LANGLEY, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds rode a red hot power play to a third straight win, taking down the Trinity Western Spartans 4-0 Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre.
The T-Birds (9-1-1) scored three times on six opportunities on the man advantage, two of them from Jake Kryski who finished with a three point night while captain Tyler Sandhu had a goal and three assists.
Rylan Toth made 23 saves for his eighth win and second shutout of the season as UBC has now won three in a row while opening up a four point lead atop the Canada West standings.
"They came out and played a really solid first period and we weren't ready," said UBC Head Coach Sven Butenschon whose team was outplayed for the better part of the opening frame. "We were flat and they probably should've been up a couple. Tother made some big saves early to give us a chance and then in the second period the power play started clicking and we let our offence kind of take over. Pretty disappointing start, but I'm glad the guys figured it out."
Following the sluggish start, the T-Birds came out guns a blazing to start the second, scoring twice on the power play in the first seven minutes.
Cyle McNabb earned his fourth of the season, deflecting his own rebound out of mid air past Trinity Western goaltender Talor Joseph to open scoring at the 3:55 mark.
Just over three minutes later, Kryski scored his first of two on the night, pouncing on a Sandhu rebound for his third of the season.
The 'Birds took a 3-0 lead before the period was out when Sandhu deflected a Matthew Smith point shot for his fifth of the campaign.
Once again, UBC used the third period to wear down their opponent, limiting the Spartans to just four shots in the final 20 minutes while Kryski scored again on the man advantage four minutes in, once again capitalizing on a Sandhu rebound.
After starting the season with just three power play goals in their first nine games, the 'Birds have now scored five times on the man advantage in the last two.
"Directing more pucks toward the net, finding ways to get your shot on net and not get blocked, not missing the net," is how Butenschon explained the power play's resurgence. "We were a bit snake bitten also, we were doing some good stuff before even though we weren't scoring so I think it was just a matter of time, having a good positive attitude and just believing."
The Spartans (1-10) battled hard throughout the game and had their share of chances throughout, but thanks to Toth, a good penalty kill that went 3-for-3, and a solid final 40 minutes, the 'Birds now head into their final game of 2021 with a three game win streak.
The rare Thursday night affair gives the 'Birds an extra day before that final game of the calendar year when they'll head back to Langley to face the Spartans for a fourth time this season. Puck drop Saturday is set for 7:00 p.m. PT at the Langley Events Centre.
