TWU looks to close out 2019 with unbeaten record as SFU visits Thursday

Trinity Western University will look to close out the 2019 portion of their regular season schedule with an unbeaten record on Thursday night when they host Simon Fraser University at the Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre. Faceoff is set for 7:00 PM.

The first-place Spartans have won eight consecutive games to start the season, with their last win coming in a 6-2 win over Victoria at home on November 15. TWU has outscored its opposition by an overall margin of 45-21 this season, leading the BCIHL with +24 goal differential.

Simon Fraser sits in fourth place in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League standings and is looking to bounce back after back-to-back home losses to Vancouver Island University last weekend. The Mariners swept the two-game series with 4-2 and 2-1 victories.

Evan Last leads the Spartans and sits second in BCIHL scoring with 18 points (8G, 10A) through just eight games. With one point, Last will enter the Top 10 in BCIHL career points. Logan Casavant in close on Last's heels with 17 points, while Josh Bruce leads all BCIHL rookies with five goals and 14 points. Travis Verveda, Dustin Degeau and Elijah Vilio occupy three of the top five spots amongst league defencemen in scoring with 10, 10 and 8 points respectively.

The Spartans will look to contain Clan forward Mac Colasimone, who leads Simon Fraser in scoring with 12 points (6G, 6A), two of which came on the road against TWU on Oct. 24. Former Langley Rivermen forward Trevor Ayre and fellow forwards Eric Callegari and Ty Westgard also represent SFU in the BCIHL's Top 20 scorers.

Thursday's game will mark an interesting battle between two of the league's special teams leaders, as TWU currently leads the league in powerplay percentage (26%), while Simon Fraser sits second in penalty-kill percentage (83%).

The Spartans are 2-0 against the Clan this season, having picked up a 3-2 win at home on October 24th and a 5-4 victory in Burnaby on November 2nd.
 

TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS (8-0-0-0)
BCIHL standings: 1st
Last Weekend: Bye
BCIHL Streak: 8W
Regular Season Form: W-W-W-W-W

SIMON FRASER CLAN (4-5-0-1)
BCIHL standings: 4th
Last Weekend: vs. VIU (L 4-2, L 2-1)
BCIHL Streak: L2
Regular Season Form: W-L-W-L-L