LANGLEY, British Columbia– The Trinity Western Spartans scored three third-period goals but were unable to get even and get the weekend split as they fell 4-3 to the Manitoba Bisons Saturday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The loss drops the Spartans to 3-17-2-0, while the win moves the Bisons to 8-10-2-0.
 
Scoring for the Spartans were second-year forward Matteo Lamoureux (Montreal, QC) with his third of the season, first-year forward Aiden Knutson (Red Deer, Alta.) with his fourth of the season, and third-year forward Mikhailo Simchuk (Kyiv, Ukraine) with his 13th of the season.
 
Scoring for the Bisons were Codey Behun with his third of the season, Jackson Arpin with his third of the season, Jonny Hooker with his sixth of the season, and Andrew Boucher with his first of the season.
 
Trinity Western third-year goalie Leon Sommer (Linz, Austria) made 29 saves in the Spartans' loss. Manitoba's Matthew Kieper made 28 saves in the Bisons' win.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now face off with the UBC Thunderbirds in a home-and-home series January 22-23. TWU will play at the Langley Events Centre on Thursday evening with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. (PT). Both games are streamed live on Canada West TV.

QUOTABLE
Ben Walter, TWU Head Coach
"I loved our third period today. I thought we showed a lot of fight and a lot of character by not giving up and putting ourselves in a position to tie the game late.  Unfortunately, our first 40 minutes weren't good enough, and we put ourselves in a tough position going into the third." 

"Overall, though, I'm very proud of my players.  We have quite a few guys playing through injuries right now, and the fight they showed right to the end was great to see."

AS IT HAPPENED
The Bisons had the better of the Spartans in the first two periods. Manitoba finished the first period outshooting TWU 13-10 with goals by Behun at 13:17 and Arpin at 19:51 to put the Bisons up 2-0 after 20 minutes. Manitoba added another two goals in the second period while outshooting the Spartans 11-9. Manitoba's Hooker made it 3-0 at 12:30, and Boucher got the eventual game winner at 15:50.
The Spartans dominated in the third period and scored three goals in their late-game charge. Lamoureux opened the Spartans' scoring at 5:24, with Knutson making it a two-goal deficit at 14:46 on the power play. TWU's Simchuk scored the Spartans final goal at 19:49 on a penalty shot after a Manitoba player closed his hand on the puck in the goalie crease. TWU would finish the period outshooting Manitoba 12-9.
NOTABLE

• The Bisons outshot the Spartans 33-31
• TWU was 2-4 on the power play, while Manitoba finished 2-2.
• Last night the Spartans lost 4-3 in overtime to the Bisons.
• The Spartans are currently 5-10 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.

 
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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