VANCOUVER – Trinity Western allowed a pair of late-game goals as the Spartans fell 4-3 to UBC Thursday at Father David Bauer Arena.
Looking for their first-ever Canada West win over UBC, the Spartans (0-3) held a 3-2 lead with less than three minutes to play, but the Thunderbirds (2-1) tied the game with a power-play goal at 17:17 of the final frame, before tallying the game-winning goal with just 14 seconds to play.
TWU netminder
Raphael Audet made 54 saves, while Mikhailo Simchuk had two goals and an assist to lead the TWU offence.
Jonathan Krahn also played a key role for the visitors, with a goal and an assist.
Ty Thorpe scored the winning goal for UBC, while Jake Wright got the game-tying marker. Jace Weir and Quinn Disher also found the back of the net for the T-Birds. UBC's Brett Mirwald made 19 saves.
Trailing 2-1 in the second period, Simchuk scored his first of two goals with 1:07 left in the middle frame to send the Spartans into the second intermission tied 2-2.
Simchuk put TWU ahead for the second time in the game – Krahn had opened the scoring in the first period – at 8:49 of the third period.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will host UBC Saturday night in TWU's home-opener at 7 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.
QUOTABLE
Ben Walter, TWU Head Coach
"Definitely a hard way to lose a game. We were in a position to take away two points tonight with three minutes left in the game and then ended up with zero. I'm proud of the overall effort, we blocked a lot of shots and hung in for most of the game, but for it to end the way it did was disappointing."
"Raph Audet was exceptional in net tonight. He made a ton of saves and gave us everything he had."
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 in NAIA in cross country and track and field 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 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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