EDMONTON, Alberta – The Trinity Western Spartans were unable to get a weekend split as the Spartans fell 2-1 to the Alberta Pandas Saturday night at the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, Alta. The loss drops the Spartans to 8-7-1-0, while the win improves the Pandas to 6-6-2-2. TWU is now 4-2 against Alberta this season.
 
Scoring for the Spartans was first-year Sadie Isfeld (Coquitlam, B.C.) with her first goal as a Spartan. Scoring for the Pandas were Jaydynn Morden with her fifth of the season, and Natalie Kieser with the game winner and her third of the season.
 
Trinity Western second-year goalie Olivia Davidson (Edmonton, Alta.) made 19 saves in the Spartans' loss. Alberta's Grace Glover made 27 saves in the Pandas' win.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now host cross-town rival UBC Thunderbirds in a home-and-home series. TWU will host UBC at the Langley Events Centre on Friday, December 5, at 1 p.m. (PT) and then travel to Vancouver for a 3 p.m. (PT) game at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre on Saturday. Both games can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Peter Hay, TWU Head Coach
"An excellent effort by our team. Today was a bounce-back game as we played the right way with Grit and Energy. Sometimes the score doesn't match the game, as we had every reason to win, including high-danger chances, but we didn't get the bounces. We need to keep playing this way, and the goals will come and translate into wins. We are now in a battle with Alberta for that second spot, which makes the second half of the season very important."

AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans had a much better start to tonight's match-up, with the first three shots of the game. TWU's Isfeld opened the scoring with a slapshot from above the left circle to put TWU 1-0 at 6:28. The Pandas were able to tie the game up on the power play when Morden's shot through traffic beat Davidson at 8:42. After the early goals neither team was able to find the back of the net as the period ended at 1-1 with Alberta having a 10-8 edge in shots on goal.
 
In the second period, the Spartans outshot the Pandas 9-3, but neither team could find the back of the net, and they entered the third tied 1-1. Alberta's Kieser got the game winner when found the back of the TWU net on a two-on-two break at 9:45 of the final period. The Spartans pulled Davidson in the final minute, but were unable to get the equalizer as the Pandas prevailed 2-1.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans outshot the Pandas 28-21.
• TWU was 0-2 on the power play, while Alberta finished 1-7.
• The Spartans are currently 6-12 lifetime against the Alberta Pandas. TWU is currently 4-0 against Albera this season.
• Last night the Spartans fell 5-3 to the Pandas at the Clare Drake Arena 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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