Trinity Western men’s hockey team earned their second straight British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) title after a 9-1 win in game two of the championship series over the Vancouver Island Mariners Friday night (March 16) at the Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre.
Spartans captain Kaleb Denham had three assists in the game, while Evan Last and Brayden Brown both scored two goals for TWU. Elijah Vilio, Jordan Bogress, Logan Casavant, Dylan Cusmano and Brandon Potomak also scored for the Spartans. Kobe Oishi scored VIU’s lone goal.
Spartans become the first BCIHL team to win back-to-back championships since Selkirk captured four in a row from 2013 to 2016.
As an athletic department, Trinity Western has now won a championship (BCIHL or U SPORTS) in each of the last 11 years.
“It’s pretty surreal,” TWU Head Coach Barret Kropf said of the win.
“VIU played great … and the score doesn’t necessarily indicate that. They played right to the end, they never gave up and kept battling, and that’s a sign of a great program.”
“This was the best game of the year for us. We were dominant from start to finish.”
Spartans 9-1 win marked the largest margin of victory for the team this season. TWU’s record improved to 11-1-0-1 all-time over VIU.
They finished the night with 37 shots on net, while the Mariners had 17.
The championship caps an season in which TWU took the regular season title with an 18-5-0-1 record before mowing through the playoffs with four straight wins.
READ MORE: TWU hockey Spartans are having a very good season
Mariners were playing in just the third playoff series in team history and their first BCIHL championship in just their second season in the BCIHL.
Spartans were a perfect 8-0 against the Mariners this season, 6-0 in the regular season and 2-0 through the playoffs.
