VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds scored six unanswered goals en route to a 6-3 victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies Saturday afternoon, sweeping the weekend series and vaulting into sole possession of first place in the Canada West.
Despite trailing 3-0 midway through the opening period, the T-Birds (8-1-1) battled back to get within a goal by the end of the frame and went on to score four times in the third, sweeping a two-game set against the Huskies (7-3) for the first time since January 2018.
"Right from day one in training camp our third period has been really good, we've got a much deeper team than other years and we've been able to use that in these kind of games," said UBC Head Coach Sven Butenschon following the comeback win. "They came out flying. We prepared for that, we knew it was going to come, they're not going to hand you the game. We kind of weathered the storm and caught our breath on that that goal which was huge and regrouped after the first period."
That goal came at the 15:54 mark of the first after the Huskies scored three times within a five minute span to stake out a 3-0 lead, two of them on the power play and another shorthanded.
After Dawson Holt was called for interference to give the T-Birds a two-man advantage, Jonathan Smart rifled in his fourth of the season from the top of the left circle to get UBC on the board. It not only stemmed the bleeding from earlier in the game, but it breathed life into what has been a listless power play of late.
Less than a minute later, Cyle McNabb scored a potential goal of the year candidate with a tremendous solo rush ending with his third of the season. Conner McDonald sent the puck from along the neutral zone boards to McNabb in flight. The rookie forward burst past a pair of Huskies before slipping the puck past Travis Child who got a piece of it with his glove, but not enough, as the T-Birds cut the deficit to just one heading into the break.
Still down 3-2 well into the third,
Matt Revel tied the game with his first of two on the afternoon when he deflected a
Ryan Pouliot blast from the point past Child exactly nine minutes in.
Just 67 seconds later, the T-Birds took their first lead of the game when Chris Douglas beat Child five-hole from the right hash mark with his team-leading sixth of the year.
That marked the end of the night for Child as Huskies Head Coach Mike Babcock put Roddy Ross between the pipes.
But the T-Birds just kept coming as Revel struck again with another deflection at the 13:18 mark, this time on the power play from the mid-slot on a Smart slap shot.
The Huskies put Ross on the bench with just under three minutes remaining in a last ditch effort down by two. But
Tian Rask found the empty net from about 160 feet, putting the game on ice with his fifth.
Once again, the 'Birds outshot the Huskies in the final period, holding the visitors to just six in the final 20 minutes.
Both teams ended the game 2-for-6 on the power play while special teams played a big role in the opening period that saw Gordie Ballhorn and Justin Ball both connect on the man advantage while Donovan Neuls scored his second of the season short handed at the 13:07 mark, the first time the T-Birds have allowed a goal against while on the power play this season.
Despite the rocky start, the 'Birds grinded away and battled back into the fight, improving their season record to a conference best 8-1-1, two points up on the Dinos with two games in hand after Calgary suffered a 4-0 shutout loss in Regina Saturday.
"You get the fruits of your labour by being patient and believing in the system," said Butenschon as his team didn't show signs of panic but just picked themselves up and clawed back. "There were some question marks for our group because we had a softer schedule, we didn't get the preseason tests a lot of other teams did. I don't know if I'd say it's a statement, there's still lots to prove. It's a short season so every weekend's almost a statement game. 20 games, it's a sprint, you got to get greedy when it comes to getting points."
The 'Birds are now a perfect 6-0 on home ice but won't be back in front of their own fans until January 21st when they host Calgary for the 2022 Winter Classic. UBC closes out the first semester with a pair of games against the TWU Spartans in Langley next Thursday and Saturday while the Huskies finish the first half at home next weekend to the Mount Royal Cougars.
