Trinity Western University rookie Brandon Potomak, of Aldergrove, scored the first two goals of his BCIHL career and added three assists to lead the Spartans to an 11-1 win over Victoria Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
Seven different Spartans scored goals and 15 different players earned at least a point, as the Spartans ran away from the Vikes in a rematch of last year’s BCIHL championship series.
Stefan Gonzales of Surrey and Elijah Vilio of Aldergrove each had four-point nights, with Gonzales putting up three goals and one assist, while Vilio tallied four helpers.
Surrey’s Evan Last had a three-point night, earning two goals and an assist, while Kade Vilio of Aldergrove scored twice.
Luke Simon of Dallas, Texas, Joseph Sylvain of Girouxville, Que., Jarrett Fontaine of Humboldt, Sask., and Florian Niedermaier of Davos, Switzerland also scored for TWU.
The goals for Simon and Sylvain were each their first markers in the BCIHL.
Brandon Volpe scored Victoria’s lone goal. Burnaby’s Lucas Mills was forced to make just 13 saves for the win.
TWU (3-1) outshot the Vikes (0-2) 57-14.
Friday’s game was the first time TWU and Victoria had met at the LEC since the Vikes won the BCIHL championship last year on the Spartans home ice.
The Spartans are back on the ice on Thursday, Oct. 26 when they host Simon Fraser at 7 p.m. at the LEC.
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Volleyball in Saskatoon
In the meantime, TWU Spartans opened the 2017-18 Canada West men’s volleyball season with a straight set (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) victory over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night at the PAC.
Including their preseason, the two-time defending national champion Spartans are 14-0 in 2017-18.
They hit .397 as a team while holding Saskatchewan to .192.
Jacob Kern (Edmonton) led the Spartan attack with game-high 14 kills and four digs. Eric Loeppky (Steinbach, Man.) chipped in with nine kills, a team-high six digs, two aces and TWU’s only two solo blocks.
Mortenson lead the team with nine kills, while CJ Gavlas provided 26 assists.
“It was kind of a weird feeling game. I think there were a lot of nerves,” said head coach Ben Josephson.
“Even though we played really well and we were really efficient, it just never felt comfortable. We had a hard time from the service line and never really got our hot servers going. It just never felt like we had a great flow. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but there were just some things that weren’t great,” he added.
In the first set, the Spartans seemed to trade points two-for-one with the Huskies, as they built their lead. Trinity Western slowly controlled the pace to earn a 25-21 win in the opening set.
In the second set, neither team could seem to pull away from one another. The Huskies saw their first lead at 15-14 courtesy of a Colin Fraser kill. However, the Spartans stormed back to score four straight. The Huskies came close to a comeback, narrowing the lead to 19-17.
But the Spartans once again scored four straight for the 25-18 win.
In the final set, the Huskies led 17-15, but the Spartans responded with a 6-1 run. The Huskies clawed back to pull within one. Dylan Mortenson’s ace made it 21-20 for the Spartans but that was as close as the Huskies would get. Trinity Western would close the match on a 3-0 run as Jackson Howe (Calgary) earned the final point for the Spartans.
“We’re happy to get a good start to the season and a road win in that gym,” Josephson said. “I thought Jacob Kern was unreal tonight. He was so physical and high. Maddux Greves was lights out serving off the bench. He closed out the second and third sets from the baseline.”
Next up, the teams meet again tonight (Saturday) night in Saskatoon.
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On the Soccer field
Another Spartans team battled it out with Victoria on Friday, but this time on Vancouver Island, and this time on the soccer field.
The No. 5-ranked Trinity Western women’s soccer team clinched first place in the Pacific Division with a 0-0 draw with the Vikes Friday at Centennial Stadium.
With the tie, the Spartans (10-2-1) extended their Canada West record shutout streak to 10 games and a total of 916 minutes.
Goals were always going to be at a premium in the match, as the game was a battle not only between the two teams atop the standings in the conference but also between two of the stingiest defences west of Ontario.
Combining to allow just 13 goals against in 26 games played between them, the defences shone once again on the night as the back four for both squads were incredibly hard to break down.
The back-and-forth game was even throughout the night, with the two teams ending the game tied in both shots and corner kicks as well as on the scoreboard, recounted head coach Graham Roxburgh, noting the Spartans haven’t allowed a goal since losing 3-0 against Calgary on Sept. 16.
“In the end we knew they had to win and so it was always going to be a tricky game but I was pleased with how we defended,” Roxburgh said.
“A couple times it was in desperation but in the end we got over the line. Our whole back four was really good tonight, especially in the second half when UVic was desperate and trying to press.”
The Spartans will finish their regular season schedule when they play UBC in Vancouver tonight (Saturday) at 6:30 p.m. The T-Birds beat TWU 3-0 in each of their last two meetings.
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TWU women hit the court, too
Back on the volleyball court, The Spartans enjoyed another win Friday in Saskatchewan.
The 2017 Canada West and U SPORTS bronze medal-winning Spartans opened the 2017-18 Canada West women’s volleyball season with a 3-2 (25-17, 21-25, 21-25, 25-12, 15-11) win over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
In the fifth and deciding set, both teams traded points until Langley setter Brie O’Reilly took over the service for the Spartans. O’Reilly served four straight points for her team to give the Spartans a 7-4 lead, forcing a Saskatchewan timeout.
The Huskies crawled back, narrowing the lead to 12-10 after an Emily Koshinsky kill. Koshinsky committed an attack error on the following serve, allowing Linda Damerau (Furthen, Germany) to deliver a clutch ace to take the Spartans one point away from stealing the win. Katelyn Devaney (Port Coquitlam) sealed the deal thereafter, with her kill giving the Spartans the 15-11 victory in the deciding set.
Hilary Howe (Calgary) led the offence for the Spartans, recording 15 kills and six digs. Devaney also provided 14 kills for TWU.
For the Huskies, Regan Wiebe recorded 12 kills and 16 digs, while Carissa Noble chipped in with 10 kills and six digs of her own.
Trinity Western went on a 6-1 run halfway through the first set thanks in part to Kristin Anton’s (Prince George) powerful serves; forcing a Husky timeout with the Spartan lead extended to five. Coming out of the timeout, the Huskies couldn’t close the gap. Another 6-1 run with Anton providing the service was be too much for the Huskies to come back from. The Spartans took the first set, 25-17.
After falling behind 3-0 in the second set, the Huskies stormed back.
A kill by Noble kick-started a 7-1 run for the dogs. The Huskie lead extended to as much as six before a 7-1 Spartan run gave them a one-point advantage at 18-17.
Back-to-back kills from fifth-year Jenelle Sokoloski got the Huskies back on track down the stretch. Fellow fifth-year Marguerite Ferguson finished the set with a kill of her own to clinch the set for the Huskies, 25-21.
In the third set, the Huskies carried over their momentum from the second.
A quick 4-0 lead grew to as many as eight thanks to kills from Noble, Sokoloski and Ferguson.
After a Spartan misplay, the Huskie lead reached nine with just three points to take the set. The Spartans wouldn’t make it easy on the home-team, as their 7-1 run closed the gap to three, 23-20.
After a Husky timeout, fifth-year Mackenzie Pek came through with timely sets for her teammates. Pek set up Sokoloski and Ruby Stefan for the final two kills of the set.
The Spartans needed to take the fourth set to force a fifth, and they came through, said head coach Ryan Hofer.
They wouldn’t give up the lead during the set after building an early 9-3 cushion, taking the set 25-12.
“I’m really impressed with the team’s composure. We came out strong, but then Saskatchewan started to rally and do a bunch of really good things on their side,” Hofer said.
“We got down, but I was really impressed with the resilience of this group and to be patient. Brie did a really good job of leading this team and staying composed. Then her team did a really nice job of putting the ball away and making smart shots. Rachel Flink (13 digs) did a great job of managing the back court. We’re learning as we go and there is a lot we can take out of this game.”
These two teams face off again this afternoon (Saturday) at 3 p.m. in Saskatoon.