VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds broke out for four goals in the third period, including a penalty shot by
Carson Miller, to earn a 7-2 win over the MacEwan Griffins, sweeping the season series and extending their win streak to seven games.
After the Griffins (6-15-1) opened scoring midway through the first, the T-Birds (18-4) scored seven of the next eight in the game, led by a pair from captain
Chris Douglas while
Cole Schwebius made 34 saves for his tenth win in as many starts this season.
"We came out and had a great start again, had a lot of pace to our play and then ran into some penalty trouble and that really affected the flow of the game," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon "It was just tough sledding out there. But I'm super proud of the guys for staying focussed and sticking to the task at hand. The penalty kill did a great job against that 5-on-3 in the second period and it was just nice to see the guys break through after a bit of a slower type paced game."
The penalty kill was indeed busy Saturday afternoon at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre – as was the power play – with both teams earning eight man advantages and each scoring once.
Carter Chorney scored MacEwan's second power play goal of the weekend when he converted with his third of the season to open scoring at the 8:33 mark of the first. Kole Gable threw the puck across the top of the blue paint to Chorney who had a wide open net .
After taking the game's first two penalties, the T-Birds had three straight power plays including a lengthy 5-on-3.
Scott Atkinson was able to finally convert for UBC to tie the game, showcasing his baseball skills as the former Edmonton Oil King batted the puck out of mid-air for his tenth of the season, matching his total from last year.
The 'Birds took the lead early in the second when Douglas scored his first of two on the afternoon. Just moments after exiting the box, the captain sprung up ice on a 2-on-1 and finished with a highlight reel goal for his 11
th, fending off a MacEwan defender while cutting across the low slot and beating Eric Ward with a forehand shot past the blocker.
UBC's penalty troubles returned in the middle of the second leading to two separate 5-on-3 power plays for the Griffins and later, a rare 4-on-3 opportunity. But the T-Birds' conference leading penalty kill was up to the task. Less than a minute after returning to 5-on-5,
Jake Lee fired a dagger of a shot from the slot right off a
Sam Huo faceoff win to put UBC up by two.
Just 48 seconds into the third, Douglas struck again, this time jamming home an Atkinson rebound.
Brendan Boyle got one back for the Griffins with his third of the season at the 7:43 mark to pull the visitors back within a pair. But the hope was limited as two minutes later,
Liam Kindree restored the three-goal advantage with his team-leading 13
th.
Sasha Mutala fed the puck out front to Kindree who snuck it under Ward's blocker.
With the game already in hand, Miller put it on ice with his fourth of the season, going to the backhand on his penalty shot attempt with exactly two minutes remaining.
Sam Huo capped off his three-point game with his 10
th goal of the season less than a minute later as the 'Birds hit seven goals for the sixth time this season.
While UBC ran away with it in the third, the game was a much tighter affair than the night prior, despite the score being much closer. The Griffins yet again gave the 'Birds a good run for their money, playing a playoff style game that could very well benefit UBC come the post-season.
"It's good preparation for going down the stretch for playoffs because they have four or five guys back all the time," said Butenschon. "You can't get too fancy, you can't get too complicated. Kind of a low event game. After the first period, three of the four lines didn't get one shot from the danger zone so credit them for keeping us to the outside and limiting those danger shots."
Schwebius' 34 saves was the highest total he's been forced to make this season as the second-year goaltender upped his save percentage to .926 on the year.
"He's making the saves we're expecting him to, that he expects of himself. He's getting the opportunity to get more starts and he's making the best of it. The guys love playing in front of him, he's good playing pucks as well so he's helpful on breakouts and he's doing everything we're asking of him and more."
The win keeps the 'Birds alone atop the Canada West standings by a single point ahead of the Calgary Dinos while MacEwan continues to hold onto the sixth and final conference playoff berth, three points clear of Regina.
UBC will put their seven game win streak to the test in a rare Thursday night affair this coming week against the Trinity Western Spartans in Langley before Friday night's Winter Classic for the back half of the home-and-home.
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