VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds mounted a valiant third period comeback attempt but couldn't close the gap enough, suffering a 5-3 loss to the Mount Royal Cougars Saturday night.
The Cougars (12-5-1) vaulted out to a 5-0 lead by the midway point of the second period before the T-Birds (12-5-1) began clawing back, but MRU held on for the weekend sweep while also pulling into a tie with UBC for second place in the Canada West standings heading into the final two games of the regular season.
After Lane Gilliss opened scoring for the Cougars at the 10:43 mark of the first period, T-Birds forward Tian Rask was assessed a five minute check to the head major late in the frame, giving MRU a big opportunity to build on their lead.
While UBC was able to kill off the first four minutes, thanks in large part to some critical shot blocks from the likes of Jonathan Smart and Scott Atkinson, the Cougars did double their lead with Nolan Yaremko's league leading 19th of the season at the 3:10 mark.
The 'Birds killed off the rest of the major, but just moments after it expired the Cougars stuck again to take a 3-0 lead on a two-on-one. Jared Power made a perfectly placed saucer feed across the slot to Spencer Moe who finished for his third.
The floodgates opened seven minutes into the period when a Bradley Kennedy one-timer was blasted into the back of UBC's net, giving the Cougars a four goal advantage while a fluke deflection off a UBC stick made it a 5-0 lead for the hosts with Ryley Lindgren credited with his fifth of the season.
With just 34 seconds remaining in the second, the 'Birds got some much needed life when James Orban redirected a Smart shot past Mount Royal goaltender Riley Morris to finally get on the board with his first of the season.
UBC's comeback attempt remained a tall order, but the T-Birds gave it all they had in the final 20 minutes, outshooting the Cougars by a 15-6 margin while giving themselves a fighting chance when Conner McDonald found the back of the net five minutes in for his second of the season.
The rookie defenceman fired the puck towards Morris but it was blocked low in the slot. It bounced out to Austin Glover who fed it back to McDonald who then rifled it over the MRU goaltender's glove.
UBC kept the pressure on and cut the deficit to two on the power play with four minutes remaining when Atkinson deflected a McDonald point shot for his sixth of the season.
The T-Birds put Rylan Toth on the bench for the extra attacker with a couple minutes remaining but couldn't manage to pull any closer, suffering their fourth loss in the last five games.
UBC hosts the Trinity Western Spartans for the final two regular season contests, the first of which is set for Friday, February 11 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
The Cougars close out their schedule with a pair of battles with their cross-town rivals, the Calgary Dinos.
Both the T-Birds and Cougars are now four points behind the first place Alberta Golden Bears while Saskatchewan is just one point back in fourth with Calgary holding down fifth, just one point behind the Huskies.
All five teams have booked their ticket to the post-season but only the Bears have clinched a home ice berth with plenty yet to be decided.
