CALGARY – The UBC Thunderbirds (8-8-1) started 2018 on the right foot with a gutsy 3-2 double overtime win over the Calgary Dinos (4-10-3) Friday evening at Father David Bauer Arena.
Nick Buonassisi's second of the season at the 1:49 mark of the second overtime period officially ended UBC's eight-game losing streak and pulled the 'Birds back to .500 while holding onto fourth place in the Canada West.
"We knew we were going to play a hungry team, a team that had something to prove so we talked about just being ready to start on time and having a good game plan and stick to it no matter what," said UBC head coach Sven Butenschon. "Right from the opening draw I had a pretty good idea that the guys were all-in. We played really organized and a great team game."
UBC started the game with a bang as they opened scoring on their first shot.
Raymond Grewal cashed in on a rebound opportunity, right on the doorstep of Dinos netminder Jordan Papirny, Grewal's first career U SPORTS goal.
Despite outshooting UBC, Calgary was unable to beat goaltender Matt Hewitt, who made eleven first period stops. The Dinos' best chance to score in the period came from a power play in which Hewitt was assessed a tripping call.
In the second period, the Dinos found an opening via the man advantage when veteran forward Adam Kambeitz scored his first goal of the season in style. In tight, Kambeitz took a pass from Matt Alfaro before going to his forehand to roof the puck, tying the game 1-1.
Despite a run and gun game continuing by both teams, the score remained tied heading into the third.
UBC controlled the play from the outset of the final frame hemming the Dinos in the offensive zone on multiple occasions, holding them to just one shot through the first half of the period. Despite their strong play, it was the Dinos that took their first lead at the 10:04 mark.
Right after a neutral zone turnover, Calgary forward Riley Sheen made his way to the right faceoff circle before dragging and wristing the puck past Hewitt blocker side, making it 2-1.
A late Dinos penalty would give the Thunderbirds an opening to tie it. Tyler Sandhu and Jerret Smith played catch before Smith wired a shot from the blueline, which took a deflection off Austin Vetterl for the winger's ninth marker of the season tying the game with just over two minutes remaining to force overtime.
The first overtime period was back and forth but the game remained scoreless. The best chance from either side came from Calgary blueliner Drydn Dow but on a 2-on-1 with Sheen, Dow couldn't handle the cross-ice feed.
Jumping to 3-on-3, Buonassisi ended the game wiring a wrist shot past the glove of Papirny with Chase Clayton and Josh Connolly picking up the helpers.
"In the second period once they had a bit of a push back, we re-grouped and it was really nice to see our composure and it all paid off," added Butenschon who was proud of his team's effort especially with a short bench. "We only had three lines going but everybody pitched in."
The win gives UBC the season series over the Dinos with a chance to earn the sweep in Saturday's rematch. Puck drop at Father David Bauer Arena is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT.
