EDMONTON, Alberta – The Trinity Western Spartans rallied from a two-goal deficit to lead in the third period, but were unable to hang on as the Alberta Pandas defeated the visiting Spartans 5-3 Friday night at the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, Alta. The loss drops the Spartans to 8-6-1-0, while the win improves the Pandas to 5-6-2-2.
 
TWU trailed 2-0 after the first two periods but rallied to take a 3-2 lead midway through the third period. But Alberta finished with three goals in two and a half minutes to earn the 5-3 win.
 
Scoring for the Spartans were fourth-year blue-liner Presleigh Giesbrecht (Gretna, Man.) with her fourth of the season, fourth-year forward Kara Yackel (West St. Paul, Man.) with her sixth of the season, and fourth-year blue-liner Ella Boon (Vancerhoof, B.C.) with her first of the season.
Scoring for the Pandas were Raegan Yewdall with her second and third of the season, Hailey Carothers with her second of the season, Annie King with her third of the season, and Abby Soyko with her sixth of the season.
 
Trinity Western fifth-year goalie Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) made eight saves in the Spartans' loss. Alberta's Mackenzie Dojahn made 22 saves in the Pandas win.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Pandas will finish the weekend series tomorrow at 5 p.m. (MT) at the Clare Drake Arena. The game can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Peter Hay, TWU Head Coach
"We looked like a team I haven't seen before. Very disappointed in our first period, as we looked very uninterested. Some may have already been thinking they were on Christmas break. We pushed back in the second and for a good chunk of the third, but not enough, and collapsed in the last 10. I believe our team is better than this. I would expect us to be better tomorrow, as there is some good character in that room."

AS IT HAPPENED
The Pandas scored twice in the opening period to take early control of the contest. Alberta's Carothers opened the scoring at 4:49 with her second of the season, followed less than two minutes later by King's power play goal at 6:30 to put the Pandas up 2-0. TWU improved as the period progressed, outshooting Alberta 8-5, but still trailed by two goals at the end of 20 minutes of play.
 
After a scoreless second period, TWU's Giesbrecht put the Spartans on the board at 3:17 to make it a one-goal game. The Spartans' Yakal scored on the power play at 7:02, and Boon put the Spartans up 3-2 45 seconds later. The Pandas then had a flurry of goals in just over two and a half minutes to earn the win. Yewdall got her first of the night at 12:00, followed by Soyko at 13:42. Yewdall got the insurance goal 52 seconds later at 14:35 to make the final 5-3 for the Pandas.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans outshot the Pandas 25-13.
• TWU was 1-4 on the power play, while Alberta finished 1-2.
• The Spartans are currently 6-11 lifetime against the Alberta Pandas. TWU is currently 4-0 against Albera this season.
• Last week, the Spartans split with the Mount Royal Cougars, winning 2-1 and losing 2-1 at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
• Last week, the Alberta Pandas split with the No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds, losing 5-1 and winning 2-0 at the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, Alta.
• Earlier this season, the Spartans swept the Pandas, winning 4-0 and 4-2 on October 31 and November 1 in Edmonton, Alta., and winning 3-2 SO and 3-2 OT at home on October 3 and October 4 in Langley, B.C.

 
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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