REGINA, Saskatchewan – Trinity Western Spartans second-year forward
Danylo Korzhyletskyi (Kyiv, Ukraine) scored just 24 seconds into Friday night's Canada West men's hockey season opener, setting a Spartans record for the fastest goal to begin a conference season, but an early 3-1 lead wasn't enough as Trinity Western fell 6-4 to the Regina Cougars at The Co-operators Centre in Regina, Sask. The Spartans, ranked No. 9 in the Canada West preseason coaches poll, fall to 0-1, while the No. 8 Cougars improve to 1-0.
Korzhyletskyi opened the scoring at 0:24 of the first period, followed by goals from first-year forward
Carter Schmidt (Kelowna, B.C.) at 5:53 and second-year forward
Aiden Knutson (Red Deer, Alta.) at 12:21. Third-year forward
Connor Farren (Cloverdale, B.C.) added a power-play goal at 2:47 of the second period. Regina was led by Eric Hoiness, who recorded a hat trick with goals at 10:03 and 19:36 of the first period and 7:19 of the second. Jye Zawatsky scored on a penalty shot at 14:01 of the first period, while Riley Fequet added the game-winner at 11:11 of the second and Cole Wirun completed the scoring at 8:07 of the third period.
TWU fifth-year goaltender
Raphael Audet (Rimouski, Que.) made 25 saves for the Spartans, while Damon Cunningham stopped 27 shots for the Cougars.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will wrap up their weekend series against the Cougars Saturday afternoon at The Co-operators Centre in Regina, Sask. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. (CST), with the game available live on Canada West TV.
QUOTABLE
Ben Walter, TWU Head Coach
"I loved how we started the game tonight. We had great energy and played with confidence and were able to get up early. Unfortunately, we strayed from our structure and made poor decisions that let Regina back into the game and play the way they wanted."
"I think that there is a lot more to our game than we showed tonight and I'm looking forward to seeing that tomorrow. Our penalty kill was a plus for us tonight.
Aiden Knutson and
Lleyton Shearon both had strong games."
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans wasted little time opening the 2026-27 Canada West season, as Korzhyletskyi scored just 24 seconds after the opening faceoff, with third-year forward
Mikhailo Simchuk (Kyiv, Ukraine) and third-year defenceman
Samuel May (Richmond, B.C.) drawing assists. The goal marked the fastest by a Spartan to open a Canada West season and gave TWU an immediate 1-0 advantage.
Trinity Western doubled its lead at 5:53 when Schmidt scored off a feed from Knutson, putting the Spartans ahead 2-0. Regina answered at 10:03 on Hoiness' first goal of the night, but TWU restored its two-goal advantage just over two minutes later when Knutson scored at 12:21, assisted by second-year forward
Matthias Bessey (Carstairs, Alta.) and third-year defenceman
Eduard Wruck (North Vancouver, B.C.).
The Cougars responded with two goals over the final six minutes of the opening period. Zawatsky converted a penalty shot at 14:01 to pull Regina within one before Hoiness scored his second of the night with just 24 seconds remaining in the period, sending the teams into the first intermission tied 3-3. Regina held a 15-10 advantage in shots through the opening 20 minutes.
Trinity Western regained the lead early in the second period after Regina's Kade Runke was assessed a minor penalty for head contact. Farren capitalized on the power play at 2:47, scoring off assists from third-year forward
Matteo Lamoureux (Montreal, Que.) and fifth-year defenceman
Zack Whittaker (Victoria, B.C.) to put the Spartans back in front 4-3.
However, the Cougars answered with two more goals in the middle frame. Hoiness completed his hat trick at 7:19, with Noah Asmundson and Brady Smith collecting assists, to tie the game 4-4. Regina then took its first lead of the night at 11:11 when Fequet scored off assists from Carson Whyte and Zawatsky, giving the Cougars a 5-4 advantage heading into the final period.
With Trinity Western looking for the equalizer, Regina extended its lead at 8:07 of the third period when Wirun scored, assisted by Zawatsky and Boston Harkness, to make it 6-4.
The Spartans pressed for a comeback in the final frame, outshooting Regina 9-4, but Cunningham turned aside all nine shots to preserve the Cougars' two-goal victory. Both teams finished with 31 shots.
NOTABLES
- Both teams finished with 31 shots. The Spartans went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Cougars were 0-for-2.
- The Spartans are now 4-6 all-time against the Cougars.
- Korzhyletskyi's goal at 0:24 was the fastest by a Spartan to open a Canada West conference season. The previous mark was 2:30, set by Skyler Cameron in TWU's 6-3 loss to Mount Royal on Oct. 4, 2024.
- The Spartans' fastest goal to open any Canada West game remains 22 seconds, scored by fourth-year forward Christian Lowe (Port Moody, B.C.) in TWU's 4-1 win over Regina on Nov. 1, 2024.
- Regina's Eric Hoiness recorded a hat trick, scoring twice in the opening period and once in the second.
- Regina's Jye Zawatsky finished with three points (one goal, two assists), while Noah Asmundson and Boston Harkness each recorded two assists.
- TWU's Aiden Knutson led the Spartans with two points (one goal, one assist), while Korzhyletskyi led Trinity Western with six shots on goal.
- The Spartans closed their preseason with back-to-back home shutouts of NAIT, winning 1-0 on Oct. 2 and 5-0 on Oct. 3.
- Trinity Western finished exhibition play with six victories, including a 4-3 shootout win over UBC, 7-3 and 6-1 wins over Victoria, a 5-1 victory over Vancouver Island University and two wins over NAIT.
- Regina went 1-5 in exhibition play, closing its preseason with four consecutive losses. Last weekend, the Cougars fell 3-2 to Saskatchewan in Saskatoon and 4-1 at Big River First Nation.
- The Spartans' Canada West home opener is Friday, Oct. 16, against UBC at The Arenas at the Langley Events Centre, with the second game of the series scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17.
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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