VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds kicked off 2012 with a 4-2 win over the Regina Cougars thanks to a pair of goals from forward
Jordan Inglis (5th, 100 Mile House, BC), who both opened the scoring and provided the game-winner at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
The two squads were slow to start, but poured it on in the final frame, draining four of the game's six goals in the third period.
The T-Birds scored their goals in typical UBC fashion – by pressuring the goalie and banging away in close. Inglis knocked both of his tallies home from the doorstep, while
Ben Schmidt (2nd, Campbell River, BC) had a puck bounce off his equipment from the side of the net on the power play.
Scott Wasden (3rd, Westbank, BC) had the final UBC goal, again mere feet from Regina's goalie, Lucas Gore, giving the Thunderbirds some breathing room in the game's final minutes.
The Cougars struggled to get on the scoreboard for nearly 58 minutes until Cody Zubko put home a rebound on the power play at 17:47 of the final frame. Regina pressed hard at the end with six skaters and were rewarded with a goal by Brett Leffler to capture a little momentum in a losing cause headed into Saturday night.
UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic was satisfied with the win, but expects a better finish from his squad.
“In the last five minutes, we didn't pick up sticks, and they got a goal with six guys on the ice,” said Dragicevic. “I understand that those things happen, but we've got to be better than that. We've got to shut teams down. When it's 3-0 and five minutes left, you've got to play for your goaltender.”
The T-Birds also struggled to get off to a good start, with Regina controlling much of the first period. The Cougars thought they had opened the scoring early on, but the goal was waved off due to the Regina player kicking the puck into the net.
“Regina was outshooting us, beating us to loose pucks and winning battles,” said Dragicevic. “We had a bad start to the game, then we got some breaks, and then we started getting pucks in deep and playing pretty well. When we started to skate, we generated momentum with some chips and cycles and started to play to our identity. That led to a power play and a goal.”
That power play goal was credited to Schmidt, who had the puck bounce off his hip and into the net. The Cougars protested that the puck had in fact gone in off the second-year defenceman's glove, but the goal stood, expanding a UBC lead the T-Birds would never relinquish.
The UBC win leaves the Thunderbirds one back of Calgary for the fourth spot in Canada West and the right to host a playoff series.
“We've won three in a row in league play now,” said Dragicevic. “Our goal is to finish in the top four. We want that home playoff game and that's what we've stressed. We control our destiny. The players like to play an up-tempo aggressive style. Our defencemen are jumping into the rush. That creates opportunities. We want to attack with five guys, not with three guys, and that's been the biggest difference so far.”
Up next, the Cougars and T-Birds meet on Saturday night. For UBC, it's a chance to possibly leapfrog the fourth place Dinos, while Regina is battling to stay out of the basement and earn the final playoff spot in Canada West.
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