CALGARY – The Mount Royal University Cougars men's hockey team exploded for nine even-strength goals in a 9-2 win over the Trinity Western University Spartans Friday at the Flames Community Arena. 

The Spartans (1-11-1) got goals from Aiden Knutson and Artem Hrabovetskyi. Leon Sommer, who played the first two periods between the pipes, made 33 saves, while Raphael Audet stopped nine of the 11 shots he faced in the third period. 

MRU (7-5-1) got two goals from Dawson Milliken and singles each from Jaxon Martens, Connor Bouchard, Justin Lies, Blake Stevenson, Clay Hanus, Josh Tarzwell and Remy Aquilon. Goalie Ethan Buenaventura stopped 12 of the 14 shots he saw.

The Cougars scored twice in the first period before putting up five in the second period and two more in the third period. Knutson tallied his first as a Spartan in the second period while Hrabovetskyi scored his fourth of the year in the third period. 

QUOTABLE
Ben Walter, TWU Head Coach
"We did not come close to playing the game that we wanted to tonight. Mount Royal played with a lot of speed and confidence and we struggled to have an answer. We will regroup and come back tomorrow with a new game plan and a much higher compete level.  

"I want to recognize the forward line of Lleyton Shearon, Aiden Knutson and Nathan Ayotte.  They were a bright spot for us tonight with their work ethic."

UP NEXT 
The rematch between TWU and MRU is Saturday. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. MST at Flames Community Arena.

AS IT HAPPENED 
The Cougars got on the board first in the opening period. Kyle Walker's point shot was redirected by Dawson Milliken to make it 1-0 partway through the first. The goal was Milliken's first of the year.

Walker was playing in his 113th career Canada West regular season game, which ranks him fourth all-time in Mount Royal history. 

Connor Bouchard doubled the Cougars' lead a few minutes later to give the home team a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.

In the second, Lies went on a rush and was stopped but collected his rebound behind the net and centred the puck to Blake Stevenson who whacked the puck into the open cage. 

Mount Royal had clearly made it a point of emphasis to stay with the puck even if their initial chance was stopped.

The Spartans got their first goal of the game midway through the second. After a big rebound, Knutson buried his first of the year past MRU netminder Ethan Buenaventura to cut the deficit to just two. 

After the brief lapse, the Cougars exploded for four more second-period goals, all from similar spots on the ice. 

Remy Aquilon, Justin Lies, Jaxon Martens and Dawson Milliken all potted a goal for Mount Royal in the second half of the period. The four goals were tallied in a span of less than seven minutes. 

After facing 40 shots in the first two periods, Trinity Western goaltender Sommer was taken out of the game and Audet entered for the final 20 minutes. 

In the third, Clay Hanus got his second of the year to make it 8-1 for MRU. Now having completed his fifth game of the season, Hanus looks just like his MVP self on the Cougars' blueline. 

Josh Tarzwell got his team-leading sixth goal of the season to make it 9-1.

With under a minute to go, Spartans second-year forward Hrabovetskyi scored to give the visiting side two goals on the forgettable evening.

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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