Spartans and Mariners set for first place showdown in weekend series

First-place Trinity Western University will host Vancouver Island University on Friday and Saturday at the Langley Events Centre in a critical weekend series between the top two teams in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League standings.

The weekend series features the defending champions and first-place Spartans against a second-year VIU team that sits just four points behind league-leading TWU.

The Spartans will aim to rebuild momentum after earning a 9-2 win over Selkirk in their last outing. The win came on the heels of a 5-4 loss to Simon Fraser University, which was TWU’s first regulation time setback on home ice and just the Spartans third loss of the season. VIU enters the weekend after back-to-back wins over Victoria.

TWU has won all three meetings this year with VIU and were 3-1-0-1 against the Mariners in 2017-18.

TWU’s Evan Last leads the Spartans in scoring and is second in the BCIHL, with seven goals and 14 assists in 14 games. BCIHL leading scorer Dallas Calvin, who has seven goals and 16 points in 15 games, leads the Mariners in points. With two goals and three assists over the weekend, Calvin was named the BCIHIL ANYTHING BRANDED Player of the Week last week.

Friday's game is set for a 7:00 PM faceoff while the teams will play the rematch at 12:00 PM on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast live on Hockey TV.