LANGLEY, British Columbia – Second-year forward
Danylo Korzhyletskyi (Kyiv, Ukraine) had a goal and two assists, and fifth-year goaltender
Raphael Audet (Rimouski, Que.) made 32 saves as Trinity Western earned its first Canada West win of the season, defeating the Regina Cougars 5-1 Friday at the ARENAS at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
Five Spartans scored as TWU broke a 1-1 tie with four unanswered goals. The Spartans converted two of five power plays and killed all five Regina opportunities to improve to 1-9-1 in conference play and 7-9-1 overall, including preseason games. Regina fell to 4-3-2 in Canada West and 5-8-2 overall.
Third-year forward
Mikhailo Simchuk (Kyiv, Ukraine), second-year forward
Aiden Knutson (Red Deer, Alta.) and first-year centre
Brayden Sinclair (Coquitlam, B.C.) each contributed a goal and an assist. Third-year forward
Lleyton Shearon (Langley, B.C.) also scored for TWU, while Carson Whyte had Regina's lone goal. Cougars goaltender Damon Cunningham finished with 36 saves.
TWU remains fifth in the West Division with three points from 11 games. Regina remains third with 10 points from nine games.
UP NEXT
The Spartans host Regina again Saturday, November 14, at 3 p.m. PT at the ARENAS at the Langley Events Centre. The game will be streamed on Canada West TV.
QUOTABLE
Ben Walter, TWU Head Coach
"That was a complete effort from our players tonight and it was great to see them finally get what they deserve. We played with a lot of energy and kept it going for 60 minutes which was great to see. Special teams did a great jo,b and Raph Audet gave us what we needed in net. The important thing is for us to bring the same thing tomorrow and establish some consistency through a weekend."
AS IT HAPPENED
S,imchuk opened the scoring at 16:02 of the first period with his ninth goal of the season, assisted by Sinclair. Regina answer,ed 87 seconds later when Whyte scored his fifth, with Kade Runke and Jordan Borysiuk drawing the assists. TWU outshot the Cougars 13-7 in the period, but the teams went to the first intermission tied 1-1.
Audet stopped all 19 Regina shots in the second period, helping the Spartans move ahead despite being outshot 19-11. Korzhyletskyi put TWU in front at 9:32 on the power play, scoring his fourth goal of the season with assists from first-year defenceman
Riley Joslin (Langley, B.C.) and Simchuk.
Shearon extended the lead to 3-1 at 14:02 with his second goal of the season. First-year forward
Carter Schmidt (Kelowna, B.C.) and Knutson assisted. TWU also killed three Regina power plays in the middle frame to carry its two-goal advantage into the third.
Knutson made it 4-1 at 8:34 of the third period with TWU's second power-play goal. Third-year forward
Connor Farren (Cloverdale, B.C.) and Korzhyletskyi picked up the assists on Knutson's third of the season.
Sinclair completed the scoring at 15:25 with his first Canada West goal, assisted by Korzhyletskyi and third-year forward
Matteo Lamoureux (Montreal, Que.). The Spartans outshot Regina 17-7 in the final period, and Audet kept the Cougars off the scoreboard over the final 40 minutes.
NOTABLE
- TWU finished with a 41-33 advantage in shots on goal. Period totals were 13-7 for TWU, 19-11 for Regina and 17-7 for TWU. Simchuk led the Spartans with eight shots.
- TWU is now 4-11 against Regina both overall and in Canada West conference play. The Spartans have won their last three home meetings with the Cougars, following 4-1 and 6-2 victories on November 1-2, 2024. Friday's four-goal margin matched TWU's largest victory over Regina.
- Regina leads this season's series 2-1 after winning 6-4 and 5-3 in Regina on October 9-10.
- Simchuk extended his TWU Canada West career goals record to 27. He has nine goals and four assists for 13 points this season. Knutson has three goals and eight assists for 11 points, while Korzhyletskyi has four goals and six assists for 10 points.
- Korzhyletskyi matched his Canada West career high of three points, a total he reached three times last season, including his hat trick against Regina on February 13.
- Audet's .970 save percentage ranks third on TWU's Canada West single-game list, which requires at least 20 shots faced. His one goal allowed matched the program's fewest in a conference game by a goaltender playing at least 55 minutes.
- TWU's power play improved to 9-for-40 (22.5 per cent) this season. Against Regina, the Spartans are 5-for-14 with the man advantage and have killed 10 of 11 Cougar power plays.
ABOUT SPARTAN ATHLETICS
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in nine sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball and hockey, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in NAIA within the Cascade Collegiate Conference in men's and women's track and field and cross country, as well 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, 35 Canada West team championships and one Cascade Collegiate Conference championship.
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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