EDMONTON - The University of Alberta Golden Bears hockey team was guilty of lookin' like California and executing like Minnesota as they outshot and out-chanced the UBC Thunderbirds, but were outshined 4-1 Friday night at Clare Drake Arena.
UBC got goals from
Brennan Sonne,
Wyatt Hamilton,
Tyler Ruel, and
Matthew Schneider, as well as a first star performance from goalie
Francois Thuot in the victory, their first in Edmonton since a 3-2 decision on February 15, 2008.
Former Edmonton Oil King J.P. Szaszkiewicz scored Alberta's lone goal.
The No.2 ranked Golden Bears outshot UBC 34-25 and out-chanced their guests, hitting numerous posts and forcing Thuot to make several ten bell saves, but they couldn't seem to find the play or consistent effort to overtake the Thunderbirds. As a result, they have now lost back-to-back games at home, and three of their last four in total.
While the Bears didn't seem to have the necessary jump in the early going, they could have easily been up 2-0, were it not for the heroics of Thuot.
The fourth-year puck-stopper from Montreal stoned Canada West scoring leader Chad Klassen during a three-on-one opportunity, then got just enough of a forehand-backhand deke to see it trickle through his legs, but wide of the goal.
UBC then opened the scoring at the 15:48 mark when Sonne, originally from Maple Ridge, BC, and a former Oil King as well, ripped a shot over the shoulder of Alberta netminder Real Cyr and into the corner of the net. It was Sonne's second goal of the season, with
Dalton Pajak and
Kyle Block drawing the assists.
The T-Birds then doubled their lead when Hamilton beat Cyr with just 21 seconds remaining in the opening frame. Sonne and Pajak picked up the assists on the goal, which was UBC's fourth shot of the period.
Neither team was very active in a second period that saw both teams combine for 18 shots, but the Bears didn't register their first shot of the period until the seven-minute mark.
Szaszkiewicz scored 6:56 into the third, depositing a rebound past Thuot, who bobbled an Aaron Agnew point shot.
The physical play picked up a few minutes later after Alberta freshman Sean Ringrose was belted at the blue line. Ringrose's bruising linemates Jesse Gimblett and Eric Hunter responded in kind, grinding the nearest T-Birds into the glass and seemingly giving the team a spark.
Yet former Wayne State Warrior
Tyler Ruel restored UBC's two-goal lead at 10:13 with a quick wrister from the faceoff dot.
Alberta was given a gift late in the third, when they earned a power-play opportunity in the final minute of play, but, with Cyr pulled for the 6-4 advantage, UBC won a faceoff to the right of Thuot and Schneider fired it into the empty cage for the shorthanded tally with 45 seconds left.
The two teams will meet again tomorrow night at Clare Drake Arena, puck drop is 7:30 pm.
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