VANCOUVER – Extending their program record win streak to start a season to eight games, the UBC Thunderbirds were utterly dominant in an 8-2 win over the visiting Trinity Western Spartans Saturday afternoon at Father David Bauer Arena.
15 different skaters found the scoresheet while
Kaeden Lane stopped 24 pucks for his league leading fifth win of the season.
"Our execution was a little better tonight, I thought they came out really hard, they had a lot of jump to their game," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon of the Spartans' start to the back half of the home-and-home series. "It was real tight-checking for a while there and like we talked about the other night, the game plan is just to continue to use our depth and wear teams down so in the third period we can take over."
It took all of 20 seconds for the T-Birds (8-0) to get on the board Saturday as
Carson Miller got rewarded with his first of the season. The third-year forward popped home a
Jake Lee rebound past Trinity goaltender Leon Sommer.
"He's been so impressive, he's done everything for me this year," said Butenschon of Miller's hardworking start to the season. "He's healthy, he's a great guy in the room and it's nice to see him get on the scoresheet. I'm happy to give him the start and he came through."
While it appeared as if the floodgates might open early, Miller's goal was the only one of 12 first period T-Bird shots to get past Sommer as the visitors hung into the one goal game through 20 minutes.
Tian Rask doubled UBC's lead 2:12 into the second, the first of two on the afternoon for the Saskatoon native.
Jack Wismer fired a long range shot through traffic that was kicked out by Sommer but right out to Rask who buried his fifth of the season.
The Spartans (0-6) cut their deficit back to one less than three minutes later with Joshua Bruce's first of the campaign. But from there on out it was pretty well all Thunderbirds.
Rask responded almost immediately with his second of the game, 28 seconds later to be precise, to restore the two goal UBC lead.
Scott Atkinson's second of the season with just over four minutes remaining in the frame game the home side a three goal cushion heading into the third.
The final period was much of the same with UBC outshooting the Spartans by a 24-8 margin.
Captain
Chris Douglas scored his fourth, on the power play, just shy of the three minute mark of the third, redirecting a back door feed from
Jonathan Smart, the first of two third period man advantage goals for the T-Birds.
Trinity's Landon Fuller got one back at 8:29, his first of the season, a rebound off a Christian Lowe shot. But just 49 seconds later, the 'Birds replied once more, this time courtesy of
Jake Lee's patented hard release. The second-year defenceman scored his third of the year right from the slot off a feed from
Jack Wismer who finished as one of five Thunderbirds with multiple points.
Conner McDonald added his third of the season with just over four minutes remaining and
Liam Kindree scored his fourth, on the power play, exactly three minutes later, completing UBC's second eight goal game of the year.
Rask, Miller and Jacob Wright combined for seven points as the most prolific line for the T-Birds Saturday in yet another testament to UBC's forward depth.
"They had jump. The puck was following Tian all night," said Butenschon. "
Carson Miller is always causing havoc for the other team. And then Jacob Wright is an unbelievable student of the game, his anticipation and the way he reads the play. So the three of them, we put them together for a reason and you can see tonight why they work well together and how we envision it coming together."
Now at 8-0 to start the season for the first time in program history, the T-Birds are back on the road next weekend when they visit the MacEwan Griffins (2-5-1) in Edmonton.
