SASKTOON – The UBC Thunderbirds twice battled back to within a goal, including a final minute tally with the extra attacker, but the Saskatchewan Huskies held on for the 3-2 win to take a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three Canada West final at Merlis Belsher Place Friday night.
Trailing 2-0 late into the second period, the 'Birds got a critical goal from
Jake Kryski to cut the Huskies' lead in half heading to the final frame.
Saskatchewan restored their two goal lead thanks to Layne Young's first of the post-season four minutes into the third.
Still trailing by a pair with just under three minutes to go, the T-Birds put
Rylan Toth on the bench for the extra attacker and the tactic worked as
Maxwell James scored his second, giving UBC some hope at getting the equalizer with 32 seconds on the clock.
But just as Toth was attempting to get back to the bench after the ensuing puck drop, a bizarre sequence ensued along the boards that saw UBC's goaltender given a boarding minor, essentially ending any hope of pushing the game to overtime.
"The first period cost us, they came out guns ablazing and they kind of set the tone for a bit," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon. "Once we realized we could play with these guys we took the game over and it could have gone either way at the end."
After being outshot 14-2 in the opening period, the 'Birds responded nicely in the second, roaring out of the gates and generating chances.
UBC outshot Saskatchewan 21-17 in the final two periods. The 'Birds also did a good job of generating power play opportunities but unfortunately weren't able to do enough with them, finishing the night 0-for-4.
The first period was all Huskies as it wasn't until the seven minute mark when Taran Kozun was tested for the first time.
Jordan Tkatch opened scoring at the 7:38 mark with his first of the playoffs. Jared Dmytriw was left all alone in the slot. He was fed the puck from the left wing boards, but then slid it back to Tkatch who redirected it past Toth.
The Huskies doubled their lead midway through the second when Carson Stadnyk just sneaked the puck past Toth on a one-timer shot on a cross-ice feed from Logan McVeigh.
Kryski's goal with less than four to play in the period was a huge lift for the 'Birds as they were able to get some serious momentum heading into the third. The rookie converted on a give-and-go play with
Austin Glover, sniping the puck past Kozun's blocker.
Young's early third period tally stood up as the eventual game winner as the Huskies are now just one win away from claiming their first Canada West title since 2016.
After a lopsided first period, the Huskies finished the game outshooting the T-Birds 31-23. Neither team was able to capitalize on the power play with Saskatchewan going 0-for-2.
The T-Birds will now regroup and look to push the series the distance with a bounce back in game two Saturday.
"Regardless of what the score was tonight, I thought we had a great second and third period," said Butenschon. "Tomorrow if we can play three periods, I think we'll be fine."
Puck drop for game two of the Canada West final is set for 5:00 p.m. PT at Merlis Belsher Place.
