VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team earned a hard fought 1-0 win over the first place Alberta Golden Bears at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre thanks to perfect goaltending from
Jordan White and a gritty third-period goal from
Nate Fleming.
The teams battled fiercely, deadlocked in a scoreless tie through two periods. Then six minutes into the final frame, UBC's cycle in the Alberta zone finally paid off as
Jordan Inglis put the puck to the front of the net, where an opportunistic Fleming pounced on it and put it behind Bears goalie Real Cyr for the game-winner. White put on a fantastic performance in the Thunderbird net, stopping all 25 Alberta shots to earn the shutout against Canada West's top team.
On the Alberta side, the Bears skated hard, firing many shots towards the UBC goal, but were frustrated again and again either by White or by the fearless, continual shot-blocking by T-Birds skaters. Levko Koper and Greg Gardner led the Golden Bears with four shots each.
As for UBC, the intensity of their performance was nearly a complete 180-degree turn from the previous night's 3-1 loss.
“We challenged a lot of guys today to play better defense, to play to our identity,” said UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic. “I thought they did that for 60 minutes. This was a complete game. It was a battle. We worked hard, we were disciplined, we were 100% on the PK, we blocked a lot of shots. We just stuck with it. We played to our strengths, we played to our identity, and that was the difference.”
The Thunderbirds executed a disciplined game - chipping shots up the boards, minimizing risks, and getting the puck deep on the cycle.
“The cycle eventually got us the goal,” explained Dragicevic. “Fleming, Hammy (
Wyatt Hamilton), and Inglis were our best line all weekend, and once again they got rewarded. Cycling the puck, taking the puck to the net, and that was the difference. At the end, we collapsed on the net, blocked shots; we were smart, and we didn't panic.”
To win against the first place team in the conference is one thing, to shut them out is another. Dragicevic called it an eye-opener for his team.
“This, for us, is a character win. This is a lesson,” said Dragicevic. “We have to do this all the time. We took last night off, and we can't do that. We have to do this all the time. We know we can compete with everybody. For us to compete and for us to be successful, we need everybody going. We need 20 guys. Everyone that's dressed has to perform to the best of their capabilities for us to win. You saw that tonight. 20 guys chipped in.”
Amidst the total team effort, White's goaltending stood out. Dragicevic took a moment to praise the game's first star, who is tied for most wins and most shutouts in Canada West.
“Jordan's been great for us. He's right up there in the league. Our guys want to play hard for him, our guys want to win for him,” said Dragicevic. “He's a leader for us. He's probably in the running for MVP of the whole league. For us to be successful, we need him to be like that down the stretch.”
The win leaves the Thunderbirds in fourth place, the final home playoff spot in Canada West. Next up for UBC is a trip to Manitoba to face another high-powered team in the second-place Bisons.
As for Alberta, they remain in first place despite the loss. The Golden Bears head to Regina to face the Cougars in two weeks, following a weekend off.
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