Trinity Western University goalie Silas Matthys became the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League’s all-time career wins leader after earning a 3-1 victory over Simon Fraser Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
The fourth-year goalie from Wollerau, Switzerland made 34 saves to tally his 30th career win, passing former Simon Fraser goalie Andrew Parent for top spot on the all-time list.
“It feels really good, but this is more of a team record than a personal record because I can’t win without the other guys,” Matthys said. “But it’s a huge accomplishment. When I first came here, we were just hoping to get a win here and there, but now, every game we go into, we know we can win.”
Coach Barret Kropf said: “Silas embodies what it means to be a Complete Champion. He’s a spiritual leader. He’s a leader in the class room and the weight room. And on the ice, that’s the fruit of his labour. He brings that champion mindset. If you were to ask me what I look for in a Spartan hockey player, I’d show you a picture of Silas and talk about his qualities.”
The Spartans’ Stefan Gonzales and Evan Last both scored first period goals, while Jarrett Fontaine added an empty-netter for TWU (7-2-0-0).
Last assisted on both of TWU’s other goals while Jacob Mills had two assists on the night.
SFU’s Tyler Basham scored the lone goal for the Clan (7-2-0-1). Jordan Liem made 25 saves in the loss.
The Spartans were one for three on the power play, while TWU’s penalty kill was perfect holding the Clan off the scoresheet on three opportunities.
Kropf said there was a lot of anticipation that it was going to be a big game “and I think it was.”
“It was a great back and forth contest. Our special teams were really good tonight. Chris Trendall does a great job with our guys and spends so much time on the penalty kill and breaking it down for them,” Kropf said. “All they need to do is put in an effort and we saw that tonight.
He continued, “We had some key plays in the third period. Brett Wur probably blocked five shots in the last 10 minutes and Riley (Schmidt) had a great back check that took away a great scoring chance. We took care of things defensively and for Silas to get the win to break the record was a memorable way to do it.”
The game was the first regular season meeting between SFU and TWU.
TWU’s only regular season win last year against SFU was a 3-2 victory Nov. 14 at home.
The last time SFU and TWU played a meaningful game was in last year’s playoffs, when the Spartans disposed of the Clan with a two-game series sweep in the BCIHL semifinals.
They played one game against each other in the pre-season with TWU winning 6-1.
Gonzales opened the scoring on the power play at 6:20 of the first period, whipping a shot past Liem off the left wing.
Basham responded with just over four minutes left in the period, but Last, who was recently named the BCIHL’s Rookie of the Month for October, put TWU back up 1:25 later when he tallied his fifth goal of the year.
The game remained at 2-1 until Fontaine put the victory on ice with the empty-netter.
