PENTICTON, B.C. – The defending national champion Alberta Golden Bears scored three unanswered goals, two of them on the power play, defeating the UBC Thunderbirds 5-2 Friday night at the 2018 Young Stars Classic at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Down 2-0 early, the 'Birds scored in the final minute of the first period and again in the first minute of the second to tie the game. But the Bears quickly answered back with the eventual game winner at the 4:53 mark.
"We had moments where we were doing some good things out there but it was definitely a rude awakening to the season, especially for the first year guys," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon. "It's one thing to put together a couple good weeks of practice but then it's a completely different animal when you've got the physicality every shift, that takes time. But the guys are upbeat, ready to put that game behind them and excited to get right back out there tomorrow."
Luke Philp opened scoring five minutes in for the Golden Bears and less than three minutes later Alberta had doubled their lead.
The first T-Birds goal of the preseason came courtesy of rookie Maxwell James in the final minute of the first. The former Tri-City Americans forward found the back of the net in tight, off a pass from
Chase Clayton.
Riley Guenther earned the second assist as the physical line forced a turnover and made the Bears pay for it.
The 'Birds tied the game at two just 56 seconds into the second with
Austin Vetterl's first of the preseason from
Raymond Grewal and
Michael Stenerson.
Unfortunately for UBC, their positive momentum swung back the other way less than four minutes later when second-year forward Steven Owre scored his first which stood up as the game winner.
The Bears went 2-for-4 on the power play while the 'Birds failed to score on two chances.
Rylan Toth made 28 saves in the loss while both Bears' goaltenders saw game action with Kenny Cameron playing the first period and Zach Sawchenko in for the final two frames.
Alberta and UBC get one more crack at each other at the Young Stars Classic, an event that has been very impressive for all those in attendance.
"It's been first class," said Butenschon. "I can't say enough about how great we've been treated, starting with the Canucks, but also the city, the facility, the Winnipeg Jets, we're getting treated just like the NHL teams, it's all been very professional and we're just honoured that we were invited to be a part of it."
Puck drop for Saturday's rematch with the Bears at the South Okanagan Events Centre is set for 6:00 p.m. PT.
