LANGLEY — Trinity Western held off a surging Alberta Pandas team, earning a 3-2 shootout victory Friday night, taking the season opener in dramatic fashion at the Langley Events Centre.

The Pandas erased a two-goal deficit in the third, before eventually falling in a five-player shootout to the Spartans. Kelly Stanford and Jadynn Morden scored for Alberta. Goaltender Kate Fawcett was steady throughout for Trinity Western, stopping 28 of 30 shots for the win. At the other end, Misty Rey turned aside 18 of 21 in the loss for Alberta. 

Kyra McDonald put the Spartans on the board late in the first period, burying a setup from Presleigh Giesbrecht at 17:34 to give the hosts a 1–0 lead after 20 minutes. Trinity Western extended that advantage midway through the second frame when Giesbrecht converted on the power play at 12:16, with assists credited to Charlotte Swanton and Maisie Kozak.

Alberta, held scoreless through 40 minutes, mounted a determined third-period push. Kelly Stanford cut the deficit in half at 6:31 with her first of the season, and the Pandas continued to press. Their persistence paid off late when Jadynn Morden evened the game at 17:58 on the power play, set up by Holly Magnus to force overtime.

The Spartans finished 1-for-5 on the power play, while Alberta went 1-for-6.

With the result, Trinity Western opens the season 1–0–0, while Alberta drops to 0–0–1. The teams close their weekend set Saturday night in Langley.