BURNABY, B.C. - The UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team completed a weekend sweep of NCAA Division I competition on Saturday by shutting out the Princeton University Tigers 1-0 at the Great Northwest Showcase in Burnaby, B.C.
BOX SCORE
Fourth-year forward
Nate Fleming, of St. Albert, Alta., scored the game-winning goal while UBC netminders
Steven Stanford (Calgary, Alta.) and
Matt Hewitt (New Westminster, B.C.) shared the shutout.
"I thought both goaltenders played really well. I thought
Steven Stanford was great in the first period both nights and I thought Hewitt was equally as good, playing four periods," said UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic. "We got exactly what we wanted out of this weekend: better team defence, solid goaltending and when we had the lead, we kept it. A weekend like this could really turn our season around. If we keep playing like this, we're going to be successful."
UBC goes undefeated at the Great Northwest Showcase for the second straight year after beating the University of North Dakota 3-2 in overtime on Friday night. The Thunderbirds won the 2013 tournament with triumphs over club squads from Arizona State University and the University of Oklahoma.
"We knew the games weren't going to be easy with the tough competition but as a team, we handled it very well and it shows with the results we got," said Hewitt, who made 17 saves in the final two periods after spelling off Stanford, who made 12 stops in the first. "It has been a bit of a rough start to the season but the winter break was good to us and we're ready to make a big push for the playoffs in the second half."
Fleming scored at 5:03 of the second period after stripping a Princeton player at the Tigers' blue line in front of the UBC bench. He broke in alone on goalie Sean Bonar and deked him out to notch the game's only goal.
Hewitt started the second period and was impressive off the bat with a big stop on a shot by Princeton's Mike Ambrosia. Hewitt had come out to make a save on rookie Ryan Siiro but the puck bounced to Ambrosia and the first-year netminder hustled back to the right to make the stop.
The Tigers' best chance came with just over four minutes remaining in the second frame when defenceman Quin Pompi slid a shot off the goalpost to Hewitt's right.
UBC held a slim one-goal lead into the third. The 'Birds came out strong in the first two minutes and pressed for a second tally. Two Princeton penalties in the middle of the third gave UBC more opportunities to add to its advantage but the team's best opportunities either missed the net or were turned away by Bonar.
Late in the game, with Bonar on the bench for an extra Princeton attacker, UBC captain and Campbell River, B.C. native
Ben Schmidt had a chance for an insurance marker but his wraparound attempt slid across the face of the goal and eventually wide of the net as he was checked to the ice.
The first period was scoreless but UBC created several good scoring chances.
Greg Fraser (Nanaimo, B.C.) couldn't convert on a pass from
Jessi Hilton (Sherwood Park, Alta.) just over two minutes into the game. There was a goalmouth scramble for the rebound but the Tigers defenders were able to clear the zone. Just over a minute later, Fleming skated down the right wing past his defender but his wrist shot from just outside the crease was stopped by Bonar.
Delta, B.C.'s
Anthony Bardaro also had a chance in the slot but his shot was partially blocked by Aaron Ave while teammate
Nick Buonassisi spun out of a bodycheck to fire a shot on goal only to have Bonar make the save.
Neither team was able to score with the man advantage as UBC was unsuccessful on five power plays while Princeton couldn't convert on its two.
"We're very proud of where we play and very proud of the conference we play in," said Dragicevic, when asked about the significance of the wins for the Canada West conference. "We're very proud to represent UBC and the Canada West. I see great things in the future for UBC hockey."
The Thunderbirds will look to continue their momentum in league play, which resumes next weekend with games Jan. 10-11 in Regina against the Cougars. UBC (5-10-1) sits two points out of the last Canada West conference playoff spot.
- with files from Princeton University Athletics
