EDMONTON –
Jonathan Smart saved his first goal of the season for the perfect time as the veteran defenceman scored the double overtime winner for the UBC Thunderbirds who downed the MacEwan Griffins 3-2 Friday night at Edmonton's Downtown Community Arena.
Down 2-0 with a period to go, the T-Birds (15-6-2) rallied to force overtime with a dominant third, setting the table for Smart's eventual winner in extra time as UBC extended their win streak to seven games.
"I thought we had a pretty good first, their goalie made some big saves," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon following his team's fifth straight road win. "The second period we fell asleep and then our backs were against the wall in the third period. (As a coaching staff) we got on them a little bit between periods but we also wanted them to enjoy the challenge and see what we can do if we play the right way for 20 minutes…it was good to see the guys get rewarded."
After Zach Webb put the Griffins (8-14-1) up 1-0 after 20 minutes, potting a rebound off Spencer McLean's shot, the Griffins got an unlikely tally from Hunter Donohoe to take a 2-0 lead 2:38 into the second period.
Kaeden Lane was under fire throughout the middle frame but made 16 of his 31 saves in the period, keeping the T-Birds in the fight. The rookie T-Birds goaltender stopped multiple one-timers, including robbing Merritt Oszytko and Jordan Taupert on back-to-back point blank power play chances.
The T-Birds got on the board just 65 seconds into the third when
Sam Huo finished off a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play from
Jonathan Smart and
Josh Williams that Ashton Abel had no chance on.
Keeping up the pressure in the third, the T-Birds earned the equalizer with 7:39 remaining when
Ryan Pouliot's shot went off
Sasha Mutala who made a B-line to the crease.
After 6:33 of tentative overtime play with no real chances, the 'Birds capitalized when MacEwan turned over the puck inside the T-Birds blueline leading to an odd-man rush up ice. Smart made no mistake, blasting a left-wing shot past Abel for the win, UBC's seventh consecutive victory.
"That team plays kind of a playoff style every night," added Butenschon. "They don't score much so they know they have to defend and play desperate in their own zone and they block so many shots and protect the middle of the ice. Their goalie made a lot of unbelievable saves. It was great test for us, the kind of hockey we're going to be facing in the playoffs so let's get comfortable with it."
Along with an assist on Huo's tally, Smart's OT winner gives the defenceman 10 points on the season, his third multi-point game of the season.
"He's been so good for us over the years, this year he hasn't probably got the production that he expects of himself but I really like the way his game is rounding up here in the second half. He's playing harder in the defensive zone which is allowing him to create on the offensive side of things. He sees the ice so well and he's got a good stick, it was just a matter of time until he found the back of the net."
With a Mount Royal loss to Calgary Friday night and the Huskies idle on a bye week, the T-Birds are now four points clear of Saskatchewan for fourth in the Canada West and just three back of the third-place Cougars with fives games remaining.
The T-Birds and Griffins battle for the final time this regular season Saturday at 4:00 p.m. PT. The game will be available live on
Canada West TV.
