LANGLEY, British Columbia – Second-year forward Artem Hrabovetskyi (Kyiv, Ukraine) had a four-point night, with three goals, and third-year goalie Leon Sommer (Linz, Austria) made 50 saves to lead the Trinity Western Spartans to a 7-3 win over the Alberta Golden Bears Friday night at the Langley Event Centre in Langley, B.C. The win moves the Spartans to 2-12-1-0 in Canada West conference play, while the loss drops the Golden Bears to 7-7-0-1.
 
Hrabovetskyi's hat-trick was the first ever three-goal performance by a Spartan men's hockey player in Canada West conference play.
 
Also scoring for the Spartans were second-year forward Connor Farren (Cloverdale, B.C.) with his first of the season, third-year forward Mikhailo Simchuk (Kyiv, Ukraine) with his seventh of the season, third-year forward Christian Lowe (Port Moody, B.C.) with his sixth of the season, and fourth-year forward Jonathan Krahn (Chilliwack, B.C.) with his fifth of the season.
Scoring for the Golden Bears were Sam Popowich with his second of the season, Marcus Pacheco with his third of the season, and Dylan Ruptash with his second of the season.
 
Alberta's Ethan Kruger made 20 saves in the Golden Bears' loss.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Bears will finish off the weekend series tomorrow night at the George Preston Recreation Centre in Langley, B.C. Game time is set for 7:15 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Ben Walter, TWU Head Coach
"I'm very proud of our group for their effort for 60 minutes tonight.  We played fast, and our forwards did a great job on the forecheck and were able to finish our chances well.  Leon played very well in net and made some big saves, especially in the third period.  Our defence was strong all game, and I really appreciated their effort as we only dressed five D tonight." 
"I'm proud of Artem Hrabovetskyi with his well-deserved hat trick as well.  He has been working so hard on rounding out his game as a winger, so I was happy to see him get rewarded tonight."

AS IT HAPPENED
The Golden Bears outshot the Spartans 19-9 in the opening 20 minutes, but TWU emerged from the first period leading Alberta 2-1. TWU's Farren opened the scoring at 6:22. The lead would stand till Popowich tied the game at 18:06. But the Spartans' Simchuk sent TWU into the break on a positive note with a goal with 19 seconds remaining to make it a 2-1 Spartan lead.

Hrabovetskyi got his first of the night at 5:02 to put TWU up 3-1. Alberta's Pacheco quickly responded for the Bears with a goal 14 seconds later. TWU's Lowe scored at 15:42 to give the Spartans a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes despite the Bears outshooting TWU 17-6 in the period.

The Spartans blew the game open in the early part of the third period with Kran scoring at 3:31 on the power play, and Hrabovetskyi getting his second at 8:02. Alberta looked to get back in the game with Ruptash scoring at 10:07, but that would be the final push of the night for the Bears as Hrabovetskyi got the empty net goal at 18:21 to give him his first hat-trick in Canada West play and make the final 7-3.  

NOTABLE

• The Golden Bears outshot the Spartans 53-27
• TWU was 1-3 on the power play, while Alberta finished 0-5.
• The Spartans are currently 3-14 lifetime against the Alberta Golden Bears. TWU is 1-3 against Alberta this season.
• Last week, the Spartans lost 9-2 and 6-3 to the Mount Royal Cougars in Calgary, Alta.
• Last week, the Alberta Golden Bears were swept by the UBC Thunderbirds 3-1 and 8-4 at Father David Bauer Arena in Vancouver, B.C.
• Earlier this season, the Spartans split with the Bears, losing 4-2 and winning 4-3 in a shootout on October 31 and November 1 at home in Langley, B.C. And lost twice, 5-1 and 3-2, to Alberta on October 3 and 4 in Edmonton, Alta.

 
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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