LANGLEY, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds scored the final 5 goals of the game Thursday night in a 5-2 win over the host Trinity Western Spartans for a seventh straight victory to start the season, setting a new program record.
Down 2-1 seven minutes into the second period, the T-Birds outshot the Spartans 36-12 in the final 40 minutes in what was at times an onslaught in the offensive zone.
After
Sasha Mutala scored on the power play midway through the second,
Chris Douglas earned his third of the season early in a dominant third period for what turned out to be the game winner before the 'Birds tacked on a couple insurance markers including a highlight reel shorthanded goal from
Ty Thorpe.
"There's no panic but there is a sense of urgency in a 2-2 game against a team you're supposed to beat and you can get in your own head that way," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon who was proud of another resilient effort from his group. "Just try to stay mentally focussed, mentally tough and worry about your job and the next man up just has to worry about his job. Put a few shifts together and get momentum and that's what we did, we just kind of wore them down in the offensive zone. No team can withstand that much zone time and come out on top so it was a great stick-to-it kind of attitude."
After a goalless first period, the Spartans opened scoring just 54 seconds into the second when Tanner Hopps finished off a two-on-one with Daine Dubois, Hopps' one-timer blast giving UBC netminder
Cole Schwebius no chance.
Despite allowing the early goal against, the rest of the frame belonged to the T-Birds who outshot the Spartans by a 23-6 margin.
Relentless pressure resulted in a good response for UBC as
Josh Williams batted a rebound out of mid-air, past Raphael Audet for his first of the season at the 2:31 mark. Audet stopped a
Jonathan Smart shot but the high rebound was found by Williams who banked it off a TWU defenceman and in to tie things up.
The Spartans managed to re-take the lead just over four minutes later when a Skyler Cameron shot from the left circle snuck under Schwebius' glove.
Once again, the T-Birds went back to work and were relentless in the Spartans zone, eventually drawing their first power play chance of the game just shy of the nine minute mark.
Late on the man advantage, Smart made a behind-the-back pass across the high slot to Mutala who sniped his fourth of the season on a low shot through traffic.
Six minutes into the third, Douglas gave the visitors their first lead of the game with his third of the season.
Ty Thorpe led a rush into the offensive zone and dished the puck to the UBC captain on his right wing who fired a hard shot, far side, past Audet.
Two-and-a-half minutes later, the T-Birds doubled their lead thanks to a
Tian Rask wrister from the slot that found the near side high corner, his fourth of the campaign.
Down by two and still with more than six minutes remaining, the Spartans had some hope come their way as they found themselves back on the power play.
But it was Thorpe who sealed the T-Birds' victory scoring on an end-to-end rush in his former home barn.
Jonny Lambos passed the puck off his own corner boards to Thorpe who skated through open ice, turning on the jets through the neutral zone before beating Audet over his glove for his second as a Thunderbird and his first Canada West shorthanded goal.
"He's a great penalty killer, I was just trying to get him out there and it kind of worked out," explained Butenschon. "In open ice he's explosive, he's the fastest guy on the team."
Now at 7-0 and alone in first place in the Canada West, the T-Birds have the chance to expand their new program record start to a season when they host the Spartans Saturday afternoon for the back half of the home-and-home.
"It's something to be real proud of so we'll put a feather in our cap but get right back to work tomorrow," said Butenschon of achieving the new benchmark. "We talked about it a little bit before the game. At this level in a short season, you have to break it down into segments and if we come out of the gates to start the season and string a few wins together, it really goes a long way."
Puck drop Saturday is set for 3:00 p.m. at Father David Bauer Arena.
Tickets are available online now and the game will be streamed live on
Canada West TV.
