PENTICTON, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds secured their first preseason win with a solid 3-2 shootout win over the Alberta Golden Bears in a bounce back effort Saturday night at the 2018 Young Stars Classic at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

Patrick Dea stopped 32 pucks in his Thunderbird preseason debut while fifth-year forward Michael Stenerson scored the shootout winner to avenge UBC's 5-2 loss to Alberta the night before.



"It was a great response after Friday, I just challenged the group to bring a little more composure and jam," said UBC head coach Sven Butenschon who liked his team's effort from start to finish. "We could've got real nervous and tight but we still played our game. We didn't sit back, we were still playing to win and it's great for our belief moving forward that when we play the right way we can beat anybody."

A determined group from the opening faceoff, the T-Birds were rewarded for their efforts with the game's first goal at 18:01 of the first period when Tyler Sandhu found the back of the net for the first time in exhibition play. Second-year forward Austin Glover picked up the first assist while third-year defenceman Tanner Faith also earned a helper.

Less than five minutes into the second, UBC doubled their lead when Faith scored one of his own from Glover and rookie forward Colton Kehler who got on the scoresheet for the first time in blue and gold.



The defending national champion Golden Bears finally solved Dea with just over two minutes remaining in the second when Luke Philp scored his second in as many nights from Brandon Magee. Alberta then got the equalizer four minutes into the third, courtesy of Ryan Rehill on the power play.

Both netminders shut the door the rest of the way to force overtime, and eventually the shootout where Stenerson made sure the 'Birds leave the Young Stars tournament on a happy bus.

Alberta outshot the T-Birds by a 34-24 margin. UBC finished the night 0-for-4 on the power play while Alberta made good on one of two opportunities.

"(Patrick Dea) was rock solid back there, really calm and confident," said Butenschon of his rookie goaltender. "I think the guys really felt comfortable with him back there."

The game marks the conclusion for the U SPORTS component of the Young Stars Classic, an experience that will be remembered by all for some time.



"The electricity in the arena with the NHL teams here and scouts and coaches, the building is full with that presence," added Butenschon. "The people of Penticton behind it along with the facility, they've all treated us like a professional team, a huge thanks to the Vancouver Canucks for including us and hopefully we can build off of it."

The Thunderbirds have four more preseason contests on the docket, all of them at home, starting with a pair of games against the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology next Friday and Saturday. UBC will then host both the Simon Fraser Clan and Trinity Western Spartans the following weekend for the second annual Captains Cup series.