champion, defeating UBC 2-1 in OT.

 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as in the NAIA in track and field and cross country and 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 33 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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