VANCOUVER – Gritty offence and sturdy goaltending from veteran Matt Hewitt helped propel the UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team to a 4-1 win over the visiting Ryerson Rams. The heated Friday night matchup at Father Bauer Arena, wherein 101 penalty minutes were handed out, marked the first of two weekend games between the teams. 
 
UBC head coach Sven Butenschon felt it took his team some time to find their bearings, and that Hewitt's performance was key in keeping them afloat early on. 
 
"Our goalie kept us in the game in the first period. We knew [the Rams] play a take chances kind of game, and the challenge…was to play our style of game. It took us about a period to do that, once we did...we capitalized."


 
Nine Thunderbirds logged points on Friday night, with veteran forward Joe Antilla leading with a goal and assist. Antilla acknowledged the full team effort in what he deemed "a good game all around. A lot of guys chipped in [and it was] nice to get some wins before we go into the regular season."
 
The Rams managed to outshoot the T-Birds 33-30, but only found the back of the net midway through the third period when forward John Carpino finally snuck one past Hewitt. 
 
UBC responded to steady pressure from the Rams late in the first, eventually navigating its way around Ryerson's rookie netminder Charlie Graham. Unable to find space, Antilla delivered the puck out front to Kyle Becker who sniped it in low, giving UBC a 1-0 lead. 
 
A chippy start to the second period led to an early UBC power play, providing enough room for the 'Birds to set up their second goal. Austin Vetterl found T-Birds defenceman Josh Connolly at the point, who rifled the puck through traffic and beat Graham far side. 
 


Taking advantage of a delayed penalty, UBC struck once again, this time with D-man Raymond Grewal beating a sprawling Graham at 11:14 in the second. Adam Rossignol and Nick Buonassisi picked up helpers on the play. Antilla netted UBC's fourth goal at 7:14 in the third, with Carter Popoff and Wes Vannieuwenhuizen getting the assists. 
 
Puck drops on the second UBC-Ryerson game on Saturday, September 24 at 4 p.m. (PT) at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.