Despite a strong team effort and a 43-save performance from goalie Harry Fredeman, Trinity Western University fell to visiting Simon Fraser by a 6-2 score on Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
SFU got a pair of goals Josh McKissock and Trevor Milner in the first period and then doubled their lead in the second with tallies from Trevor Esau and Jared Eng before holding off the Spartans in the third to earn the four-goal victory.
The win improves the Clan's BCIHL-leading record to 16-2 while the loss drops TWU to 8-10. The Spartans remain fourth overall and two points behind third place Thompson Rivers.
In the third period, TWU got goals from Jamie Russell and Andrew Wheeler but a comeback wasn’t in the cards as SFU’s Kale Wild and Esau scored the Clan’s fifth and sixth goals, putting the game out of reach. The Clan outshot TWU 49-29.
SFU's Andrew Parent made 27 saves in the win while Fredeman took the loss as he allowed all six goals.
"At the end of the day, SFU is still a good hockey team," said Spartans coach Barrett Kropf. "The difference is they finish on their chances and we don’t. In the first, we had a couple minor breakdowns and suddenly it was 2-0. I thought we had a really solid first period and if you take away some mistakes, it’s a close game."
"We’re not disappointed with our compete level but as the season winds down, we need to be dialing it up for the playoffs. I think overall, we’re pleased with where we’re at but I know we can get a little bit more out of the guys. We had some guys who played some good minutes for us and Harry made some pretty crazy stops for us."
"I thought Dan Stollery on the back end had one of his better games while up front, we had some young guys, like Aaron Gruenhage, step up and play well.”
Just over three minutes into the first period, McKissock got SFU on the board when he drove the net and deflected a cross-crease feed past Fredeman. After a relatively balanced opening period, the Clan struck again late as Milner deposited his fifth goal of the season with 3:21 left in the frame.
On the power play midway through the second, SFU continued its goal barrage, when Esau took advantage of a Trevor Beaupre penalty to pot the first of his two goals on the night. Then with 28 seconds left in the period, Eng gave SFU a 4-0 lead.
At 9:15 of the third Wild made it a five-goal bulge for the Clan before Russell finally broke through with TWU’s first goal 39 seconds later. Then just 31 seconds after Russell’s marker, Wheeler scored to make it 5-2 before Esau notched his fourth of the year to round out the scoring with SFU up 6-2.
The Spartans and Clan meet again Saturday at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre in Burnaby, B.C. at 7:00 PM.
Game Notes: TWU was 0 for 2 on the power play while SFU was 1 for 2.
VICTORIA
SIMON FRASER
OKANAGAN
LOGAN LAKE
VANCOUVER ISLAN.
