Spartans host EWU on Friday looking to head into break on winning note

Trinity Western University will play its final game of the fall semester this Friday as it hosts Eastern Washington University at 7:00 PM at the Langley Events Centre.

Already sitting atop the BCIHL standings, the Spartans have a chance to widen their first place lead and with a win this Friday would enter the Christmas break five points clear of Selkirk and Victoria and potentially six points ahead of Simon Fraser.

The last time TWU faced EWU, the Spartans came away with a weekend sweep on the road, winning 5-2 on Nov. 21 and 3-1 on Nov. 22.

Friday’s game will be broadcast live at www.bcihl.fasthockey.com.

The Spartans are coming off a bittersweet loss to Simon Fraser last Saturday in which they rallied from a two-goal third period deficit to force overtime but then lost in a shootout.

With eight wins to their credit this season, the Spartans have already put together far and away their best opening semester in program history. A win Friday would put a tidy bow on an impressive first half and solidify the Spartans grasp on top spot heading into the break.

The Spartans are at the halfway point in the season and they have yet to lose back-to-back BCIHL games. Following each of their three previous losses, the Spartans have bounced right back to earn a win in their next regular season contest.

Coincidently, each time TWU has lost this season, the Spartans have come back with a victory over Selkirk College. This time, EWU will be the opposition, but the Spartans are hoping the trend continues and that their most recent loss doesn’t turn into a streak.

Prior to the Spartans loss to Simon Fraser in which they allowed four goals in regulation, TWU had allowed just three goals in its previous three games. The Spartans had shutout Selkirk 4-0 before earning 3-1 and 5-2 wins over EWU. Against the Eagles, TWU was as strong defensively as it has been all year and largely held the Eagles offence in check.

In his first year with TWU, PJ Buys has quickly become an offensive force for the Spartans. Through 11 games, he is second on the team in points with five goals and 11 assists. In TWU’s last game, Buys had his most impressive offensive output to date as he was in on all four Spartans goals, collecting one goal and three assists. He’s also earned at least a point in nine of the 11 games he’s played.

Meanwhile, the Eagles are coming off a bye week and will be looking for a little redemption this Friday as their last outing saw them fall to the Spartans on back-to-back nights.

With the season reaching the halfway point, the Eagles find themselves at the bottom of the BCIHL standings and sitting six points behind fourth place Simon Fraser.

Friday’s game against TWU is the first of a critical two-game weekend for EWU, as they will play SFU on Saturday.

In his first full year playing with EWU, Beau Walker is leading the league in scoring and has points in 11 of the 12 games he’s played. Walker played one game for EWU last year, but has come out of the gate flying this year, collecting 10 goals and 13 assists.

In EWU’s two games against the Spartans, Walker scored one goal and picked up one assist. Prior to joining the Eagles last year, Walker played with the Corpus Christi IceRays of the NAHL for three years. He also played five games with NCAA Div. 1 Sacred Heart University in 2012-13.

While Walker has been a brilliant offensive addition for the Eagles, the team needs to find offence from more than just one player. After Walker, Brett Mathews is second on the team in scoring with just five goals and five assists. Paxton Bell is third on the team with two goals and four assists.

With just 33 goals in 12 games, the Eagles are the lowest scoring team in the league and haven’t scored more than three goals in any of their last five games.

The Eagles will need to stay out of the penalty box on Friday if they hope to have success. TWU’s power play has been working at league-leading 34.6 per cent on home ice this year, while EWU’s penalty killing on the road has been working at just 73.3 per cent.