VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team capped off their pre-season with a 3-2 win over the Trinity Western Spartans on Saturday afternoon at Father Bauer Arena. The game marked UBC's final exhibition game before embarking on the 2016-17 CIS season next weekend. 

The win gives the T-Birds an impressive 5-1 pre-season record, a drastic improvement over last season's exhibition bouts wherein UBC won only a single game. It's a promising start for a T-Birds team looking to rebound from being bounced in the first round of last year's Canada West playoffs.

 

Head coach Sven Butenschon was pleased to see his team continue to improve during Saturday's game. 

"We tried some new stuff, and we got more shots on net. It looked really good. It's always nice to see what you work on during the week being [executed] during a game," he said.  

All seven of UBC's points on Saturday went to different T-Birds, which Butenschon says is becoming a big part of his team's success. 

"We've got lots of depth and scoring ability. I don't think we're even close to what we're fully capable of," noted Butenschon. 

The Spartans, who secured  their first exhibition win last weekend against SFU, were hoping to start off their season on a high note after being defeated in their opening three matchups. Although they were not able to do so, they certainly made UBC work for the 'W'. 

Final: @UBCMHKY Win's 3-2 over TWU. Great finish to the preseason boys #birds4birds

— UBC TAC (@ubctac) October 2, 2016

Spartans netminder Silas Matthys put up a strong 35-save performance, while UBC's Matt Hewitt and Derek Dun shared goaltending duties for a combined 19 stops. 

The Spartans struck first at 12:42 in the opening frame, as Riley Smith dished the puck from the corner out to Evan Last, who tapped in his first of the season. 

UBC responded less than two minutes later when Adam Rossignol took advantage of a mad scramble in front of the Spartans' net and shovelled in the tying goal. Luke Lockhart picked up his third assist of the season on the play. 

While the 'Birds were shorthanded early in the second, Anthony Bardaro and Jake Lebrun fed the puck to Joe Antilla who sniped the puck top-corner from the point, giving UBC a 2-1 lead. Kyler Nachtigall potted UBC's third goal just over two minutes later. 



The Spartans enjoyed over a minute of five-on-three late in the second, and Jarrett Fonaine took full advantage by roofing a rebound that bounced in front of Dun, cutting UBC's lead to one. 

A scoreless third period was highlighted by the sturdy goaltending of Matthys, though the Spartans were unable to find the back of UBC's net before the clock ran down. 

The puck drops on the Thunderbirds' 2016-17 season next weekend, when they head to Saskatchewan for a double-header against the Huskies on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8. Both games commence at 6:00pm (PT).

Trinity Western will travel to Vancouver Island to take on UVic in back-to-back games next weekend