VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds bounced back from Friday's OT loss to the Lethbridge Pronghorns with a convincing 5-0 win to earn a weekend split. The T-Birds' special teams picked up three goals, with two power play markers and a short-handed goal, while
Jordan White made 26 saves for the shutout.
UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic spoke about White's big night and the team in front the starting goaltender.
“I heard the guys on the bench half way through the third period saying, 'let's do this for Whitey' because he made some breakaway saves early on today that could have gone either way,” said Dragicevic. “When players are saying that, you know it's a team thing. And it was also a great job on Jordan's part.”
White made a huge stop in the second period on a shorthanded Lethbridge breakaway to preserve a 0-0 tie. Then it was UBC forward
Ben Schmidt's turn to step up.
Schmidt, who stepped into a first line role following an injury to
Justin McCrae, went to the front of the Pronghorn net. There he knocked home a centering pass from
Max Grassi to open the scoring at 5:50 of the second period.
“Schmidt's been a real pleasant surprise this year,” Dragicevic said of the first-year player. “The identity of our hockey team is work ethic, being gritty, being tough to play against, and he brings all those things.
Justin McCrae, who's been our best player, goes out with an injury and
Ben Schmidt steps into a spot, and once again contributes. He scores a goal and was a factor all over the ice.”
Jordan Inglis was another energy player who made his presence felt Saturday. Inglis expanded the UBC lead to four goals early in the third period, when he picked off a Lethbridge pass at his own blueline, and raced in on a short-handed breakaway. Inglis faked the wrist shot on Reese St. Goddard, and roofed a backhander.
“Sometimes those guys that kill penalties and block shots don't get enough credit,” said Dragicevic. “I thought
Jordan Inglis scored a beautiful goal. He worked hard for it. Give him all the credit in the world – he's a first line PK guy and it shows.”
Dustin Kimber and
Bryce Lamb added power play goals, while
Tyler Ruel concluded the night's scoring with a wrist shot into the top of the net to make it 5-0 UBC.
The final score represents the Blue and Gold's largest margin of victory so far this season. More importantly, the win gives the 'Birds a bump up the Canada West standings from the cellar to a three-way tie for fourth in the tightly contested conference.
“There's pressure every game,” said Dragicevic. “We want our guys to be prepared. This league is so tight that you can't get behind. We're going to keep battling.”
-30-
