VANCOUVER - After giving up a 2-0 lead, the UBC Thunderbirds found themselves headed to a shootout against the Manitoba Bisons at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Jordan White stopped all three Manitoba shooters, leaving
Tyler Ruel's brilliant backhand-to-forehand deke as the winning goal for the Blue and Gold by a final margin of 3-2.
UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic spoke about his team's need to be prepared to grind out close games.
“We know that every game this year is going to be within a goal. Almost every game so far has come down to the last goal, and four out of eleven have gone to overtime,” said Dragicevic. “Whitey played great, Ruel made a great move in the shootout, and we had some great chances in overtime, but I didn't like that we gave up a 2-0 lead. We had an unfortunate bounce in the first 15 seconds of the third, but we settled down after that. At the end of the day, we got the two points.”
Manitoba came to UBC ranked no. 8 in the CIS, but it was the 'Birds who took control of the first half of the game.
Marc Desloges sent a puck from the wing to the front of the net, where
Justin McCrae was skating hard towards Bison goalie Jesse Deckert. McCrae got a stick on the puck and flipped it past Deckert to give the 'Birds a 1-0 lead at 13:50 of the first.
The game's second scoring play was nearly identical to the first. It was another T-Bird skating hard to the front of the net as
Wyatt Hamilton made it 2-0 at 15:40 of the second, getting his stick on a centering pass from
Scott Wasden.
“We worked on 2-on-2 and 3-on-2 going to the net all week. We've got to shoot the puck and drive the net,” said Dragicevic. “When we don't do that, we're not successful. When we do that, and we have guys driving to the net – that's our identity and we've got to do that.”
Late in the second period, Manitoba's leading scorer, Blair MacAulay, got the visitors within a goal. On the doorstep in front of White, MacAulay squeezed the puck through the 'Birds netminder.
Sixteen seconds into the third, a broken play in the UBC zone allowed the Bisons to tie the game. Jared Walker found himself at the top of the crease with White down and out, and the Bison forward made good on his chance to even the score. That tally eventually sent the game to overtime.
However, it could have been a different story if not for two big saves by UBC's White earlier in the game. The UBC netminder went cross-crease to rob Greg Beller on a rebound in front of a wide open net to keep the game scoreless in the early part of the first period. Later, White made another incredible save while on his belly, getting a pad up in the air to rob another Bison of what looked like a sure goal.
“When we look around the dressing room and talk about unsung heroes, he's definitely a hero the way he's playing,” said Dragicevic. “It's his composure and his work ethic. He's played really well.”
Late in the game, the two teams nearly came to blows as tempers flared in the tightly contested match-up. Those emotions and the close finish set the stage for Saturday night, when the two teams meet again at 7:00 p.m.
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