Three goals in 81 seconds: a TWU Spartan just did something nobody in program history had done

Eighteen minutes into the second period on Friday night, the Trinity Western Spartans were losing 1-0 to Saskatchewan at the Langley Events Centre. Eighty-one seconds later they were up 3-1, and every one of those goals belonged to the same player.

Kara Yackel, a fifth-year forward from West St. Paul, Manitoba, scored at 18:00, 19:04 and 19:21. Three straight goals by one player with nobody else scoring in between is a natural hat trick, and in the Spartans women’s hockey program nobody had ever done it. TWU went on to win 4-2.

The third goal was also her 28th in Canada West regular-season play, which moves her past Kyra McDonald’s program record of 27. So on one shift’s worth of clock she took two records and tied a third, the single-game points mark of three.

By the numbers

• 1:21 between her first and third goals, the fastest hat trick in program history. McDonald’s hat trick in January 2025, the only other one in Spartans women’s hockey, was spread across three periods.
• 17 seconds between goals two and three, a TWU record for the fastest two goals by one player. The old mark was 2:44.
• 28 career Canada West goals, a new program record.
• 44 career Canada West points, fourth on the program list.
• 6-2-1 for the Spartans after the win, first in the Canada West West Division with 13 points, one ahead of UBC.
• 25 saves by goaltender Olivia Davidson, including all eight shots she faced in the second period while Yackel was busy at the other end.

Head coach Peter Hay said it was not TWU’s best first period, with a disconnect between the defence and forwards on breakouts, and credited Davidson with keeping them in it before the second-period surge. Brook Dorash added the fourth goal in the third period, and Shae LaPrade, Kyra Anderson and Presleigh Giesbrecht each set up two goals. Giesbrecht’s two assists tied the program career record for a defender, at 28.

Yackel’s younger sister Cailin, a third-year forward, picked up an assist on Dorash’s goal, so the family had a hand in four of TWU’s four.

If you want to go see them

The two teams met again on Saturday afternoon (Nov 7, 3 pm) to finish the weekend series at the Arenas at the Langley Events Centre, 7888 200 Street in Willoughby. After that the Spartans are on the road for two weekends, at Regina (Nov 13 and 14) and Mount Royal in Calgary (Nov 20 and 21), and the next home game is Saturday, Nov 28 at 3 pm against UBC, who are ranked first in the country and sit one point behind TWU in the division.

Hockey tickets are cheap for a team playing at this level: $12 for adults, $7 for seniors and youth 13 to 18, $2 for kids 7 to 12, and free for children six and under and TWU students. A family ticket (up to two adults) is $30. Games are also streamed on Canada West TV if you’d rather watch from the couch.

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