Despite jumping out to an early two goal lead, SFU Men’s Hockey dropped Saturday’s contest against the Trinity Western Spartans by score of 3-2.

“We deserved what we got tonight,” said head coach Mark Coletta. “Maybe our guys had thought that after last week’s performance and the early 2-0 lead that we had won the championship, but obviously they don’t hand out the trophy in November.

“Our guys were mistaken and Trinity took advantage of that.”

At the Langley Events Centre, Brendan Lamont opened the scoring with his first BCIHL goal just 15 seconds in to give SFU the early 1-0 lead, with assists from Darnel St Pierre and Jesse Mysiorek. Lamont, a freshman, joined the team after a productive run with the Coquitlam Express of the BCHL, where he helped the team become Western Canada Cup finalists in the 2013-14 season and was third in team scoring for the 2014-15 season with 25 goals and 63 points in 58 games.

SFU dominated much of the first period, with strong play from Lamont-Mysiorek-Sandor line, who provided a good mix of grit and offensive touch. It was this line who struck again to give SFU a 2-0 lead with 2:19 left in the first — Michael Sandor was rewarded for playing hard at the net with a tap-in rebound. Lamont and Mysiorek were credited with the helpers.

However, as quickly as SFU took hold of the game, Trinity Western took it back.

Just under a minute after Sandor’s goal, Dawson Sawatzky put in his first of the year for the Spartans to cut the lead by one. And exactly another minute later, Trinity Western tied the game.

The Spartans controlled much of the second period, however, neither team scored in the second. Midway through the third, Jamey Kreller would put the Spartans up 3-2 with the eventual game winner.

SFU played a determined last 10 minutes, with some key scoring chances, but missed opportunities — including going scoreless on a power play (four opportunities) that was hot last weekend — cost them the game.

Liem finished the game with 31 saves on 34 shots for a .912 SV%.

Prior to the game, the two teams were tied in the BCIHL standings in second place. With the loss, SFU moves to third place with a 4-3-0 record, while Trinity Western takes sole possession of second place, four points back from first-place Selkirk College.

SFU will look to regroup next weekend with back-to-back games against the fourth placed University of Victoria Vikes on the road. They are currently in the midst of a four game losing streak, which includes a 7-6 shootout loss to SFU at the Bill Copeland on October 24.

In the previous matchup, SFU were down 6-4 after a hard second period in which they surrendered four goals. However, a determined third period effort and an efficient power play saw SFU tie it up 6-6 and win it in the shootout, with Jono Ceci and Tyler Basham scoring in the shootout. In addition to his shootout marker, Ceci had a goal and three assists.

Last season, however, UVic won the season series 5-2.

“[They’re] a very good hockey team. They’re quick, they’ve got some good recruits from the offseason coming in, and they’re going to be good. The rink they’re playing in is small [so] there’s going to be a lot of body contact. We expect a physical, tight checking, in your face kind of game,” said Coletta. “It’s not one of those weekends where you can take a shift off because they’ll take advantage of it — they play really well in their rink.”

Puck drop is at 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday and will be live streamed at FAST Hockey. Follow @SFUHockey for live updates.

The Clan return to the Bill Copeland Saturday, November 28 in a rematch against Trinity Western. SFU students get in free with student ID. The game starts at 7 pm.

Three Stars:

3rd Star: TWU #61 Jacob Mills (0G, 1A)

2nd Star: SFU #17 Brendan Lamont (1G, 1A)

1st Star: TWU #27 Dawson Sawatzky (1G, 0A)