EDMONTON, Alberta– Second-year blueliner Kailey Ledoux (Saskatoon, Sask.) scored twice, her fifth and sixth of the season, and fifth-year goalie Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) made 17 saves to help lead the Trinity Western Spartans to a 5-2 victory over the MacEwan Griffins Saturday afternoon at the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton, Alta. The win improves the Spartans to 13-12-1-0, while the loss drops the Griffins to 5-19-1-1.
 
With the weekend sweep and the Alberta Pandas two loses to the UBC Thunderbirds, the Spartans are now tied for second place with the Pandas, with 27 points each. TWU holds the tiebreaker against Alberta by winning their season series 4-2. TWU's magic number to host is now two. Any combination of TWU wins or Alberta regulation loses that amount to two will give the Spartans second place in the division and will host the third place team from the East division, which would be Manitoba or Saskatchewan.
 
Also scoring for the Spartans were fifth-year forward Olivia Leier (Regina, Sask.) with her second of the season, fifth-year forward Kara Yackel (Saskatoon, Sask.) with her nineth of the season, and first-year blueliner Sadie Isfeld (Coquitlam, B.C.) with her fourth of the season.
 
Scoring for the Griffins were Rian Santos with her second of the season, and Allee Isley with her third of the season.
 
MacEwan goalie Lindsey Johnson made 31 saves in the Griffins loss.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now head back home to Langley, B.C. to play the Regina Cougars on February 13-14, for their final two home games of conference play. Game times are scheduled for 1 p.m. (PT) and 3 p.m. (PT) at the Langley Events Centre and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Peter Hay, TWU Head Coach
"It was much closer game today as MacEwan gave us more trouble, but I was happy how we responded after the first 10 minutes we were able to wake up and play the type of game that we needed to play. I was very happy again with Taps, keeping some of their key chances out with big saves and covering pucks quickly to kill momentum. We definitely have to be stronger defensively and in our defensive zone coverage to have success in the playoffs, so this was a good test for us and another learning opportunity."

"We got the sweep and took care of what we could control in the battle for second place. I am proud of these girls with some key goal scoring this weekend from defenceman and some depth scoring players, which is great as a team to have team success going into the playoffs.  Two more regular season games before the real deal."

AS IT HAPPENED
MacEwan began the first period strong as Rian Santos opened the scoring for MacEwan at 2:17, assisted by Claire Hobbs and Sydney Olsen, marking Santos' second goal of the season. Trinity Western equalized at 14:40 when Kailey Ledoux netted her fifth goal of the season, with an assist from Sadie Isfeld. Ledoux struck again at 17:24, assisted by Kyra McDonald and Chloe Reid, to give the Spartans a 2–1 lead. A penalty on Megan Dolynchuk for hooking gave Trinity Western a power play, but MacEwan successfully killed the penalty without conceding further goals. The Spartans led 2–1 at the end of the period.
 
Leier capitalized on a power play opportunity at 9:47 of the second period, scoring her second goal of the season and eventual game winner, with assists from Kasey Ditner and Ledoux, extending Trinity Western's lead to 3–1. The period saw several penalties, with Ashton Bender's cross-checking infraction giving TWU an early advantage, which they successfully converted. Later, penalties on Ashley Breitkreuz and Kelsey Ledoux put MacEwan on the power play twice, though they were unable to score. Sasha Malenfant's penalty gave the Spartans another power play, but no additional goals were scored. The period ended with Trinity Western maintaining their 3-1 lead.

MacEwan took advantage of an early power play in the third period, with Isley scoring at 3:49, assisted by Kali MacDonald and Kori Paterson. Trinity Western responded later in the frame, as Yackel found the net at 16:08, assisted by Chayce Kullman, to put TWU up 4-2. Just 25 seconds later, Isfeld extended the Spartans' advantage to 5–2, securing the victory with her fourth goal of the season. Neither team would score down the stretch as the Spartans prevailed 5-2.
NOTABLE

• The Spartans outshot the Griffins 36-19.
• TWU was 1-4 on the power play, while MacEwan was 1-3.
• The Spartans are currently 10-6 lifetime against the Griffins.
• TWU is 5-1 this season against MacEwan, with all four games at home at the Langley Events Centre.
• TWU has clinched a post season spot and could finish second or third in the west division of Canada West. A second-place finish would give TWU a home series for the start of the post season.
• Alberta is currently in second place in the West division with 27 points, TWU is third with 27 points, with Alberta having a game in hand.
• Last night the Spartans defeated the Griffins 4-0 at the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton, Alta.

 
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. 
 
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