LETHBRIDGE — Scoring four of the last five goals of the game and erasing a late second period two-goal deficit, the UBC Thunderbirds got themselves back into a playoff spot with a 5-4 win over the Lethbridge Pronghorns Saturday afternoon at Nicholas Sheran Arena.
 
Matt Revel scored twice, including the game winner, while Quinn Benjafield and Colton Kehler each had three assists as the T-Birds completed the season series sweep of the Pronghorns.
 
Rylan Toth helped his team to victory by making 18 saves on 22 shots, while Taz Burman turned aside 40 of the 45 shots he faced in the losing effort.
 
"I thought our first period was incredible, we were absolutely flying, it was one of our best periods of the year but we just didn't have that touch around the net," said UBC head coach Sven Butenschon who saw some impressive resilience from his squad Saturday afternoon. "Their goalie played outstanding so it was a real test for our mental toughness. It could have been real easy to start to veer off the game plan, but the guys, for the most part, stuck to it and the third period was evidence of that."


 
Despite a solid opening 20 minutes from UBC that saw the 'Birds outshoot the Pronghorns 11-5, Lethbridge found the back of the net first. A quick-thinking poke check by Spenser Jensen freed the puck to Luke Coleman who dished it to Brooks Maxwell before entering the offensive zone. Coleman cut to the net to receive a Maxwell pass, backhanding it behind Toth for his first of the game.
 
UBC responded just over a minute later on a breakout play from their own zone. Benjafield skated the puck out before dumping it off to Joe Carvalho who crossed into the Pronghorns zone, took a soft shot at the half-boards, and somehow found the back of the net to tie the game.
 
The home side re-took the lead inside the ten-minute mark of the frame on a short-handed play by Coleman who scored his second of the period.
 
In the second, the two teams exchanged goals following a chippy but unsubstantial first half of the frame. Lethbridge scored inside the final five minutes as Taylor Fisher's point shot was deflected past Toth by Coleman, whose hat-trick goal widened the lead to two.


 
The T-Birds were sent to the power play shortly thereafter and Benjafield got the puck to Kehler on Burman's left, sending the puck through the low slot to Carter Popoff who made no mistake in burying his sixth of the season.
 
Trailing by a goal to start the third, the 'Birds dominated the final 20, putting up a whopping 23 shots while scoring three times.
 
Revel deflected a Kehler slap-pass up and over Burman to tie the game once again just past the five minute mark, UBC's second power play goal of the contest.
 
Lethbridge managed to restore their lead before the halfway point of the period, however, as Jared Janke set up Kyle Gordon who buried it behind a desperate Toth.
 
The Thunderbirds' momentum allowed them to tie it up once again with six minutes remaining as an offensive press and heavy screen in front of Burman allowed a Jerret Smith shot to be tipped by Tyler Sandhu and in.


 
UBC continued to roll as they would capture their first lead of the game less than two minutes later. A Kehler wrist shot got caught up in Coleman's skates and Revel was right there to take the puck and wire it top shelf for the game winner.
 
Thanks to a Regina loss to Alberta Saturday, the T-Birds have leapfrogged the Cougars to take sole possession of sixth in the Canada West.
 
"We still got a lot of work to do, we don't want to wait for anyone to help us," added Butenschon. "We haven't played to our capabilities this season so we have two games to finish the season the right way regardless of where we are in the standings, regardless of the stats. We need to find a way to end the season on a positive note so when we get into playoffs we're putting our best foot forward."
 
It all shapes up to be an extremely critical final weekend of the regular season when the 'Birds return home to host the Mount Royal Cougars next Friday and Saturday at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre as UBC looks to book their ticket to the post-season for a ninth consecutive year.