Five goal outburst in second leads Spartans to preseason road win at SFU

Trinity Western University exploded for five goals in the second period and the Spartans went on to pick up a 6-1 win over Simon Fraser University in preseason action at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre on Friday evening.

Jamey Kreller scored two goals, including the game-winner, while Kenny Batke, Aaron Gruenhage, Dawson Sawatzky and Cody Stephenson tallied singles.

After a scoreless first period, Batke sparked the goal parade at 6:49 of the second period and just over 10 minutes later, TWU found itself up 5-0.

The teams traded goals in the third period.

“I thought we saw lots of good things from our guys,” said Spartans coach Barret Kropf. “It was a full 60-minute effort. In the past, we’ve had to wait until the second half of the semester to have these sorts of efforts, so it’s good to see this in exhibition. I think we played smart hockey and stuck to the game plan and it was good for our guys to get that confidence."

“I thought Kreller and Sawatzky had particularly good games. On the back end, some of our guys that we brought in three years ago that were young – guys like Karsten Seidel and Jacob Mills – have really developed and did a good job tonight in showing their maturity. Overall, we’re starting to see our guys do the little things for each other that help you win games.”

The Spartans will now prepare for their preseason game at UBC Oct. 1, which will mark the first time TWU’s men’s hockey team has played a CIS opponent.