VANCOUVER - The injury-plagued UBC Thunderbirds were unable to bump their losing slump, falling 4-1 to the Saskatchewan Huskies at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. The two sides kept it tight until the visiting Huskies' opened up a two-goal lead in the third period, a deficit the 'Birds would not overcome.
The Thunderbirds outshot their opponents 42-29, had scoring chances, and kept it close for most of the game. But in the, according to UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic, the principal factor was scoring, plain and simple.
“The difference was we didn't execute and we didn't score,” said Dragicevic. “We had 42 shots and we did certain things well. We know that these guys score off the rush, and we gave them goals off the rush. We were pressing in the end and they capitalized. We didn't capitalize when we had chances, second shots, or third shots.”
Saskatchewan hit the scoreboard first with a goal by Jesse Zetarluk on a three-on-two. Zetarluk was the third man high, getting a pass from Travis Brisebois and driving it home with a slapshot.
But the T-Birds responded immediately, driving the net and getting a tying goal from
Max Grassi. It was exactly the type of blue collar goal Dragicevic wants from his squad.
“We had one greasy goal by Grass. It was a great goal - shot, deflection, rebound,” explained Dragicevic. "We had tons of those opportunities tonight, but he have to get even greasier in front of the net. For four games in a row, the other goalie has beaten us. We can't let the other team's goalie beat us because he plays so good and stands on his head. We've got to make him work even harder.”
A tenacious Saskatchewan forecheck restored the Huskies' lead late in the second period. Kyle Ross picked up a loose puck at the side of the net and jammed it behind
Jordan White.
Seconds later, White kept it close with an unbelievable diving save, coming across the net on a two-on-one to keep his team within one. The UBC netminder made a similarly huge save with one second left in the second period, giving his team a shot at a comeback in the third.
But early in the third period, a wild bounce off the end boards ended up on the stick of the Huskies' Ross, who shot the puck into a wide open net for his second of the night as White scrambled to get across the crease.
That put the game out of reach, but the final dagger came near the midpoint of the third period when Craig McCallam's slapshot beat White to give Saskatchewan a 4-1 lead.
The Thunderbirds now have four regulation losses in a row, their longest stretch without a single point all year. The skid coincides with the injury losses of key players,
Matt Pepe and
Wyatt Hamilton, while
Craig Lineker has hurried back from his injury to appear in the line up the past two nights.
In spite of the adversity, Dragicevic insists it's not an acceptable reason for his team's struggles.
“We're not using any excuses,” explained Dragicevic, “simply because guys are getting the opportunity to play. You know what? There are ten other guys in our dressing room that would love to have that opportunity to play. These guys are given that opportunity, they're getting that opportunity, and they've got to make the most of it. They've got to learn from it, and become better hockey players from it.”
It's a stiff challenge, but if the Blue and Gold are up to it, they still have a shot at the Canada West post-season. The Thunderbirds are four points behind the Manitoba Bisons for the final playoff spot in Canada West. Next weekend, they meet the Bison on the road in a pair of games with huge implications for UBC.
“We still can go to Manitoba and be positive about things and take the good things we did this weekend and put them into practice,” said Dragicevic. “And really, next weekend is our season.”
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