Trinity Western University clinches playoff spot with home win over Clan

Trinity Western University clinched a B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League playoff spot after a 5-3 win over Simon Fraser University on Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre.

After SFU opened the scoring early in the second period, the Spartans responded with three straight goals to take the lead and, from there, they never trailed.

The Clan made it a 3-2 game with a last second goal in the second period, but TWU responded early in the third with two goals to extend its lead to 5-2. SFU got within two goals again, but, despite several waves of late pressure, was unable to get any closer.

With seven games still on the schedule, the Spartans nabbed a playoff spot earlier than they ever have in the program’s history.

“When I first got to TWU, we were never expected to win whenever we played,” said Spartans captain Blair Murphy. “Now we come into every game thinking we can win and take every single point. And it feels like we deserve it and, while this is just the start, clinching a playoff spot this early just shows how far this program has come.”

With the win, the first place Spartans (13-2-0-2) moved nine points clear of second place Victoria. The Spartans and Vikes play Friday at 7:00 PM at the LEC.

The loss drops the Clan (8-9-0-0) below .500 on the season and sees SFU remain winless, at 0-3, in 2015. The Clan return to the ice Saturday when it will host Victoria at 7:00 PM at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.

Jake Harcoff, Mattias Schmitt and Murphy each had goal and an assist to lead TWU while PJ Buys and Grange Gordon had one goal apiece. SFU’s Tyler Basham scored the Clan’s first two goals and Jesse Williamson added the visitors’ third tally of the night.

Spartans goalie Silas Matthys made 41 saves to earn his 12th win of the season while SFU goalie Andrew Parent took the loss after stopping 24 of the 29 shots he faced.

The Spartans went two for four on the power play while SFU was one for six. The Clan outshot TWU 44-29.

“I thought we played better than last Thursday in terms of overall team effort,” said Spartans coach Barret Kropf. “I actually thought both teams played better. Our power play and penalty kill were both working well tonight so that was good to see. SFU was relentless and threw pucks on net with every chance they could and our guys did the things they needed to do to get the win. Silas continues to play at an all-star level and (Ryan) Bakken had a great game on the back end.”

A physical first period saw SFU outshoot the Spartans 15-8, but the teams went into the locker room scoreless. The Clan got off to a quick start in the second period as Basham scored at 1:07 to open the scoring and launch what would be a wild middle stanza. Taylor Piller and Graham Smerek picked up assists.

The Spartans evened the score on the power play, when Murphy took a pass from Jamey Kreller and whipped a wrister from the point that made its way through traffic to the back of the net. TWU then took the lead when Buys slipped a rebound just under Parent from in tight. Harcoff and Schmitt added helpers.

Then, the Spartans made it 3-1 when, on a 4-on-1, Harcoff took a pass from Jamie Russell and buried his clear cut chance from the slot. However, with 2.1 seconds left in the second, SFU had a faceoff in TWU’s end and pulled its goalie for an extra attacker. After Nick Sandor won the faceoff, Michael Ball put a quick shot on target which Matthys stopped, but Basham pounced on the rebound to score just before the horn.

Early in the third period, Schmitt scored on the power play, with assists to Cody Fidgett and Bakken, and then Gordon scored to put TWU up 5-2. Murphy and Brett Wur assisted on Gordon’s goal. SFU’s Williamson scored to make it 5-3, but the Clan couldn’t climb any closer.

“Once we regrouped from that late goal in the second period, we challenged the guys to come back and make sure we played with a purpose in the third period,” Kropf said. “When you have a goal like that against you, that can be a real momentum shifter. I thought our guys responded well and jumped on them with a couple of quick ones.”

Game Notes – Similar to TWU’s game last Thursday’s against SFU, the Clan scored first before the Spartans responded with three straight goals to take control…late in the second period Jacob Mills and Saylor Preston got in a fight and were both ejected…TWU’s Karsten Seidel and Aaron Gruenhage both made their returns to the Spartans lineup after extended periods out with injuries.