EDMONTON - Matt Fontenye scored the winner 2:09 into double overtime, as the U SPORTS No. 4 ranked Golden Bears outlasted the No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds 2-1 on Friday night at Clare Drake Arena.
The win is the third-straight for the Bears (5-2-0), all of which have come over teams ranked in the U SPORTS Top 10. Alberta defeated MRU and Calgary on the road last weekend. The loss is the first for the T-Birds in 2021/22, who drop to 6-1-0 this season.
In front of a packed and energetic crowd at the Drake, both teams did not disappoint, putting forth a highly entertaining 65+ minutes of hockey. Both goalies stole the show throughout, combining for 65 saves. Taz Burman turned aside 28 of the 29 he faced to earn his third win of the season, making a handful of five-alarm saves in the second and third to keep the game tied.
Rylan Toth, who stole a semifinal series for UBC over the same Bears in 2020, was also excellent, making 37 saves in the loss.
Josh Prokop opened the scoring for Alberta just over four minutes into the first period, with
Carson Miller evening the game at 1's late in the first.
UBC had numerous chances to take a 2-1 lead throughout the second and third, but were unable to solve Burman, who turned in his best performance as a Bear. UBC also went 0/6 on the powerplay on Friday.
Toth was steady as a rock, making 24 saves in the second and third combined, with Alberta outshooting UBC 24-15 over those two frames.
Neither team generated much offence in the first OT, with UBC outshooting Alberta 3-2 in the first overtime frame.
Fontenye was able to ice the game early in double OT, scoring on the powerplay off a feed from Grayson Pawlenchuk.
The two sides will square off in their series finale tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m., with the game available on Canada West TV presented by Co-Op.
