VANCOUVER – UBC Thunderbirds forward
Joe Antilla (Madeira Park, B.C.) scored a power play goal with just over three minutes left in the third period to shut down the Mount Royal Cougars 2-1 Saturday night at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver.
Luke Lockhart (Burnaby, B.C.) opened the scoring for UBC before Tanner Olstad responded for MRU, setting up Antilla's game winner. It was the second goal of the season for both Lockhart and Olstad.
The other big hero for the host Thunderbirds was goaltender
Matt Hewitt (New Westminster, B.C.), who stopped 29 of 30 shots. He kept every MRU opportunity out of the net on three different 5-on-3 power plays for the Cougars.
UBC got a 5-on-3 of its own late in the third period when Scott McKay and Jamie King were penalized at 15:01 and 15:40, respectively.
Just after King's infraction expired, UBC's
Anthony Bardaro (Delta, B.C.) fired on MRU goaltender Cam Lanigan. The puck rebounded across the crease right onto the waiting stick of veteran Antilla, who knocked the puck into a wide open net.
The game didn't see a goal until the third period, with Lockhart breaking the scoreless tie.
Scott MacDonald (Surrey, B.C.) got a turnover at centre, brought the puck into the MRU zone and shot it on net from the right goal line. Lanigan deflected the puck, but a charging Lockhart knocked it past the Cougars goaltender at 7:42. Lanigan stopped 15 of the 17 shots he saw during the game.
The Cougars responded a few minutes later. On an MRU power play, Sebastien Pare flung the puck on net. Hewitt made the save but Olstad snapped the rebound through the UBC goalie's five-hole as he came around, capitalizing on his team's eighth and final power play of the night.
UBC was 1-for-5 with the man-advantage on Saturday, but was under constant pressure from Mt. Royal, which ended the night with a 30-17 advantage in shots on goal but on the wrong end of the scoreboard because of Hewitt's outstanding performance.
"Coming out today, we knew they would be hungry for a win," said Hewitt. "I kept my nerves together. I knew I would have to battle and come through for the guys when they needed me, and they came through when I needed them."
Responding to the 16 minutes UBC took in penalties, Hewitt said, "We need to be disciplined, we know we can't be killing off that many penalties a game."
"To get out of that game and only give up one penalty kill-goal is pretty huge for us and that shows the guys have been contributing."
The Thunderbirds have now won their first two games of the regular season. They play at home again next weekend against the Calgary Dinos, with the games going Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. PT at the Doug Mitchell Sports Centre.
MRU (0-2) will return home to host Manitoba next weekend in Calgary.
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