VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds competed neck-and-neck but came out on the wrong side of a tightly contested 3-0 score, losing to the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday night. Despite firing 32 shots on net, the T-Birds couldn't find a way to solve Huskies' goalie David Reekie.
After a strong 40 minutes, UBC found themselves down 2-0. Their comeback bid stalled in the third with a few ill-timed penalties.
“There were a lot of good things tonight. The effort was there; the execution was not there,” explained UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic. “We had some chances early, and we just took too many penalties. In the third period, we were shorthanded three times. You're not going to come back against a good team when you have to constantly penalty kill. It just taxes everyone.”
Saskatchewan opened the scoring with the T-Birds stuck in their own zone. Top forward Steven DaSilva drove the UBC net from the wing and put the puck past goalie
Jordan White. That gave the visitors a 1-0 lead heading into the second frame.
The 'Birds pushed a quick pace and outshot the Huskies through 40 minutes, but couldn't beat Reekie. Eventually the Huskies expanded their lead when Andrew Bailey popped home a puck on a rebound behind White after some sustained pressure when the 'Birds couldn't clear the defensive zone.
Saskatchewan did an impressive job of clogging shooting lanes and closing the gap on UBC shooters, which limited the Thunderbirds' scoring chances.
“We had a lot of shots blocked. Give Saskatchewan credit,” said Dragicevic. “We have to do a better job of getting to the net and getting traffic in front of them. We didn't do it even though we had 32 shots. We need to do a better job of getting traffic to the net and getting loose pucks and rebounds.”
On a power play in the third period, Brett Ward put the game on ice. His knuckle ball from the point warbled through a crowd and past White, who looked like he couldn't see the puck.
The Thunderbirds remain without key players, especially on defence, where they dressed only four skaters.
Matt Pepe missed Friday's game, while
Craig Lineker has probably rushed his return to help with the push for the playoffs. Forwards
Ben Schmidt and
Scott Wasden played as defencemen against the Huskies.
“I thought Wasden and Schmidty played well tonight,” said Dragicevic. “Schmidty rushed the puck and had opportunities, and he breaks up the other team's forecheck. I think Was is really adjusting well, and making smart heads up passes. Having those two guys on the blueline takes away from our forecheck and our size and speed up front, but it adds some poise back on the blueline as well.”
Forward
Wyatt Hamilton also did not play, and looks like he's out for the season. But in spite of the adversity, the Blue and Gold hit the ice with determination tonight and they'll do the same Saturday for another intense go around with the Huskies. Puck drop is 7:00 p.m.
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