Mankato, MN - The UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team dropped the final game of its three-match exhibition tour tonight, 3-1 to the Minnesota State Mavericks of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (NCAA Division I).
Minnesota State goaltenders junior Phil Cook and senior Austin Lee stopped all but one of the 19 shots they faced in backstopping the host Mavericks to a 3-1 exhibition victory.
The only UBC goal came with just over three minutes in the game when
Adam Maglio roofed a shot over Lee's shoulder from in front of the net.
Minnesota State drew first blood when sophomore forward Zach Lehrke scored at the 7:17 mark of the first period off a give-and-go pass from fellow sophomore forward Chase Grant.
The two teams battled and remained scoreless throughout the second frame until the closing seconds when sophomore forward Corey Leivermann scored after collecting the puck from behind the net.
Freshman forward Jean-Paul Lafontaine's first goal as a Maverick, which came on a scramble from in front of the net, made it a 3-0 Maverick lead at 10:33 in the third period.
UBC was outshot 38-19 with goalies
Jordan White and
Steven Stanford splitting duties in net, making 35 saves. Stanford took the loss.
The Thunderbirds will now return to Vancouver to prepare for the Canada West regular season, which begins this weekend with two home games against Calgary.
UBC will finish the preseason with a record of 2-4, with both wins coming against SAIT. The Thunderbirds also dropped games to the AHL's Abbotsford Heat and the three NCAA teams they met on this weekend's tour.
- with files from Paul Allan (Associate Director of Athletics, Minnesota State University, Mankato)
