LANGLEY, British Columbia– The Trinity Western Spartans were in the fight all game long, but in the end found themselves on the wrong end of a 4-3 overtime loss to the visiting Manitoba Bisons Friday night at the George Preston Recreation Centre in Langley, B.C. The loss drops the Spartans to 3-16-2-0, while the win moves the Bisons to 7-10-2-0.
 
Scoring for the Spartans were second-year defenceman Ricards Landmanis (Ventspils, Latvia) with his second of the season, third-year forward Mikhailo Simchuk (Kyiv, Ukraine) with his 12 of the season, and first-year forward Aidan Knutson (Red Deer, Alta.) with his third of the season.
 
Scoring for the Bisons were Lucas Brennan with his seventh of the season, Dawson Pasternak with his fourth of the season, Skyler Bruce with his seventh of the season, and Jackson Arpin with his second of the season.
 
Trinity Western fourth-year goalie Raphael Audet (Rimouski, QC) made 33 saves in the Spartans' overtime loss. Manitoba's Braden Holt made 30 saves in the Bisons' win.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish off the weekend series with the Bisons at the Langley Events Centre tomorrow at 1 p.m. (PT). The match can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Ben Walter, TWU Head Coach
"I am so proud of our players and their effort tonight.  We battled hard and deserved more than we got.  We were undisciplined for a small stretch in the second period and allowed Manitoba back into the game, but other than that, we played the way we wanted to."

"It's hard to have the result of a game dictated like it was at the end of the third period.  But we will move forward from it and come out even stronger tomorrow."

AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans came out strong and outshot the Bisons 13-8 in the opening period. TWU's efforts were rewarded with Landmanis scoring at 5:44 and Simchuk giving TWU a 2-0 lead at 18:21 after 20 minutes of play.
Manitoba dominated the early part of the second period, scoring two goals in 53 seconds. Brennan opened the second period scoring at 1:41 with Pasternak tying the score on the power play at 2:34. TWU's Knutson got the Spartans back the lead at 5:04 to put the Spartans up 3-2. The Spartans were looking like they were heading into the final period with a one-goal lead, but Manitoba's Bruce scored on the power play to even up the game at 3-3. The Bisons had the advantage in shots, outshooting the Spartans 17-11 in the second period.
After a scoreless third period, the Bisons' Arpin got the game-winner on a power play that carried over from the end of the third period. Manitoba outshot TWU 2-0 in the final frame.
NOTABLE

• The Bisons outshot the Spartans 37-33.
• TWU was 0-2 on the power play, while Manitoba finished 3-6.
• The Spartans are currently 5-9 lifetime against the Manitoba Bisons.
• Last year, the Spartans split with the Bisons, winning 6-3 and losing 7-2 on the road in Winnipeg, Man.
• Last week, the Spartans dropped two road games to the MacEwan Griffins, losing 7-4 and 6-3 at the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton, Alta.
• Last week, the Bisons lost two games to the Saskatchewan Huskies. Losing 5-4 and 3-2 in overtime at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, Man.
• The Spartans are led by Christian Lowe with eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points, and Mikhailo Simchuk with 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points.
• Manitoba is led by Skyler Bruce with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points, and Dawson Pasternak with three goals and 10 assists for 13 points.

 
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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