Midseason Report: Spartans showing all the tools needed for playoff success

The old adage in sports says that it's far more important how you finish than how you start, and perhaps no B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League team understands the meaning better than Trinity Western University.

The Spartans have been to the league finals the past two seasons and in three of the last four, but have yet to hoist a trophy when all's said and done. So for TWU, the 2017/18 campaign is all about taking the final step from good to great and capturing a BCIHL championship for the first time.

Thus far, it appears the Spartans have all the ingredients for playoff success at the season's midway point. At 10-3, they sit just three points back of Selkirk College for first place and hold a game in hand. Their 62 goals as a team are just one shy of the league lead held by the Saints, and the 29 goals they've allowed are less than any other squad.

That TWU would once again be amongst the league's top teams would have been a fair bet given the returning core of key players back wearing the blue and gold this season. Six of the Spartans' top seven scorers from a year ago have returned, including a potent top-three that includes Evan Last, Jarrett Fontaine and Dirk de Waal.

The trio combined for 77 points in 62 games last season and are on a similar pace this year, but TWU has also received an offensive boost from a number of veterans and a few new additions.

Headlining that group is first-year forward Brayden Brown, a former Edmonton Oil Kings forward who joined the team following a stint with the Junior A Calgary Canucks. The 20-year old has been an immediate hit with the Spartans and at the midway mark leads all goal scorers with 10 while sitting in a tie with Last for the team lead in points with 17.

Another former WHLer, Brandon Potomak, has also been a dynamic offensive addition with 14 points in 11 games. The Moose Jaw Warriors alum has a 5-point game under his belt and closed out the semester with the game winner and a first star nod in a 3-2 road win over SFU.

But in focusing on TWU's impressive depth of scorers up front it's easy to overlook the true strength of the team. The Spartans are truly a team built from the crease out, as strong goaltending and defence have become the hallmarks of their success.

Fifth-year Silas Matthys will graduate in five months as the most decorated goaltender in BCIHL history. He already holds the league's all-time marks for wins, minutes played and saves, and his career goals-against average (2.61) and save-percentage (.921) rank sixth and first respectively amongst netminder with more than 25 career appearances.

Matthys has been his usual consistent self (2.23 GAA/.920 SV%) through nine starts so far this season, and backups Lucas Mills and Allistair Duncan have filled in admirably when called upon.

The defence corps in front of them is deep, skilled and physical with point-per-game mainstay Stefan Gonzales leading the way. A two-time BCIHL champ from his days at Selkirk College, Gonzales is a star at both ends of the ice. He is joined by fourth-years Jacob Mills and Karsten Seidel, third-year Kaleb Denham and second-years Dustin Deugau and Kenny Batke to form the league's most experienced group at their position.

They've also held up their end of the bargain offensively, with Gonzales, Mills, Denham and Deugau having combined for 40 points through 13 games -- 17 more than their nearest competition on any other team.

So while it's ultimately the Spartans' postseason performance that will determine whether their 2017/18 season was a success, there is important works to do over the final 11 games of the regular season. Making up the three-point gap on Selkirk College and passing the Saints for top spot in the league standings would ensure home ice advantage through the playoffs for TWU.

That could be crucial given that the Spartans swept the Saints on home ice in the first round last year but are winless in four tries during previous playoff series in Castlegar. In fact, all four of Selkirk's recent championships came on home ice.

Trinity Western won't have to wait long to see their rivals for top spot, as they open 2018 with a two-game set at Eastern Washington before heading to the Kootenays to face off twice against the Saints.
 

MIDSEASON AT A GLANCE - TWU

Record: 10-3-0-0 (2nd place)
Goals For: 62 (2nd)
Goals Against: 29 (1st)
Power Play: 14.04% (4th)
Penalty Kill: 87.30% (2nd)

Goals Leader: Brayden Brown (10)
Assists Leader: Evan Last/Stefan Gonzales (10)
Points Leader: Brayden Brown/Evan Last (17)
PIM Leader: Dustin Deugau (30)