WINNIPEG, Manitoba– The Trinity Western Spartans had to settle for a weekend split with the Manitoba Bisons after a 4-1 loss Saturday afternoon at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, Man. The loss drops the Spartans to 11-10-1-0, while the win improves the Bisons to 7-8-2-3.
 
Scoring the lone goal for the Spartans was fourth-year forward Michela Naccarato (Edmonton, Alta.) with her first goal of the season.
 
Scoring for the Bisons were Aimee Patrick with her eighth of the season, Dana Goertzen with her fifth of the season, Sopia Heidinger with her first of the season, and Norah Collins with her fifth of the season.
 
Trinity Western second-year goalie Olivia Davidson (Edmonton, Alta.) made 19 saves in the Spartans' loss. Manitoba's Emily Shippam made 23 saves in the Bisons' win.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now face off with the UBC Thunderbirds in a home-and-home series January 23-24. TWU will play in Vancouver on Friday, and then return to the Langley Events Centre on Saturday evening. Both games are streamed live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Peter Hay, TWU Head Coach
"We ran out of gas and unfortunately couldn't get through the mental fatigue to overcome it. We definitely need to learn from this because next week vs UBC isn't going to get any easier."

AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans and Bisons were evenly matched in the opening period, with Manitoba outshooting TWU 9-8, but the Bisons ended the period up 1-0 with Patrick's goal at 18:28.

Manitoba's Goertzen got the eventual game winner at 16:23 of the second period. 29 seconds later, TWU's Naccarato made it a one-goal game with her shot from just in front of the Bisons' net, making it a 2-1 game at 16:52.

The Bisons sealed the game in the third period with Heidinger scoring at 9:13 and Collins making it 4-1 at 12:34. TWU ended up outshooting Manitoba 9-7 in the period but were unable to find the back of the net in the final period.
NOTABLE

• The Spartans outshot the Bisons 24-23.
• TWU was 0-4 on the power play, while Manitoba finished 0-2.
• The Spartans are currently 6-11 lifetime against the Manitoba Bisons.
• Last night, the Spartans defeated the Bisons 5-4 in overtime.
• Last year, the Spartans were 1-3 in conference play and 1-2 in the playoffs against the Bisons, including a triple overtime 2-1 loss, which saw Kate Fawcett make a Canada West record-breaking 71 saves.

 
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.  
 
-TW-