VANCOUVER -- After
Matthew Schneider's short-handed tally tied things up in the third,
Brandon Campos came up with an electrifying move in the third round of the shootout to push the UBC Thunderbirds past the Lethbridge Pronghorns 4-3 on Saturday night at the Doug Mitchell Winter Sports Centre.
Tyler Ruel got the shootout started on the right foot for UBC, snapping the puck in off the right post. After Lethbridge's first shooter and UBC's second shooter both missed, Mark Shefchyk went five-hole on
Jordan White to even it up at one. Campos stepped up for UBC in the third round, using some slick stickwork and body-fakes to get Bowles down on the ice before pulling the puck back across the crease at the last second to stuff it into an empty net. White then stopped Dustin Moore on Lethbridge's third attempt to give UBC the win.
"Tonight we battled back and I give our guys credit for sticking with it and playing hard," said UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic. "They blocked shots, we got great goaltending from Jordan, and two world-class moves in the shootout. Those were show-stopping moves."
UBC's last win came on October 17 against Manitoba, and they have dropped seven straight, including three to Lethbridge, since then.
"It was like a huge gorilla on our backs for the past five weeks and tonight that gorilla finally jumped off," said Dragicevic. "It didn't matter how we got two points as long as we got them, so tonight was a small step but it was a step in the right direction."
Lethbridge held a 3-2 lead midway through the third until a superb solo effort by Schneider evened things up. With his team shorthanded, Schneider gathered the puck at centre ice with one defender in front of him and two more Pronghorns on his tail. He gathered speed as he crossed the blue line, made a nice move to his forehand to beat the one man in his path, and managed to hold off a defender on his back just long enough to roof the puck just inside the near post to tie the game at three.
"It's all about playing for 60 minutes," said Dragicevic. "Scoring goals at the right times and getting saves at the right times is the key. We had Matthew step up today and score a huge goal short-handed and those are the kinds of key goals that I'm talking about."
Matt Pepe opened the scoring at 7:18 of the first just as a Lethbridge penalty expired. His point shot tipped off a Pronghorn defender's stick and over Bowles' blocker.
All the other goals on Saturday were scored during a powerplay. Lethbridge tied the game at one on the man-advantage later in the first, when Moore tipped Ryan Pottruff's shot past White.
The visitors took the lead in the second on a 5-on-3, when Moore scored his second of the night with a rocket of a wrist-shot from the left wing that found the far top corner.
Craig Lineker responded for UBC on a T-Bird powerplay three minutes later, as his point shot beat a screened Bowles.
Andrew Marshall scored for the visitors on a similar play, threading his point shot through a crowd in front of the UBC goal during a 4-on-3, making the score 3-2 Pronghorns.
White made 30 saves to pick up his first win as a T-Bird. Bowles stopped 23 shots in a losing effort.
UBC is now 4-7-1 on the year, one point back of the Pronghorns, who sport a 4-8-2 record. The T-Birds will be in Calgary next weekend to take on the Dinos, while Lethbridge returns home to square off against the conference-leading Alberta Golden Bears.
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