Trinity Western University gave up a goal with just 33 seconds left in the third period as the Spartans were forced to settle for a 3-3 tie with Okanagan College on Saturday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre.
Despite being outshot 52-32, the Spartans nearly pulled out a victory after Trevor Beaupre banged home a rebound with 1:51 to go in the final frame, giving the home side a 3-2 advantage, but Trinity Western’s hopes of a second win in two games were dashed when Layne Stopanski evened things up for good with less than a minute to go.
The Spartans trailed 2-0 after the first period on goals by Okanagan’s Chris Glen and Dave Mann 32 seconds apart, but fought back in the second with a pair of goals from Scott Holmes and Jordan Magnuson 17 seconds apart.
Trinity Western goalie Tim Zwiers made 49 saves in the tie while Okanagan’s Sunny Gill stopped 29 of 32 attempts thrown his way.
The tie moves Trinity Western’s record to 1-5-0 while Okanagan is now 2-2-1 on the season.
“Anytime you get doubled in shots you’re going to get yourself in trouble,” said Spartans coach Dwayne Lowdermilk. “Tim [Zwiers] played fantastic but it was smart on their part late to call a timeout and our guys just fired the puck around the boards and they kept their defence in tight on the walls and they ended up getting the shot that squeaked through on an angle.
“We’ve got to win the battles. They just found a way to win. We can take some good things out of this game but in the end we couldn’t hold on.”
The Coyotes dominated the first period as they outshot the Spartans 19-8 and were rewarded for their efforts on the powerplay with just over two minutes to go in the frame. Glen jumped on a loose puck behind the net and banked it in off the back of Zwiers who was unable to regain position after making a pair of in-tight saves. Aaron Buat was credited with the assist after his shot caused the rebound that Glen discovered behind the goal line.
Just 38 seconds later, the Coyotes doubled their lead when Mann pounced on a rebound that Zwiers lost in his feet and put it up top in the left corner past the Spartans goalie.
Trinity Western’s best chance of the period came midway through the period when Benson Wu’s shot off the right wing rang off the near post. In the second period the Spartans ramped up their game in a big way and were the superior team throughout, generating a number of Grade “A” scoring chances. Both Brandon Long, who missed an open net on a two-on-one, and Matt Chaput, who hit the crossbar on a breakaway, had brilliant chances but were unable to find the back of the net.
Eventually the Spartans pressure finally broke the Coyotes pipe when Holmes burst down the right side, beat his defenceman to the outside and slipped the puck between the legs of Gill for his first goal of the year at 13:55 of the second period. And just 43 seconds later, the Spartans equalised when Jordan Magnuson ripped a point shot past a screened Gill, beating the Coyotes goalie clean to the glove side.
With the Spartans outshooting Okanagan 19-12 and outscoring the Coyotes 2-0 in the middle frame, they looked to have momentume heading to the third period. But in the final 20 minutes, it was all Coyotes. They outshot Trinity Western 21-5 and if not for some stellar play from Zwiers, the Coyotes likely would have left Langley with a better result.
With Zwiers standing on his head, the Spartans got a chance to win when Beaupre smacked a rebound past Gill, with the assists going to Holmes and Riemersma.
But with the Spartans counting down the seconds to a win, Okanagan’s Stopanski found a loose puck in the slot and beat Zwiers low and to the right side to even the contest.
The game was a fiesty one as both teams became well-aquainted with the penalty box. Trinity Western finished with 36 penalty minutes, including 10-minute misconduts to both Sam Gemmell and Beaupre, while Okanagan was assessed 49 penalty minutes, including 10-minute misconducts to Kelly Loudoun, Kris Davis and Dave Mann. The Coyotes Keon Vick also had a five-minute major for checking from behind.
The Spartans next game is Friday, Nov. 4 when they will host Victoria at the George Preston Recreation Centre at 7:45 p.m. The Coyotes are back in action Nov. 5 at 8:00 p.m.when they are on the road against Thompson Rivers.
Game Notes – Trinity Western was 0 for 8 on the powerplay while Okanagan was 1 for 5.
VICTORIA
SIMON FRASER
OKANAGAN
LOGAN LAKE
VANCOUVER ISLAN.
