Files from U of C Sports Information
CALGARY - A welcome addition to the Dinos for the second half of the season, Walker Wintoneak took part in the first four Calgary goals en route to a convincing 7-2 victory over the visiting UBC Thunderbirds.
Wintoneak finished with two goals and two assists, while linemates Torrie Wheat and Aaron Richards combined for five points.
After 13 minutes of clean and relatively uneventful hockey, Calgary got the first power play of the evening and subsequently sparked a flurry of offence to end the period. On an open rush down the right side, Richards hit Wintoneak with a crisp cross-ice pass for the easy tap-in and an early Calgary lead. Using a fantastic back pass, Wheat set Wintoneak up a minute and a half later to give Calgary a 2-0 lead.
Rookie
Mike Liambas would make his best effort to bring UBC back just 60 seconds later, converting on a scramble play in front of Calgary goaltender Dustin Butler, marking his second goal of the season.
With Aaron Richards in the penalty box late in the period, UBC seemed poised to get another going into the break, but Calgary would in fact be the beneficiaries as Wheat and Wintoneak combined for a short-handed marker at 19:44 of the period.
Despite being outshot 10-6 in the second period, Calgary would ride opportunistic offence and terrific netminding from Dustin Butler to inflate their lead to 5-1 going into the second intermission. That scoreline chased UBC starting netminder
Jordan White, who was replace in favour of
Joe Rodwell to start the third.
Coming out of the break,
Max Grassi took advantage of an early five on three situation for UBC, scoring 25 seconds into the third, but Colton Grant and Kodie Curran would both answer back against Rodwell, securing the victory.
Butler made 26 saves in the Calgary (9-5-2) victory, while White is credited with the loss for UBC (6-7-2). White made 13 saves over forty minutes before bowing to Rodwell, who made five of his own.
The two teams will engage in the weekend rematch on Saturday night, with puck drop set for 6:00 p.m. PST at Father David Bauer.
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