LANGLEY, British Columbia – Trinity Western Spartans third-year blueliner
Tori Evans (Strathmore, Alta.) scored twice, but the Spartans fell 5-3 to the Regina Cougars Saturday afternoon at The ARENAS at Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C., splitting their opening weekend of Canada West women's hockey action. Both teams move to 1-1 in Canada West play after TWU won Friday's season opener 4-0.
Evans opened the scoring at 10:30 of the first period and added a power-play goal at 17:41 of the third, while fourth-year forward
Kyra Anderson (Regina) finished with a goal and an assist. Anderson's power-play marker at 9:40 of the final frame brought Trinity Western within one, but Regina responded with two goals to pull away.
Quinn McLaren led the Cougars with two goals, including the game-winner, while Cassidy Peters, Darby Marshall and Tessa Stewart also scored. Amy Dvernichuk collected three assists, with Pippy Pritchard adding two.
Third-year goaltender
Olivia Davidson (Edmonton) made 11 saves for the Spartans, while Regina's Payton Schlamp stopped 33 shots to earn the victory.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will face the UBC Thunderbirds in a home-and-home series next weekend. Trinity Western will visit UBC Friday, October 16 at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. (PT), before hosting the Thunderbirds Saturday, October 17 at The ARENAS at Langley Events Centre at 3 p.m. (PT). Both games will be available live on Canada West TV.
QUOTABLE
Peter Hay, TWU Head Coach
"Today was a weird game, as very rarely do you lose when you outshoot them by such a deficit, but sometimes hockey doesn't go your way, and they got some lucky bounces which equated to goals, and our shots didn't make it through. So all we can do now is get back to work on Monday, become a better hockey team next week, and get ready to play UBC. That being said, there are some great signs of success as we continue to focus on getting better in our process, as there were some great signs from players old and young that took good steps this week and show bright signs of our future, and if we can continue to stick together and get better, our team is going to be very good in the near future and be hard to beat. We definitely need to find a way to score on our chances in bury pucks."
AS IT HAPPENED
Trinity Western struck first midway through the opening period when Evans scored at 10:30 off an assist from second-year forward
Keelyn Pisani (Sturgeon County, Alta.), giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead. Regina answered with just 10 seconds remaining in the period. Peters scored at 19:50, with Dvernichuk and Pritchard drawing assists, sending the teams into the first intermission tied 1-1. The Spartans held an 8-7 edge in shots.
The Cougars took their first lead at 2:57 of the second period when McLaren scored on the power play following a cross-checking penalty to TWU's
Ashley Breitkreuz. Peters and Kaitlyn Gilroy collected assists on the goal. Despite Trinity Western outshooting Regina 14-3 in the middle frame, the Cougars extended their advantage at 15:14 when Marshall scored off an assist from Dvernichuk. Schlamp stopped all 14 shots she faced in the period as Regina carried a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
The Spartans cut the deficit to one midway through the third period. Just nine seconds after McLaren was penalized for slashing, Anderson scored on the power play at 9:40, with second-year defenceman
Sadie Isfeld (Coquitlam, B.C.) and fifth-year defenceman
Ella Boon (Vanderhoof, B.C.) drawing assists.
Regina restored its two-goal advantage 1:45 later when McLaren scored her second of the afternoon at 11:25, assisted by Dvernichuk and Pritchard. Stewart then made it 5-2 at 13:20 off an assist from Summer Greiner. Evans brought Trinity Western within two at 17:41, scoring her second goal of the game on the power play after an interference penalty on Regina's Meg Farmer. Anderson collected the assist, but the Spartans were unable to close the gap further as the Cougars secured the weekend split.
NOTABLE
- Trinity Western outshot Regina 36-16, with period totals of 8-7, 14-3 and 14-6.
- The Spartans went 2-for-6 on the power play, scoring on both third-period opportunities. Regina finished 1-for-3.
- TWU is now 11-3 lifetime against Regina.
- Evans scored her first two goals of the season, recording one at even strength and one on the power play.
- Anderson scored her first goal of the season and assisted on Evans' third-period marker.
- Isfeld and Anderson shared the game lead with seven shots on goal apiece, while first-year forward Kamryn Reiber (Okotoks, Alta.) added six.
- Pisani, Isfeld and Boon each recorded an assist in both games of the weekend series.
- Schlamp made 26 of her 33 saves over the final two periods.
- McLaren scored twice on two shots, with her second goal standing as the game-winner.
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes 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 15 U SPORTS team championships and 35 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 CIS 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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