Duncan records 22 saves for Spartans in decisive home win over Selkirk

Fifth-year goaltender Alistair Duncan made 22 saves and forward Hayden Guilderson scored two goals and added an assist to lead  Trinity Western University to a 5-2 victory over Selkirk College on Friday evening at the Langley Events Centre.

TWU (16-1-0-1) also had goals from Dylan Cusmano, Spencer Roberts and Brayden Brown, as the Spartans have now won four consecutive games. Dylan Heppler and Jack Karran each scored for Selkirk (5-11-0-3), as the fourth-place Saints have picked up just one win over their last 13 games.

The Spartans got on the board just 3:40 into the game as Roberts buried a Joe Sylvain wraparound feed to make it 1-0 TWU. Just under eight minutes later Guilderson made it 2-0 Spartans, firing a wrist shot five-hole past Kramer. Cusmano would add another tally for TWU with just 16 seconds to go in the period, as the Spartans held a 3-0 lead going into the second.

Heppler got the Saints on the board just 1:45 into the second, beating Duncan in the crease to make it 3-1. Guilderson would respond for TWU, as the Spartans forward scored off a Travis Verveda rebound to make it 4-1. Selkirk would respond 17 second later however, with Karran on the receiving end of a two-on-one to cut the Saints deficit to two goals.

Despite a number of chances for Selkirk in the third period, Brown stretched the TWU lead back to three goals by scoring off a wrist to make it 5-2 with 13 minutes to play. The Spartans would then hold on for the 5-2 victory on home ice.

The Spartans were celebrating their graduating athletes, with all five in the lineup. Those included forward Evan Last, defencemen Dustin Deugau, Tyler McMinn and Dylan Sakatch and goaltender Alistair Duncan.

"It’s always special when you can take some time to honour your graduates, and I thought our guys battled really hard for them tonight," says TWU head coach Barret Kropf. "It was also great to see Selkirk’s players and coaching staff show a ton of class and leadership by choosing to watch and take part of it all."

Duncan turned aside 22 shots to pick up his first win of the BCIHL season in his first appearance. The Abbotsford product has recorded six wins in 10 appearances during his four-year Spartan career.

"Al has been a brilliant teammate for us over the years," Kropf says of Duncan. "He’s played behind some unbelievable goalies over his time here at TWU in Silas Matthys and Lucas Mills, but through it all he’s been a great teammate. Tonight he made some really big stops and kept us in the game, and that seemed to really spark the guys. Once we got through that early part of the game we started playing the way we wanted, but it wasn’t an easy win for Al tonight – he definitely had to earn the win."

Selkirk's last win against TWU came over a year ago, on Jan. 31, 2019 (3-2).

The Spartans continue their home stand Saturday as they host the University of Victoria Vikes at 2:00 PM at the Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre.