VANCOUVER – For the second straight game the UBC Thunderbirds dominated from start to finish, earning the weekend sweep over the Lethbridge Pronghorns with a 5-0 win Saturday afternoon at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Earning first star for the second straight game,
Tyler Sandhu finished with a goal and an assist Saturday while 11 different T-Birds hit the scoresheet.
Patrick Dea wasn't overly busy but was solid when he needed to be, making 14 saves for his first shutout, and first win, of the season.
"I thought our legs were there right from the beginning to the end, we were great defensively on backchecks," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon who saw his team play a complete 120 minutes this weekend. "We really got a chance to see everybody get involved and it was nice to see guys get rewarded on the scoresheet."
The 'Birds had yet another strong start, outshooting the Pronghorns by a 15-6 margin in the opening period. Their hustle paid off as
Quentin Greenwood opened scoring just 2:52 in.
James Orban picked up his first point as a Thunderbird when he drove wide with the puck and dropped it back in front for Greenwood who finished for his second of the season.
UBC bookended the first with a goal in the final minute, courtesy of
Colton Kehler who took a Sandhu feed in the slot, wristing the puck past Pronghorns goaltender Taz Burman's glove side to double the T-Bird lead heading into the second.
Sandhu made it 3-0 'Birds midway through the period when he converted his fourth of the weekend and seventh of the season. On the power play,
Austin Glover centered the puck from the side of the net to Sandhu who beat Burman past his blocker.
Quinn Benjafield picked up the second assist, his third point of the weekend.
The Pronghorns entered the final period down by three but the 'Birds refused to give the visitors a sniff, scoring twice and outshooting them 14-4.
Jake Kryski scored his second of the season when he held the puck on a two-on-one with
Matt Revel three minutes into the third.
Maxwell James got in on the action with his second goal of the weekend and third of the season, finishing off a pretty passing sequence with
Carter Popoff and
Austin Vetterl to really put the game on ice just past the halfway point of the final frame.
The 'Birds outshot the Pronghorns 41-14 while going 1-for-4 on the power play and killing off both minor penalties.
It's the first weekend sweep of the season for the T-Birds who closed out their final home series of 2019 in fine form.
UBC hits the road next weekend, heading to Calgary to face the second-place Mount Royal Cougars followed by a trip to Edmonton the following week to face the conference leading Alberta Golden Bears.
"We're ready for the challenge," said Butenschon. "The top two teams in the league, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun for the group to see where we stand with those guys."
