CALGARY – The UBC Thunderbirds held a 3-0 lead with less than five minutes remaining, but an unlikely comeback saw the Mount Royal Cougars earn a 4-3 victory in a wild finish at the Flames Community Arenas Friday night.

Moments after Jack Wismer gave the 'Birds the three goal advantage at the 15:38 mark, a string of UBC penalties allowed the Cougars the opportunity to mount their comeback, capped off with Zafir Rawji's winning tally with just 1.9 seconds on the clock.

A Tian Rask major for crosschecking with 3:52 remaining began the parade to the box with a tripping minor giving the Cougars a 6-on-3 advantage with Riley Sims on the bench for the extra attacker.

Robbie Holmes managed to spoil Cole Schwebius' shutout bid with 3:03 remaining, cutting the T-Birds' lead to two while the Cougars remained on the power play.



Not making things any easier on their attempt to hang onto the lead, Jonny Lambos was assessed a double minor for spearing with 1:47 on the clock, giving the Cougars another two-man advantage.

With 57 seconds left, Clayton Hanus got the hosts within one on a one-timer blast from the top of the right circle.

Still on the power play, Justin Lies tied the game with 9.8 seconds left, erasing UBC's three goal lead, setting the stage for Rawji's game winner.

"We're still a little stunned here. I've never been in a game like that before, I don't think anybody has," said UBC head coach Sven Butenschon who was extremely pleased with his team's game for the first 55 minutes. "I don't know if we could have played a better road game. They had nine shots going into the final five minutes. We just totally dominated in all aspects of the game, we played a really smart, disciplined game and then it was just a parade to the penalty box. We went down a couple guys, they pulled their goalie and they executed."



Until that final five minutes, there could be little doubt by any impartial observer as to the outcome of the game. The 'Birds seemed to have things in complete control. While Schwebius wasn't overly busy until the third – 21 of the 29 shots he faced coming in the final 20 minutes – he was terrific when called upon.

The start was as good as UBC could have asked for, taking all of 63 seconds to open scoring. Rookie forward Carson Latimer scored his second of the season after sneaking behind an MRU defenceman and taking a feed from Sam Huo, wristing the puck glove side past Riley Sims.

Latimer's impressive start to his first Canada West season continued in the second when he returned the favour to put the T-Birds up 2-0 at the 12:43 mark. Following some scrambly play at both ends of the ice, Latimer stole the puck along the boards in the defensive zone, turned on the jets and raced the other way on an odd-man rush with Sasha Mutala who buried his second of the season.



It remained a 2-0 UBC lead until the blue and gold got what appeared to be some extra breathing room with 4:22 remaining in the third. Wismer positioned himself at the top of the crease and deflected a Conner McDonald point shot for his first of the season.

But the positives ended there for UBC as the 'Birds have started a year winless in their first three games for the first time since 2019.

"You can't take anything for granted," Butenschon added, saying his squad needs to simply keep the pedal down and not let up, regardless of the scenario. "If you're up 3-0 you just try to go up 4-0 and you can't let the officials determine the outcome of the game.

MRU's comeback win keeps them perfect on the young season at 3-0 heading into Saturday's rematch. Puck drop at Flames Community Arenas is set for 4:00 p.m. PT and the game will be streamed live on Canada West TV.