Brown's late winner lifts Spartans to home ice victory over Simon Fraser

Trinity Western University’s Brayden Brown scored his second goal of the game late in the third period to complete a 4-3 comeback win over Simon Fraser University on Thursday at the Langley Events Centre.

Trailing by a goal going into the final frame, the Spartans Jacob Mills tied the game at 2:51 of the third period, setting up Brown’s eventual game-winner.

“The game had a playoff atmosphere to it and I think having that in the first semester bodes well for the league and it speaks to the level of play and the competition we have," says Spartans head coach Barret Kropf.

With the victory, TWU is now 7-3 on the season and 4-2 on home ice. Florian Niedermaier was the Spartans other goal-scorer, while TWU netminder Silas Matthys stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced to earn the win.

SFU’s Tyler Basham, Mak Barden and Daniell Lange scored for the visitors. The loss snaps the Clan’s four-game winning streak and drops them to 5-3 on the season.

TWU was 0 for 2 on the power play, while SFU was 2 for 7.

"After the second period, we had to refocus and park the first 40 minutes," says Kropf. "We were able to block out everything that had happened in the first two periods and I thought our third period was a really controlled game. We didn’t back off. We stayed aggressive and our speed continues to give us the advantage in the third period. The guys capitalized on their chances and we got the win.”

Niedermaier opened the scoring for the Spartans less than two minutes into the first period when he capitalized on a fortuitous bounce off the end wall and knocked it into an open net with SFU goalie Lyndon Stanwood caught behind the net. SFU struck back on the power play midway through the frame, when a shot on net deflected off Basham and past Matthys.

Similar to the first period, the Spartans struck early in the second period, with Brown taking a feed from Karsten Seidel and converting at 2:26 of the middle frame. However, SFU responded with a power play marker as Barden equalised when his centering pass deflected off a TWU skate and into the net.

Less than three minutes later, TWU was given a five-minute power play after SFU’s Jayden Piattelli was assessed a major and a game misconduct for checking to the head. The Piattelli penalty sparked a melee that saw seven of the 10 skaters on the ice sent to the box, but the ensuing man-advantage resulted in little more than a few shots for the Spartans.

After TWU was held off the scoreboard on its extended power play, the Clan took the lead for the first time in the game. Breaking down the left wing, Lange beat Matthys to the glove side.

Late in the period, the Spartans killed off a two-minute five-on-three power play, giving themselves a chance for the comeback win in the third period. Mills equalised with a wrister from the top of the circles that beat Stanwood. Then, with 3:27 left in the game, Brown tallied his sixth goal of the season to send TWU to the win.

Both teams finished with 26 shots.

The Spartans will now prepare for a game with unbeaten Selkirk College (10-0) on Friday at the Langley Events Centre. Puck drop is at 7:00 PM.