VANCOUVER – Chris Douglas scored at 2:33 of overtime to give the UBC Thunderbirds a hard fought 4-3 win over their crosstown rival Trinity Western Spartans in the final game of the regular season Saturday night at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
The result clinches second place in the Canada West standings for the T-Birds (14-5-1) who have also earned a bye through to the conference semifinals.
"That's what we were preparing for, that's what we needed," said UBC Head Coach Sven Butenschon following the gritty, back and forth affair. "It was uncomfortable at times, it was nerve-wracking. We were squeezing our sticks and that's ok, that's what we'll be facing in playoffs, so hopefully we can use those lessons in a couple weeks."
Dorrin Luding made 22 saves for his first win as a Thunderbird in his first Canada West start while the 'Birds went 2-for-4 on the power play, outshooting the Spartans (2-17-1) by a 43-25 margin.
"Really happy with the way the guys came to work today," Butenschon added. "I know it wasn't easy and their goalie stood on his head and they blocked a lot of shots. You knew they were going to do it, it was their last game of the season, they wanted to go out on a winning note so we faced a team that was doing everything they could to win and they made it really tough on us."
After trailing 1-0 through 20 minutes on TWU's game opening goal from Kade McMillen, the T-Birds rallied in the second to stake out a one goal lead by the 12:32 mark on goals from Logan Foster and Austin Glover.
Foster got the ball rolling with his first in the blue and gold, 7:51 into the middle frame. James Orban played the puck forward on an offensive zone faceoff with Foster quickly pouncing onto it, slipping the tying goal past Berk Berkliev from a sharp angle.
Glover gave the 'Birds their first lead of the game with his third of the season on the power play, jamming home a loose puck on a goal mouth scramble.
The lead lasted less than two minutes, however, thanks to Brayden Brown's fifth of the season, wristing the puck past Luding, glove side, from the slot.
But UBC's second power play marker of the night ensured the 'Birds headed into the break with the lead. Jonathan Smart took a cross-ice return feed from Tyler Sandhu and sniped his fifth over Berkliev's right shoulder.
The Spartans refused to go quietly in their final game of their inaugural Canada West campaign, tying the game once again at the 8:11 mark of the third. Jordan Bogress outwaited Luding before roofing the puck for his second of the year.
After trading zone time early in four-on-four overtime, Douglas ended the game with his team-leading 12th of the season, circling the ice in the offensive zone before sending a low shot through Berkliev's five-hole to complete the season series sweep of the Spartans.
Finishing the year with 29 points, two ahead of the Mount Royal Cougars for second place in the conference, the T-Birds will host a semifinal series for the first time since 1971, starting Friday, March 4.
"I think the first part will be recovery, start taking care of our bodies and regenerate," said Butenschon of his approach to the coming week off from game action. "As the week goes on we'll start ramping it up, work on our conditioning and then try to finish up with some structure and then start to think about who our opponent is the next week."
The 'Birds will face the highest remaining seed from the two quarter-final series featuring MRU hosting Regina and Saskatchewan hosting Calgary.
Game highlights:
