VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team concluded Canada West regular season play on Saturday night with a 5-4 overtime loss against the No. 4 Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg.
The T-Birds' goals were scored by
Wyatt Hamilton (2) (3rd, Cochrane, AB),
Michael Wilgosh (1st, Selkirk, MB) and
Jason Yee (1st, Victoria, BC).
Manitoba's goals were netted by Jeremy Schappert (2), Blair Macaulay, and Ian Duval.
Brendan Rowinski scored the overtime winner three minutes into the first extra period he fooled UBC goaltender
Kraymer Barnstable (1st, Kelowna, BC) into turning his back on him and fired the puck in the cage from a tight angle, to give Manitoba the win.
The game was a back and forth affair that featured several momentum swings as both teams had opportunities to pick up the win.
It was less than two minutes into the game before someone found the back of the net, and it was Manitoba's Jeremy Schappert, streaking all the way around the Thunderbirds' net and turning to fire the puck top shelf, right over the shoulder of Barnstable, putting the Bisons up 1-0 early on.
Not satisfied with just one, Schappert was back eight minutes later with a hard shot on the power play that sailed past Barnstable and into the cage, giving Manitoba a 2-0 lead just past the halfway mark of the first period.
UBC managed to pull within one before the buzzer, when
Wyatt Hamilton found an opening in the Bisons' defense and got his shot past Manitoba goalie Joe Caligiuri.
So in a goal-filled first period, it was Manitoba who came out on top for the moment, taking a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, after outshooting their opponent 12-4.
With the game in hand, the last thing the Bisons wanted was to play a polar opposite second period, and that was exactly what they ended up doing.
The Thunderbirds' secret weapon ended up being their power play, which didn't have a second of ice time in the first period. So when Manitoba's Del Cowan sat for two, UBC's Hamilton picked up his second of the game, tying things up 2-2 in the process.
Almost as soon as the goal was scored, the Bisons found themselves right back in the 'sin bin' again, giving the T-Birds a chance to grab the lead for the first time in game, and they didn't falter.
Michael Wilgosh found the back of the cage for UBC as their power play wound down, and the Thunderbirds found themselves taking the 3-2 lead into the second intermission, with the third promising to be the most action-packed period yet.
It was a familiar scenario in the third, as it only took Manitoba 1:13 after puck drop before leading scorer Blair Macaulay found the back of the net on a beautiful one-timer on the power play, tying things up at 3-3.
With momentum on their side, the Bisons only took a couple more minutes before striking again.
This time it was Ian Duval who beat Barnstable, and just like that Manitoba had their lead back, 4-3.
With a lot of time left on the clock, and a lot of time for the Bisons to try and hang on to the lead, it was a tall task, and they couldn't get it done.
UBC's
Jason Yee brought his team back to even with over half the period left play, tying things up at 4-4 after beating Caligiuri.
The Thunderbirds finish their season at 12-12-4. UBC will travel to Calgary for its best-of-three first round Canada West playoff series, which will start on Friday night at 6 p.m.
With tonight's win, the Bisons (20-5-3), clinched first place in the Canada West division for the first time since 1971.
They will enjoy a playoff bye next weekend, and will be in action next on Friday, March 2 in their first playoff game against an undetermined opponent.
- with files from Jordan Thompson (Manitoba Sports Information)
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