LANGLEY, British Columbia – Fifth-year forward
Kara Yackel (West St. Paul, Man.) scored three consecutive goals in just 81 seconds, while recording the first natural hat trick in Spartans women's hockey history, to lead Trinity Western to a 4-2 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night at the ARENAS at the Langley Events Centre.
The Spartans improve to 6-2-1 and remain first in the Canada West West Division with 13 points, one ahead of UBC. Saskatchewan falls to 4-4-1 and sits fourth in the division with nine points.
Trailing 1-0, Yackel scored at 18:00, 19:04 and 19:21 of the second period to give the Spartans a 3-1 lead into the intermission. Her two goals in 17 seconds ties the Canada West record for fastest two goals, and her three goals in 1:21 breaks the Canada West record for fastest three goals.
Fourth-year forward
Brook Dorash (Ardrossan, Alta.) added a third-period goal, while third-year goaltender
Olivia Davidson (Edmonton, Alta.) made 25 saves for the win. Clara Juca stopped 28 shots for Saskatchewan, which received goals from Ava Bergman and Peppi-Pauliina Virtanen.
Second-year forward
Shae LaPrade (Calgary, Alta.), fourth-year forward
Kyra Anderson (Regina, Sask.) and fifth-year defender
Presleigh Giesbrecht (Gretna, Man.) each collected two assists for the Spartans.
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Huskies complete their weekend series Saturday, November 7 at the ARENAS at the Langley Events Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m. (PT), with the game available live on Canada West TV.
QUOTABLE
Peter Hay, TWU Head Coach
"It wasn't our best first period. We didn't play together, and there was a little bit of a disconnect between our D and forwards in our breakouts. That being said, Davey made some nice stops to keep us in the game. I felt our team came back and played a really good second half to take the win. We definitely have some things to learn and some systems to adjust to be successful against Saskatchewan tomorrow."
On Kara Yackel.
"Kara scored an unbelievable three goals in just 81 seconds to take us from being down 1-0 to up 3-1, which was absolutely huge. To get the first natural hat trick in our program's history and become our career goals leader with 28 Canada West goals made it an even more special night for her. We always want our leaders to lead on and off the ice, and she definitely led on the ice today. She scored those goals in a big moment to get momentum back for us."
AS IT HAPPENED
Bergman opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at 4:10 of the first period. Each team recorded eight shots in the opening frame.
The Huskies held that lead until Yackel tied the game at 18:00 of the second period, assisted by LaPrade and Giesbrecht. Yackel put TWU ahead 64 seconds later, with Anderson earning the assist, then completed her natural hat trick just 17 seconds after that, assisted by LaPrade and Anderson. The Spartans outshot Saskatchewan 11-8 in the period, while Davidson stopped all eight shots she faced.
Virtanen cut the lead to 3-2 at 7:04 of the third period, assisted by Anna Benoit. Dorash restored TWU's two-goal cushion at 10:38, with third-year forward
Cailin Yackel (West St. Paul, Man.) and Giesbrecht collecting the assists. Davidson made 10 saves in the final period as the Spartans finished with a 13-11 edge in shots.
NOTABLE
- TWU outshot Saskatchewan 32-27, with period totals of 8-8, 11-8 and 13-11. Anderson led the Spartans with six shots.
- Both teams finished 0-for-1 on the power play and took one minor penalty for two minutes. All six goals were scored at even strength.
- TWU is now 8-7 all-time against Saskatchewan, with all 15 meetings coming in Canada West conference play. The Spartans have won five straight meetings, including a 4-3 overtime victory in Saskatoon on October 18, 2025, in the previous matchup.
- Yackel's hat trick was only the second in program history, joining Kyra McDonald's three-goal performance in a 4-1 win at Calgary on January 25, 2025. Her third goal also gave her 28 Canada West regular-season career goals, passing McDonald's program record of 27.
- Yackel's 1:21 hat trick is the fastest in Canada West history. Previous record was 5:55 set by Calgary's Elizabeth Lang on November 27, 2021 in a 4-1 win over Regina. TWU's McDonald's previous hat trick included goals in all three periods.
- Yackel's second and third goals came just 17 seconds apart, tying the Canada West record set by UBC's Nikola Brown-John at Calgary on November 7, 2014. Also breaking the Spartan record. TWU's record for the fastest two goals by an individual. The previous mark was 2:44, set by Kailey Ledoux at MacEwan on February 7, 2026.
- Yackel also tied the single-game points record with three and moved into fourth on TWU's Canada West regular-season career points list with 44, passing Brooklyn Anderson's 42.
- Giesbrecht's two assists brought her Canada West regular-season career total to 28, tying the program record shared by fifth-year defender Ella Boon (Vanderhoof, B.C.), Jordyn Matthews and Olivia Leier.
- The Spartans have earned points in six consecutive games, going 5-0-1 over that stretch. They took three of four points against Manitoba last weekend, following a 3-2 overtime loss with a 4-2 victory.
- Saskatchewan has lost three straight games after dropping both games to U SPORTS No. 1 UBC last weekend, 5-1 and 3-2.
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 and field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes independently in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since joining U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 15 U SPORTS team championships and 35 Canada West team championships.
About Trinity Western University
TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning and holds three Canada Research Chairs. Through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education, TWU offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate and adult degree-completion programs that equip leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
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