De Waal's pair leads TWU to win over VIU in Mariners' first BCIHL game

Trinity Western University’s Dirk de Waal recorded his second straight two-goal night to lead the Spartans to a 5-1 win over Vancouver Island University in the Mariners first ever game in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League on Saturday at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.

De Waal finished with three points on the night to help TWU (2-0-0) cap its road weekend with a second consecutive victory. Evan Last, Kade Vilio and Florian Niedermaier also scored for the Spartans.

TWU goalie Silas Matthys made 22 saves to earn the win. For the second night in a row,

Last got the Spartans first goal of the game, opening the scoring at 8:00 of the first period. Last’s marker sparked a five-goal barrage from the Spartans, starting with Vilio scoring at 16:31 of the first period.

After a scoreless middle stanza, de Waal broke the game open 17 seconds into the third period, before Niedermaier made it 4-0 just over two minutes later. With 12:03 left to play in the contest, de Waal tallied an unassisted goal for his fourth of the season. VIU’s Gage Colpron broke Matthys’ shutout bid with 1:24 to play, scoring the Mariners first ever BCIHL goal.

"Our guys played a really disciplined game," says TWU head coach Barret Kropf. "You come into a season-opening night with a club that’s new to the league and considering all the energy that comes with that, I thought our guys played really well and stayed focused."

"What I really like through the first two games of the season is that our fourth lines is really giving us lots of energy, forcing turnovers and capitalizing. Dirk and Kade were both flying again tonight. It was a solid effort all around and we gave ourselves a chance to win on the road."

"To go on a road trip and play in two really tough barns on the Island and come home with four points is a great start to the season."

NOTABLE:

· De Waal now has league-leading five points, including four goals and one assist, through TWU’s first two games.

· TWU outshot VIU 31-23, including 12-4 in the second period.

· Vilio’s two-point night, which included an assist on de Waal’s first goal, helped him already equal his point total from last season. Including an assist in Friday’s season-opener against Victoria, Vilio has three points on the year, matching his output in 17 games in 2016-17.

NEXT UP: The Spartans return to the Langley Events Centre for their home-opener Oct. 13 against the Mariners at 7 p.m. (PT).