TWU drops Captains Cup finale as UBC captures second annual event

Trinity Western University scored the first two goals against UBC on Saturday afternoon, but the Thunderbirds roared back to tally six straight en route to a 6-2 win in the Captains Cup at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

Coupled with their win on Friday over Simon Fraser, UBC won the Captains Cup for the second year in a row. The Spartans lost both games of the Captains Cup this year, as they also fell to SFU in overtime last weekend.

TWU’s Travis Verveda opened the scoring just 3:56 into the first period before Spencer Gerth doubled the Spartans lead with a shorthanded marker at 2:20 of the second period. However, four minutes later, UBC’s Colton Kehler got things going for the home side with his first of two on the night. Then, at 12:08 of the middle frame, Maxwell James scored to tie the game 2-2.

Forty-one seconds into the third period, James scored again, earning what would stand up as the game-winning goal. UBC’s Tyler Sandhu, Tanner Faith and Kehler added goals in the third period to round out the scoring.

“We were up 2-0 and we ran out of gas against a really good hockey team," says TWU Head Coach Barret Kropf. "UBC has the horses and the speed and the talent to really make a statement in Canada West, if not U SPORTS. We skated with them for 20 minutes, but at the end of the night, they just outskated us in the second half of the game. They’re conditioning was better than ours. I thought we matched up with their skating and strength, but they were able to dial it up and we weren’t."

“We have to keep building on positives and make adjustments on mistakes and we’ll be fine. But this game is the benchmark. If we want to be one of the top hockey programs around, that’s the standard we need to get to. Tonight was an indication of what we have to do and where we have to go to get there.”

The Spartans will now prepare for their final preseason game on the road against Victoria Sept. 29 at 12:45 PM. TWU opens the regular season Oct. 5-6 at home against Vancouver Island University.

About the Captains Cup: The preseason tournament started in the fall of 2017 with UBC taking the inaugural title. The goal of the Captains Cup is to promote university hockey in the Lower Mainland, while also raising awareness for the WHL's Scholarship Program, which is available for players entering into post-secondary hockey.

The tournament champion will be awarded an historic trophy – the Canada Pacific Exhibition President's Trophy – that has been in the BC Sports Hall of Fame since 2010. The trophy was previously awarded to the MVP of the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey League from 1941 to 1947.