Men’s Hockey – Trinity Western’s Elijah Vilio (Aldergrove, B.C.) scored the overtime winner, as the Spartans continued their record-setting start to the year with a 4-3 win over Selkirk Saturday at the Castlegar Recreation Centre. TWU has now earned a program best seven straight wins to start the season.
A wild final minute of the third period saw TWU’s Brandon Potomak (Aldergrove, B.C.) put TWU ahead 3-2 with 39 seconds to play, only to have Selkirk tie the game just 28 seconds later when Blake Sidoni wired a shot home with 11 seconds on the clock.
In overtime, it was Vilio playing hero, as he jumped in on a rush and blasted a one-timer home for the game-winner.
The win sees the Spartans earn back-to-back wins in Castlegar, after TWU opened the weekend series with a 7-0 win Friday.
Josh Bruce (Surrey, B.C.) and Jarrett Fontaine (Humboldt, Sask.) also scored for the Spartans, while goalie Lucas Mills (Burnaby, B.C.) made 40 saves to earn his fifth win of the year.
Adam Rosen and Tayden Woods scored Selkirk’s other two goals.
Bruce finished the night with three points (1G, 2A), while Potomak was the only other Spartan with a multi-point night, as he had a goal and an assist.
Rosen opened the scoring at 6:11 of the first period and the home side held a lead until the final minute of the second period when Bruce tallied the tying marker.
Woods put Selkirk ahead again at 5:43 of the final frame, but Fontaine, who was playing in just his second game of the year after suffering an injury in the preseason, scored his second goal in as many games to set the stage for a crazy finish.
Men’s Basketball
UNBC’s Vova Pluzhnikov drove the basket and dropped in a last-second game-winning lay-up to give the Timberwolves an 88-86 win Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
After TWU’s Jack Nadelhoffer (Tigard, Ore.) had tied the game on a steal and lay-up with 10 seconds left, Pluzhnikov took the ball and did it himself to win the game for the visitors.
TWU had taken an 84-83 lead with 1:18 to go, but a 3-ponter from Saje Gosal put UNBC ahead by two and set the stage for a wild finish.
Nadelhoffer finished the game with a career-high 26 points to go with nine rebounds to lead the Spartans, while Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath (Amarillo, Texas) had 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Adam Gehrig (Toowoomba, Australia) added 13 points and seven boards. Nadelhoffer’s previous career-high was 19 points, which he put up last year against UBC Okanagan (Oct. 27, 2018).
Tyrell Laing led the Timberwolves with 23 points, while Pluzhnikov had 18 points and seven rebounds.
UNBC shot 50 per cent (33-66) from the field and 34.5 per cent (10-29) from 3-point range, while TWU shot 43.2 per cent (32-74) and 28.6 (8-28) from 3-point land.
TWU had 13 turnovers to UNBC’s 18, with the Spartans outscoring the Timberwolves 26-16 off turnovers.
Tied through the first five minutes of the opening quarter, the Spartans charged ahead late, taking a 23-18 lead through 10 minutes with Nadelhoffer collecting a team-high six points. Taking advantage of six UNBC turnovers, TWU had a 10-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
TWU extended its lead to seven points by halftime, with Nadelhoffer putting up eight points in the second quarter while Gilbreath had seven. UNBC’s balanced attack saw six players with five or more points, led by Laing, who had eight at the break.
A back and forth third quarter saw the UNBC grab a 59-58 lead late in the quarter only to see a 3-pointer from Gilbreath followed by a fastbreak lay-up from Nadelhoffer send TWU to the final frame with a 63-59 lead. Pluzhnikov had eight points in the quarter to lead the visitors as they outscored the Spartans 20-17.
Then came a thrilling fourth quarter that ultimately went the way of the Timberwolves.
Women’s Basketball
Trinity Western second-year forward Nicole Fransson (Edmonton) had a career-high 26 points to lead the Spartans to a 63-52 win over UNBC to give TWU its first win of the season Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
Fransson, who was the Canada West Rookie of the Year last season, shot 66.7 per cent (12-18) from the field, while grabbing seven rebounds to help TWU side improve to 1-3 on the year. Third-year TWU guard Kianna Wiens (Regina) added 17 points. Fransson’s previous best for points was 25, which she posted against Victoria last year (Nov. 23).
Alina Shakirova had a team-high 18 points for UNBC, while Madison Landry had 16 points for the Timberwolves, who fell to 1-3 on the year.
After an eight-point loss to the Timberwolves in Friday’s home-opener, the Spartans came out flying in the first quarter, opening a 24-12 lead.
UNBC swung back in the second quarter, nearly outscoring TWU in the frame before a buzzer-beating jumper from first-year Spartan Rolande Taylor (Langley) gave the home side a 42-29 lead and an 18-17 edge in the quarter. Wiens had a team-high 16 points at the break for the Spartans, while Landry had 14 for UNBC.
The third quarter was more of the same, with TWU expanding its lead to 19 points, 50-31, by the five-minute mark before going to the fourth quarter with a 56-35 edge.
The Timberwolves outscored the Spartans 17-7 in the fourth quarter, but TWU’s lead was never threatened with UNBC unable to get any closer than nine points. Shakirova had 10 points in the final frame to lead the visitors.
TWU finished the night shooting 44.7 per cent (17-38) from the field, while UNBC shot 38.7 per cent (12-31). The Spartans had a 43-32 edge on the glass.
Women’s Cross Country
KINGSTON, Ont. – Trinity Western’s Joanna Williams (Campbell River, B.C.) finished 10th overall at the U SPORTS Championships, leading the Spartans with a career-best result Saturday at Fort Henry Hill.
The fifth-year Williams, who was coming off a bronze medal-winning performance at the Canada West championships, put together her first-ever top-10 result at the national meet, improving on a 47th-place finish from last year. Williams crossed the line in 28:47.4 over the eight-kilometre race.
After Williams, third-year Jouen Chang (Langley) finished 42nd overall in 30:05.4. The Spartans top five was rounded out by fifth-year Mikaela Smart (Maple Ridge, B.C.), who was 62nd in 30:33.8, second-year Christina Sevsek (Surrey, B.C.), who was 71st in 30:47.0, and first-year Cassidy Hutchison (Abbotsford, B.C.), who was 91st in 31:17.2
As a team, the Spartans women’s team finished ninth overall.
On the men’s side, fifth-year Nick Colyn (Langley, B.C.) was the Spartans top finisher, crossing the line 34th overall in 32:11.9 over 10 kilometres. He was followed by first-year Josh Woolgar (Ladner, B.C.), who had an impressive first-ever national championship race, finishing 64th overall in 32:51.8.
A young Spartans contingent saw first-year athletes Levi Osterwalder (Camrose, Alta.) and Kaelan House (Surrey, B.C.) finished 133rd (35:19.5) and 141st (37:06.4) respectively while second-year Nathanael Fehringer (Merdian, Idaho) was 142nd overall in 37:37.1
The men’s team finished 18th overall.
SPARTAN RESULTS
WOMEN
10th – Joanna Williams – 28:47.4
42nd – Jouen Chang – 30:05.4
62nd – Mikaela Smart – 30:33.8
71st – Christina Sevsek – 30:47.0
91st – Cassidy Hutchison – 31:17.2
100th – Julie Sevsek – 31:25.4
154th – Rachel Ward – 34.25.4
MEN
34th – Nick Colyn – 32:11.9
64th – Josh Woolgar – 32:51.8
133rd – Levi Osterwalder – 35.19.5
141st – Kaelan House – 37:06.4
142nd – Nathanael Fehringer – 37:37.1
WOMEN
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Queen’s, 53
2. Guelph, 74
3. Laval, 96
4. UBC, 120
5. Toronto, 182
6. Western, 185
7. Saskatchewan, 234
8. McGill, 244
9. Trinity Western, 251
10. Montreal, 259
11. Calgary, 268
12. Victoria, 294
13. McMaster, 332
14. Dalhousie, 375
15. Windsor, 378
16. Waterloo, 379
17. Laurier, 404
18. StFX, 452
19. Sherbrooke, 502
First Team All-Canadians
1. Lucia Stafford, Toronto, 27:30.3
2. Anne-Marie Comeau, Laval, 27:44.2
3. Branna MacDougall, Queen’s, 28:01.0
4. Kara Blair, Queen’s, 28:17.3
5. Brogan MacDougall, Queen’s, 28:19.6
6. Kate Current, Western, 28:20.4
7. Hannah Woodhouse, Guelph, 28:26.7
Second Team All-Canadians
8. Nicola Symonds, UBC, 28:30.8
9. Danielle Jossinet, Guelph, 28:33.1
10. Joanna Williams, Trinity Western, 28:47.4
11. Naomi Lang, UBC, 28:56.5
12. Lizzy Laurie, Laurier, 29:00.8
13. Kaitlyn Harrison, Saskatchewan, 29:01.3
14. Eoldie De Coene, Montreal, 29:02.5
INDIVIDUAL HONOURS
Athlete of the Year: Lucia Stafford, Toronto
Rookie of the Year: Naomi Lang, UBC
Fox 40 Coach of the Year: Steve Boyd, Queen’s
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Caitlin Vail, Victoria
MEN
Team Standings
1. Calgary, 63
2. McMaster, 82
3. Guelph, 82
4. Laval, 110
5. Windsor, 140
6. UBC, 150
7. Queen’s, 175
8. Alberta, 215
9. Victoria, 264
10. Toronto, 310
11. Western, 312
12. Laurentian, 350
13. Dalhousie, 367
14. Montreal, 394
15. Sherbrooke, 406
16. StFX, 445
17. Manitoba, 461
18. Trinity Western, 475
19. Laurier, 563
First Team All-Canadians
1. Kieran Lumb, UBC, 30:41.8
2. Mitchell Ubene, Guelph, 30:49.3
3. Russell Pennock, Calgary, 30:55.2
4. Matthew Travaglini, Calgary, 30:58.4
5. Alex Drover, McMaster, 30:59.3
6. Max Turek, McMaster, 31:01.9
7. Joshua Martin, Windsor, 31:04.9
Second Team All-Canadians
8. Kalum Delaney, Guelph, 31:07.7
9. Andrew Davies, McMaster, 31:08.8
10. Mitchell de Lange, Queen’s, 31:09.8
11. John Perrier, Guelph, 31:12.1
12. Stefan Daniel, Calgary, 31:15.1
13. Thomas Broatch, UBC, 31:17.0
14. Félix Lapointe-Pilote, Laval, 31:18.9
INDIVIDUAL HONOURS
Athlete of the Year: Kieran Lumb, UBC
Rookie of the Year: Marcel Scheele, Western
Fox 40 Coach of the Year: Doug Lamont, Calgary
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Paul MacLellan, StFX
