VANCOUVER - It wasn't the way the UBC Thunderbirds wanted to end the season as the no. 3 Alberta Golden Bears left Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre with a 4-0 victory. The Bears ride the win into the CIS post-season, while the T-Birds' year comes to a close without a trip to the playoffs.
The loss means the 'Birds finish 11-12-5 on the year, sixth overall in the Canada West, and five points out of a playoff spot. The team hoped to build on last night's win over the Bears and end the season with an above-.500 record, but the combination of Alberta goaltender Kurtis Mucha and a determined Bears squad had other plans.
“Alberta played really hard,” said UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic. “Their goaltender made some great saves early on when we had some power play chances. Last night those went in for us.”
Dragicevic also noted that, whereas on Firday the Blue and Gold got out to an early lead, on Saturday they had to push to come from behind, which changed the dynamic of on-ice play for the Thunderbirds.
“The execution on our part wasn't there. We got down early, and we were pressing, forcing things,” said Dragicevic. “Last night we had more patience with the puck, we were shooting more, and getting better opportunities. We were scrambling too much tonight. Alberta came at us harder. Give them credit.”
Chad Klassen opened the scoring with a pretty move around the T-Birds' defence before pulling the puck to his backhand and deking past
Jordan White for the goal. Klassen finishes the year with the second highest points total in Canada West, one point behind linemate Derek Ryan, whose 47 points in 28 games top the conference.
Alberta potted a power play goal when Sean Ringrose rang a shot off the post and in.
Greg Gardner scored on a breakaway, and Colin Joe sealed the deal for the visitors from Edmonton with a point shot that hit the back of the net.
Kurtis Mucha made 22 saves to earn the shutout and some good mojo for the post-season.
Jordan White made 38 saves for UBC.
After the game, Dragicevic took a moment to reflect on the 2010-11 season.
“It's the toughest division to win in in the CIS, and we didn't reach our goal as far as making the playoffs,” said the UBC coach, “but what I see is a very bright future for this hockey team. I see a group of core players coming pack that really care, who want to see this program progress and be a top program in Canada. I see some really good leaders emerging that can push us over the top next year. We battled a lot this year through some adversity, and I'm hoping it'll make us into a better hockey team down the road.”
It's a disappointing finish for graduating players
Craig Lineker,
Matthew Schneider,
Max Gordichuk, and
Dalton Pajak, whose long runs with the Blue and Gold come to an end.
“What killed us this year was losing those four games in a row to Lethbridge and Saskatchewan,” commented Dragicevic, referring to his club's late-season slump.
That losing streak corresponded with a plethora of key injuries, but Dragicevic refuses to make excuses for his team. “Every team goes through a bad stretch throughout the year. It just turned out that ours was at a time where we had the most amount of injuries,” explained Dragicevic. “Everyone had the opportunity to play and progress. We were one game from being above .500, and we were ten points above where we finished last year. To me that's an encouraging sign that the team is on its way up.”
Dragicevic is optimistic about the trajectory of his team heading into next season. “When I look at the players that are going to return, our second and third year players with one more year under their belt, they have more hatred for losing after two years not making the playoffs,” said Dragicevic. “They'll come back ready to make the next step. I think that's what we're most excited about - the core group we have returning is the best I've seen in my nine years here. That's really positive for the future of the hockey team.”
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