VANCOUVER – The No. 8-ranked UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team fell 2-1 in overtime to the Lethbridge Pronghorns at the Nicholas Sheran Arena in Lethbridge on Sunday afternoon, as the Horns got a pair of goals from forward Tim Campbell, including the game-winner with 26 seconds remaining in the extra frame. Anthony Bardaro (Delta, B.C.) netted the sole marker for the 'Birds, as they fall to 6-1-3 on the year.

The contest was a battle of netminders, as the 'Birds peppered former Lethbridge Hurricane Damien Ketlo with 39 shots, of which he stopped 38. In the T-Birds' crease, Eric Williams (Langley, B.C.) was terrific in a losing effort, turning aside 33 shots.

The opening 20 minutes saw the two teams trade blows early in often, as the Pronghorns outshot the T-Birds 17-12. Williams and Ketlo were both perfect in the first period, making several quality stops. The best opportunity for either side came from the stick of UBC forward Manraj Hayer (Vancouver). After Austin Vetterl (Surrey, B.C.) showed some great vision to find Hayer in open ice, the second-year forward broke in alone and fired a hard wrister from the slot, but Ketlo stood tall, and managed to turn the attempt away.
Four minutes into the second period, the Horns finally solved Williams. It was Campbell that did the damage, taking a nice feed from former Kamloops Blazer Tyler Hansen on a two-on-one and burying the opportunity as he came flying down the right wing.

UBC wasn't able to equalize in the second period, but it wasn't for a lack of chances, as the 'Birds tacked on 11 shots in the frame, which doesn't account for a couple of posts midway through.

First, Chase Clayton (Abbotsford, B.C.) had a glorious chance after some extended offensive zone pressure, as the rookie winger found himself alone in the slot. Clayton fired, but found nothing but iron, as his shot rung off the right post.

Later, Luke Lockhart (Burnaby, B.C.) tore down the left wing, cut hard inside, and let go of a bullet. He, too was foiled by Ketlo's best friend, as the center's shot clanged off the post behind the Lethbridge netminder.

The 'Birds came out with some jump in the third period as they searched for the equalizer. Joel Hamilton (Cochrane, Alta.) nearly found it off of the opening faceoff, as the rookie forward streaked straight ahead off the draw and took a breakway pass in on Ketlo. The Horns goalie made a great pad stop to keep the home side out in front.
However, the lead didn't last much longer. After more than two periods of quality chances and several posts, the 'Birds finally got on the board five minutes into the final stanza. Fittingly, it happened on a lucky break.

After Bardaro claimed possession of the puck and took it behind the Horns net, the puck deflected off his stick, just over the crossbar, and hit Ketlo in the back, ricocheting into over the goal line by the slimmest of margins.

With three minutes left in the contest, the 'Birds got their best chance to get the go-ahead marker. After his elbowing penalty expired, Nick Buonassisi (Coquitlam, B.C.) found himself out of the box, and on a breakaway. The third-year winger darted in alone, but once again, Ketlo was up to the task.

The 'Birds got a late powerplay that crossed into the overtime frame for 1:50, but a stout Lethbridge penalty kill kept UBC off the scoresheet.

That wasted opportunity proved costly late in the extra period, when Ryan Moser found defenceman Mitch Maxwell at the point, who fired at Williams. Campbell found his way to the front of the net, and deflected the attempt behind the T-Birds keeper, earning Lethbridge their second win of the weekend.

 "We knew we'd lose at some point, but it's how we respond now that matters," said Shell. "Nothing changes. We won't start panicking because we lost a couple games. We've got to go back to basics - we've got to be sure of the fundamentals and what our game is about."

The T-Birds will look to rebound next week, as they head to Saskatoon to take on the Saskatchewan Huskies. The 'Birds and Huskies will square off on Friday, November 13, and Saturday, November 14. Puck drop for both games is set for 5:00 p.m. (PT).