Spartans are comeback kings once again in shootout victory over Eastern

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For the second night in a row, Trinity Western University needed to play beyond 60 minutes but ultimately came away victorious as they earned a 5-4 shootout win over Eastern Washington University on Saturday evening at the EWU Recreation Complex.

After Ryan Bakken tied the game late in the third period, it was the Mattias Schmitt who got the shootout winner in the seventh round, sending TWU home with a pair of wins from its two-game road trip.

The Spartans had earned a 3-2 overtime win on Friday against Selkirk.

The victory improves the Spartans record to 11-5-0-1 on the season and moves them within one point of both Selkirk and Simon Fraser, who sit atop the BCIHL standings with 24 points each. The loss drops EWU to 3-12-0-2.

The Spartans rallied twice from 3-2 and 4-3 deficits before evening the score for good and sending it to overtime. The Eagles outshot TWU 5-2 in the extra session, but goalie Aaron Oakley made five of his 39 saves in overtime to help send it to a shootout.

In the shootout, Florian Niedermaier and Schmitt were the only two Spartans to score while Chase Wharton was the lone goal-scorer for the Eagles. EWU goalie Tyler O’Donnell made 37 saves in the loss.

“We’re finding ways to get these games loaded onto the bus and come home with four points,” said Spartans coach Barret Kropf. “We were down and had to fight back in both games but the guys put in really gritty effort. We’re pretty banged up, with lots of nicks and bruises, so I thought the guys did a tremendous job of battling through that to come out with the victory."

“Oaks made some great saves to get us into the shootout. Riley Schmidt had a good game and took advantage of an opportunity to move up the lineup due to a few injuries. And our power play was also clicking, which was great to see."

"Jamie Russell also had another great game. He is probably the most underrated player in the league. In my mind, he is an all-star. He might not have the points to show it, but every time he’s on the ice, he dominates play. He’s a true warrior, who deserves some recognition. I’m really proud of the weekend he put together for us.”

The Spartans will now prepare for a home-and-home series with Simon Fraser, with the Clan visiting Langley on Friday, Feb. 5 and TWU travelling to Burnaby on Saturday, Feb. 6.